Rebels double Oil Kings 6-3 at the Peavey Mart Centrium

The Rebels tied it up early in the second period though when Kalan Lind came out from behind the net into the low slot and fired a shot from point blank range, beating Edmonton’s young 16-year-old goaltender Hudson Perry to make it 1-1. It was Lind’s eighth goal of the season and came unassisted at 2:40.

Red Deer then took the lead soon afterwards at 4:56, as Frantisek Formanek came down the right wing and fired a shot, beating the Edmonton goaltender five-hole and putting the Rebels up 2-1.

The Rebels added to their lead at 12:38 when Matteo Fabrizi scored his first of the season, slamming home a well-timed pass from Kaland Lind on a two-on-one, set up by Sylvan Lake native Talon Brigley, to put the Rebels up 3-1.

A strong second period continued for Red Deer when Hunter Mayo scored his eighth goal of the season, on the power play, at 15:13, following a checking to the head penalty to Edmonton’s Marshall Finnie. Carson Latimer and Kai Uchacz assisted on the goal which put the Rebels up 4-1.

Then another Edmonton penalty, a two-minute interference call at 16:11, gave Red Deer the man advantage again, and it paid off as Mats Lindgren scored his sixth of the season at 17:39, a ripper under the cross bar to put the Rebels up 5-1, with assists coming from Samuel Drancak and Hunter Mayo.

But the Rebels weren’t done yet. Hunter Mayo earned his second goal of the game and ninth of the season at 19:30, as he fired a wrister from the high slot and made it a 6-1 game with the period winding down. Jhett Larson and Kai Uchacz chipped in the helpers.

Red Deer had a 6-1 lead after 40 minutes and outshot Edmonton 16-6, for a two-period total of 21-16 in favour of the Rebels.

The third period saw Edmonton get back on the board when Roan Woodward scored his 10^th of the season at 4:52, a wrister from the slot which managed to beat Rebels netminder Chase Wutzke, high blocker side, to make it 6-2. Marc Lajoie assisted on the play.

The Oil Kings weren’t done either though, as they too were able to capitalize on the power play following a roughing penalty to Red Deer’s Jhett Larson. Gavin Hodnett scored his ninth of the season while on the man advantage, with a back door tap-in goal at 14:08, to make it 6-3. Ty Nash and Matthew Gallant were credited with the assists.

The game would end 6-3 for the Rebels and Edmonton outshooting Red Deer 12-8 in the third. Final shots finished 29-28 in favour of Red Deer.

Special teams played a role in this one as well, with Red Deer going 2/4 on the power play and Edmonton going 1/5.

Three Stars:

1. Kalan Lind, Red Deer. 1G, 1A, +/- +2

2. Hunter Mayo, Red Deer. 2G, 1A, +/- +1

3. Kai Uchachz, Red Deer. 0G, 3A, +/- +2

Rebels head coach Derrick Walser wasn’t pleased with the team’s first period, noting they didn’t take care of the puck as well as they needed to.

“I had to go in and be a little hard on the guys, but they responded the right way,” he explains. “Our skill and our strength, there’s a certain breed in us and when we stick to that breed and stick our strengths, we’re a great hockey team. In the third period, there was just too many penalties, and trying to get the guys to protect themselves and do things the right way and the message is, we get the two points, we’re moving on. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

With that in mind, Walser emphasizes the need for the Rebels to play their style of game.

“You gotta come out ready,” exclaims Walser. “We got lucky to get out of the first down 1-0, but it was a great response. The PK (penalty kill) was excellent, power play was excellent, we’ve been spending a lot of time on that right now trying to get it going, and we as a group have done a good job buying in, and now, we’ve just got to make sure we start on time tomorrow.”

With the win, the Rebels record improves to 26-13-1-4 with 57 points, good for second place still in the WHL’s Central Division, three points back of division-leading Medicine Hat.

The Rebels next game is Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, 7:00 p.m. at the Peavey Mart Centrium against the 22-17-4-1 Brandon Wheat Kings who sit third in the WHL’s East Division.

You can also catch all the action live on 106.7 Rewind Radio, starting with the pre-game show at 6:30 p.m..

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by Sheldon Spackman

Rebels double Oil Kings 6-3 at the Peavey Mart Centrium

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