Kalan Lind pots the game-winner with time running out in game four at the Peavey Mart Centrium on April 3, 2024. (Red Deer Rebels)

By Alessia Proietti

could close series on friday

Rebels goal in final second leads to 3-2 win against the Tigers in game four

Apr 3, 2024 | 11:19 PM

At the literal last second of game four of the Red Deer Rebels and Medicine Hat Tigers opening round WHL playoffs series Wednesday night at the Centrium, the home team scored the dagger to seal the deal and take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

This means high stakes for game five on Friday in Med Hat where Red Deer can close out the series.

Tensions rose in the first period when Red Deer’s Hunter Mayo got two minor penalties for high-sticking. Following a big save by Rebels goaltender Chase Wutzke, Jhett Larson picked up the puck to score on a breakaway at 8:30. The shorthanded unassisted goal on Medicine Hat netminder Ethan McCallum put the team in a 1-0 lead.

Past the halfway mark, the Tigers’ Tyler MacKenzie evened the scoreboard 1-1.

Medicine Hat was slightly outshooting Red Deer 15-13 after 20 minutes of play.

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The Rebels regained the lead 2-1 in the middle frame when Carson Birnie scored his first from the circle, the puck finding its way to the back of the net after bouncing off the goaltender’s chest. Samuel Drancak and Talon Brigley got the helpers at 6:54.

But less than a minute later, the Tigers tied the game 2-2 once again with a goal by Hunter St. Martin.

Medicine Hat outshot Red Deer in the second period 10-9.

The crowd was at the edge of their seats the entire third period. When the Tigers earned their first penalty in the last minutes of the game, given to St. Martin for cross checking, the Rebels’ Kalan Lind took advantage of the power play, with 0.9 seconds left on the clock. Standing in front of the crease, he scored his second goal this playoff season through the backdoor. After review, the goal was a go with Kai Uchacz and Ollie Josephson claiming the assists for a 3-2 victory.

Red Deer outshot Medicine Hat this time 12-10 in the final period.

Last second winner!!! pic.twitter.com/ha5SaemgDt

— X – Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) April 4, 2024

Shots on goal

MH: 35

RD: 34

Power play

MH: 0/4

RD: 1/3

Three stars

1^st: Chase Wutzke (RD) – SV33

2^nd: Carson Birnie (RD) – 1G

3^rd: Ethan McCallum (MH) – SV31

Lind said his second game-winning goal this playoff season was exciting, especially since he had no clue of the time on the clock.

“I looked up at 10 seconds when [Hunter] Mayo had the puck and I was like, ‘oh we better shoot it here quick’ because I heard everyone chanting ‘shoot!’,” he said, adding that Uchacz had “eyes in the back of his head” when he passed the puck to him through his legs. “I put it in as fast as I could because I knew we were getting close to the time being out.”

He said he was nervous when the goal was being reviewed.

“I was shaking in my boots at the bench. I was like, ‘lets just get this game over with’. We’ve been in overtime two times, would’ve been three tonight, but it was nice to win it out in regular time,” he said.

Lind said the pressure is on the team for Friday night to win round one of the playoffs.

“[The Tigers are] fighting for their lives; they’re going to be coming out, pushing as hard as they can. They got a really good hockey team over there. We’ve seen it this whole series; it’s been a close series from the start till the end of the games. We’re going to come into that game ready to go, just like we were tonight, ready to push hard and play hard. Even though we were good tonight, I think we got better in us still,” he said, noting his team’s resiliency.

“We got one of the hardest working groups, if not the hardest working group in this league and the whole CHL [Canadian Hockey League]. Everyone works their butts off every single night and does everything they can to contribute to the team and plays their role so well on this team and we’re just happy to have such a great group of guys in this room.”

Head Coach Dave Struch said it was the team’s best game of the series.

“That was a little more of what playoff hockey is supposed to be and for 60 minutes. We did the right things, we continued to get better at doing those right things,” he said. “It was relentless, resilient, tenacious, I think all those words are really important but it’s something that we can build off of, we can be happy with the win but we can’t be satisfied moving forward here.”

He said the team was calm, ready to go, and needs to play the same and better to close the series.

The teams will battle it out for game five on Friday back at the Co-op Place. Face off is at 7 p.m. with the broadcast live on 106.7 REWIND radio 10 minutes prior.

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