(Taylor Lachance/ Red Deer Rebels)

By Ian Gustafson

Star performance

Peyton Shore shines in WHL debut as Rebels topple Cougars

Nov 29, 2024 | 10:18 PM

The Red Deer Rebels new they needed a championship-calibre performance to take down a championship-calibre team, and they got it.

On Friday night at the Peavey Mart Centrium, the Rebels took down third-best team in the Western Hockey League, the Prince George Cougars in a 3-2 thriller to get back in the win column.

A big reason for that was the spectacular play of rookie goaltender Peyton Shore, who made 38 saves in his WHL debut.

Shore said postgame that he felt comfortable in between the pipes, which in his mind was the most important part of his success.

“I stuck to my game and did what I do to keep the puck out of the net and it worked. Overall, it was a fun game to play in,” he said.

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“I thought [the nerves] would be worse to be honest. I had a good preseason and I thought about that leading up to this game and what I’ve done. I felt pretty confident and the boys believed in me, which always helps.”

Shore began the season with the Rebels backing up Chase Wutzke but never got an opportunity to start. After a good start to the season with the Virden Oil Capitals of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, he earned a call up to the WHL after the Rebels traded away goaltender Rhett Stoesser.

Shore said the move by the organization meant a lot to him.

“It’s awesome,” he added. “They’re a great organization and they do great things with their goaltenders and players. The whole organization believing in the process and bringing me up at such a young age is great.”

(Taylor Lachance/ Red Deer Rebels)

Head coach Dave Struch said it was a big night not only for Shore, but for the organization.

“It was great to be a part of it for a young guy like that to see him work as hard as he did this week,” Struch said.

“He gave himself a chance to have one hell of a game for us.”

The Cougars pushed the pace midway through the first period and found the back of the net with just over eight minutes left in opening frame.

Off the offensive rush, Washington Capitals prospect Terik Parascak fired a one-timer in the slot past Shore following a pass from forward Borya Valis.

With 3:25 left in the opening period, forward Talon Brigley came out with the puck after a battle in the left corner and fed Matthew Gard who was cutting towards the net. Gard fired a shot past goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen for his 16th point of season.

In the second period, Shore really shined.

Not only did he make some highlight-reel calibre saves but he helped hold the Cougars scoreless on three straight powerplays.

Coming into the matchup, the Cougars had one of the leagues top powerplays but Shore and the Rebels found a way to slow them down.

“We have made a lot of the same mistakes through this rough period of time but in the end tonight guys played with courage,” Struch said.

“They blocked shots and they did more of the right things and for me personally as a coach, being in the league this long, to have success against a team this good… it’s good for our group.”

Despite not having any scoring in the second period, there was plenty of action including multiple big hits wrapped up by a fight between Rebels Jaxon Fuder and Cougars Fraser Leonard. The fight, that received multiple cheers from the home crowd, was Fuder’s third-straight fight in as many games.

Fuder put the Rebels on top in the third period with 12:47 left in the game off a beautiful passing play that involved captain Ollie Josephson. A give-and-go play between the two of them left Fuder alone in front of the net who beat the goalie on the backhand.

Red Deer added an insurance goal with 7:14 left in the game when Matthew Gard capitalized on a wrap-around attempt to take a 3-1 lead.

The Rebels killed off the Cougars fourth powerplay but Prince George was awarded another one shortly after in the final few minutes. The Cougars capitalized on a 6-on-4 powerplay with the goalie pulled to come within one but couldn’t find the equalizer in the final minute.

“To come out against a hard, heavy, and physical team like this and play the way we played, it shows we can do it,” Struch said.

The Rebels were without defenceman Matteo Fabrizi who missed his second-straight game with an upper-body injury. He remains day-to-day.

They are also still without import forward Kasper Pikkarainen who’s out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

Kalan Lind served his second game of his suspension for a hit to the head against the Victoria Royals last Saturday. The length of the suspension remains to be determined, however, in a statement from the WHL, they expect a decision on the length expected on Saturday.

In addition, Steven Steranka was scratched from the lineup.

The Rebels will be back in action on Saturday night when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings at the Centrium at 7 p.m.

“We’ll enjoy the victory, move on, and come ready to play again tomorrow.”