By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

gave up late lead, but found a way

Rebels top Winterhawks in 5-4 shootout thriller

Feb 7, 2023 | 11:00 PM

The Red Deer Rebels continued their five-game American road swing Tuesday with a visit to the home of the Winterhawks.

On this night, the Rebels defeated their foes 5-4 in the shootout.

Coming in, Red Deer was 1-1 on the trip with a 1-0 shootout win in Spokane and 4-2 loss in Everett. Red Deer also sat atop the Central Division with a record of 34-11-1-3 compared to Portland at 35-10-2-1, or second in the U.S. Division. The Winterhawks, along with the Thunderbirds and Blazers of the Western Conference, have already clinched playoff spots.

Down the I-5 they were Tuesday in Portland where they hadn’t played since Feb. 16, 2019. The last time the teams played was in Red Deer on Oct. 11, 2019.

Scoring Summary

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Jace Isley (23rd) got Red Deer on the board first with a shorthanded marker at 10:29.

Just 1:04 later, James Stefan (19th) equalized for Portland, this goal coming on the power play as Jayden Grubbe sat for cross-checking.

After Grubbe exited the penalty box, he received an additional 10-minute misconduct.

The Winterhawks then took the lead another 2:37 after that as Luca Cagnoni (13th) put the puck past Kyle Kelsey; it was 2-1 Hawks after 20 minutes.

In the second, it was all Rebels as Ben King (11th) scored his 100th career WHL goal at 11:45, and on the power play for a 2-2 tie.

A mere 25 seconds later, Craig Armstrong (7th) put the Rebels back ahead with his second goal in the last four games, and Red Deer led 3-2 after 40.

In the third, King (12th) was at it again with the Rebels up a man, netting his 101st career tally at the 10:10 mark.

Of King’s 101 WHL goals, 43 have been on the power play, including eight this season in just 15 games played.

With 3:52 left in regulation, Portland decided to make it interesting, as Josh Zakreski (8th) brought the Winterhawks to within a goal.

The home team would indeed complete the comeback with 1:01 on the clock, as Kyle Chyzowski (13th) played spoiler in getting the game to a 4-4 tie.

The teams traded chances in overtime, each with three shots, but there was no goal to be had, so they headed to the shootout.

Going in, Red Deer was 2-3 in the shootout this season, while Portland was 3-1.

Shooting first was Portland captain Gabe Klassen who was stopped by Kelsey.

Rebels leading scorer Kai Uchacz followed that up by, you guessed it, scoring to give Red Deer the advantage.

The second round saw Cagnoni come in and bobble the puck before getting only a weak shot away and the save was easy for Kelsey.

Then… who else but Ben King… who came in and ripped one past Dante Giannuzzi to secure the two points for Red Deer.

Kyle Kelsey (16-5-1-3) stopped 35 or 39 shots, while Giannuzzi made 29 saves on 33 shots.

Red Deer is now 35-11-1-3, atop the Central and second in the Eastern Conference one point behind Winnipeg who has five games in hand. Red Deer is also ahead of Lethbridge by 15 points and 18 games to go.

Shots

RD: 33

POR: 39

Power Play

RD: 2/4

POR: 1/3

THREE STARS

1st: Jack O’Brien (POR) – 3 assists

2nd: Ben King (RD) – 2 goals, shootout winner, 8 shots, 7/7 FOW

3rd: Luca Cagnoni (POR) – 1 goal, 1 assist, 7 shots

Next up for the Red Deer Rebels, game four of their stateside roadie, this Friday, Feb. 10 against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Puck drop is at 8:05 MT with the broadcast live on 106.7 REWIND Radio starting at 7:55.