(Taylor Lachance/ Red Deer Rebels)

By Ian Gustafson

Sixth straight loss

Regina Pats edge Rebels 4-3 in overtime

Jan 4, 2025 | 10:20 PM

The Red Deer Rebels forced overtime with a late third-period goal but the Regina Pats scored in the extra frame in a 4-3 loss on Saturday.

In overtime, the Rebels got robbed on a two-on-one opportunity by Pats goaltender Kelton Pyne, who stole a golden opportunity away from Matthew Gard.

The play immediately went the other direction and forward Braxton Whitehead sealed the deal on a one-timer from the left side.

This marked the Rebels sixth consecutive loss but despite that, head coach Dave Struch thought his team had a strong effort.

“We got off to a good start. They scored two goals and they were ahead in the shots but I think for the most part the third period was a good period,” he said.

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“After that I felt really good about our game… Obviously, we had some really good chances. Lots of shot volume and pressure to the net. We played really good without the puck until the overtime.”

The Pats struck first with 13:01 left in the opening frame when forward Caden Brown fired a shot from the blue line that beat goaltender Peyton Shore high on his glove side.

Just over two minutes later, defenceman Ephram McNutt buried an opportunity in the middle of the slot off the setup pass from Anthony Wilson.

With approximately 7:25 left in the first, Shore was knocked out of the game after a head-on collision with a Pats forward. The player skated towards the net with the puck but did not slow down in time and appeared to make contact with Shore’s head.

The rookie netminder stayed on the ice for several minutes before he skated off and headed to the locker room. It was an unfortunate play for Shore who was making his first start since Dec. 6.

He made eight saves on 10 shots before the incident. Goaltender Chase Wutzke replaced him in net and made 24 saves on 26 shots.

In addition, forward Kalan Lind was hit by a puck in the upper-body area in the second period and was clearly in significant pain. After a brief trip to the locker room he returned to finish the period but did not return for the third period.

The Rebels were already fairly shorthanded heading into the game. Carson Birnie was dealt to the Hitmen earlier in the day but were also without captain Ollie Josephson and Jhett Larson, who are out with injuries.

“They’ve been playing [shorthanded] all year so you don’t want to say they’re used to it but they are. They handle it well but either way it almost isn’t good enough and we have to find a way here,” Struch added.

Matthew Gard scored the Rebels opening goal with 15:41 left in the second period. For his ninth goal of the season, the 17-year-old skated by Regina’s net before spinning back towards the goaltender and firing a shot that made it through.

Red Deer found the equalizer with 13:37 left in the game off the stick of Derek Thurston.

The defenceman skated in from the blue line and fired a shot from the left circle that was originally saved by Regina, but the puck went straight up and came down behind the goalie and in the net.

The Pats scored with six minutes left in the game to retake the lead on the powerplay but just 1:20 after, Trae Wilke scored to tie it at three.

No one found the back of the net before the end of regulation and Regina got the upper hand in OT.

With the loss, Red Deer remains in ninth place in the eastern conference with a 15-18-2-2 record and Regina is right behind them in 10th with a 10-20-4-2 record.

Struch explained his team needs to improve how they finish games, plays, bodychecks, and scoring opportunities.

“Offensively we had a lot of really good looks tonight and we didn’t bury it. We have to bear down, there’s no question about it,” Struch said.

Next up, the Rebels will welcome the first-place Saskatoon Blades to town on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.

“We’ll have a good practice on Monday and back at it on Tuesday. We’ll build off tonight’s positive stuff.”