Red Deer Rebels Head Coach Dave Struch at the Peavey Mart Centrium on Wednesday (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

Best-of-seven starts Friday

Rebels say they have a “new energy” heading into first round of WHL playoffs against the Tigers

Mar 27, 2024 | 3:38 PM

The Red Deer Rebels say they have a found a new energy before heading into the first round of the 2024 Western Hockey League playoffs against the Medicine Hat Tigers.

At a press conference on Wednesday at the Peavey Mart Centrium, Rebels Head Coach Dave Struch said the team is filled with excitement and emotion for the best-of-seven first round of the playoff season.

“It’s the time of year that every hockey person wants to be a part of. I know that we, as a coaching staff and as an organization, our players have got some new energy after the regular season’s over and you turn the page, you enter a new chapter of your hockey career. For the experienced guys, it’s another opportunity to win. For the new guys, it’s something really special to be a part of so we’re really looking forward to the experience and having a great chance to have a long run,” he said.

The Rebels went 33-26-3-6 (75 points) during the regular season while the Tigers went 37-23-6-2 (85 points). Against each other, the Rebels lost four of six games, with two in overtime.

Struch says the team is relentless and has worked hard in their battles, competing, eagerness to learn, ownership, and attention to detail.

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“Its one thing to talk about but actions speak louder than words and we’ve seen them do that daily in practice and we’ve seen the benefit in our games. It hasn’t always been about the win or the loss; it’s the investment that the guys have put into it that we hope pays off for us in the playoffs,” he said.

Forward Talon Brigley said the team is feeling good before the playoffs and are looking forward to starting on Friday with positive energy.

“We got a new coach and, obviously, a little bit of a new system so a little bit of new things they haven’t seen from us yet but we’re still going to play with that same identity that they know from the past couple of years. We’re going to come at them hard and we know that they’re going to come hard so it should be a long series,” said the Sylvan Lake-native, who scored 20 goals and made 14 assists this season, earning 34 points in 66 games.

Red Deer Rebels forward Talon Brigley at the Peavey Mart Centrium on Wednesday. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

Coach Struch came onto the team earlier this month when former head coach Derrick Walser was let go due to inconsistent play on the ice and a season below expectations, President and GM Brent Sutter said.

READ: Rebels fire coach after 7-5 loss and WHL Playoffs looming

“As a coach, I work hard at what I do, so I believe that that part of my leadership, those are the types of things, the type of people, that I want to work with and I’ve been very fortunate that this group of guys, that’s their identity,” he said. “They’ve put everything into it so for me, as a coach, it’s a matter of work ethic and putting everything I’ve got into it.”

Brigley said everyone has been wanting to make a good first impression on the coach who has brought good energy to the team.

When it comes to playing against the Tigers, Struch said there won’t be a change in their strategy, but there will be a focus on each game.

“We know that they’re [the Tigers] a real good team. They’ve got high-end forwards, their game itself, their season itself; they’re near the top of the food chain in almost all the categories which makes them a very potent team so we’re going to have to be ready for that. But for us, to focus on our day-to-day execution of the way we want to play, the way we want to carry ourselves, is going to be the most important thing,” he said.

While this is the Rebels’ eighth straight appearance in the playoffs, it will be the first time they meet with the Tigers in Round 1 since 2015, where Red Deer was defeated 4-1.

Medicine Hat also won five of their six playoff series against the Rebels in the WHL.

In an interview on Tuesday with CHAT News Today, Medicine Hat’s standout player Gavin McKenna said the Rebels are “a speedy team and they work really hard. I think they’re going to try to wear us out with their size.” He said the Tigers can, “take that out of their own books and do the same to them.”

READ: ‘More than ready’: Medicine Hat Tigers say they are ready to take on the Red Deer Rebels in playoffs

The rookie has had one of the best campaigns in the WHL for a 16-year-old with 34 goals and 63 assists totalling 97 points.

“They’re a speedy team as well; they like to attack off transitions and we know that, so we’re going to try to limit our turnovers, try to make them play in their D-zone, and obviously try and wear them down also,” said Brigley, adding the Rebels are “ready for it”.

While Struch would not share starts or outstanding injuries of Rebels players, the latest weekly report by the WHL on March 19 showed that Elias Carmicheal, Matteo Fabrizi Frantisek Formanek, and Quentin Bourne remain off the ice. Rebels officials said on Wednesday that Carson Latimer, who was also on the report, will be back for the playoffs.

The first match-up will take place this Friday at the Co-op Place. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. with the broadcast live on 106.7 REWIND radio 10 minutes prior.

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