(Red Deer Rebels/ Taylor Lachance)

By Ian Gustafson

3-2

Rebels drop OT heartbreaker to Blades

Jan 7, 2025 | 10:14 PM

The Red Deer Rebels search for their first win in 2025 continues.

On Tuesday night at the Peavey Mart Centrium, the Rebels lost their seventh straight contest in a 3-2 set back to the Saskatoon Blades in overtime.

The Blades held possession early on in the extra frame before Tyler Parr scored his second of the game on the offensive rush less than a minute into overtime.

With the loss, the Rebels haven’t won a game since Dec. 14 when they edged the Kamloops Blazers 4-2 in Red Deer.

Head coach Dave Struch said his team played strong in the first and third periods but were on their heels in the second.

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“They came at us pretty hard and we didn’t have an answer for them. I felt we played really good defensively but when we had opportunities to make plays we didn’t execute very well,” Struch said.

“The third period was our best period in a long time… When we talk about playing 60 plus minutes to get let down in overtime the way it was, it’s unacceptable. We addressed it already. We have to get better and move on.”

The bright side for the Rebels was the play of goaltender Chase Wutzke who made 41 saves on 44 shots and was named the third star of the game.

Red Deer was outshot 44-27 and failed to draw a penalty all night. Meanwhile, the blades had four powerplays but were unable to score.

Import forward Samuel Drancak scored the opening goal for Red Deer. After making a move toward the net, he sick handled before scoring through the five hole of Blades netminder Evan Gardner.

In the second period, the Blades tied the game with 7:53 left in the frame when when a shot from Brayden Klimpke redirected off the leg of Zach Olsen as he cut to the net.

Forward Parker MacDougall, who was recently acquired in a trade with the Calgary Hitmen, introduced himself to the Rebels fan base in a spirited tilt against Jordan Martin. The two dropped the gloves at centre ice and traded multiple punches before the referees stepped in.

“Obviously, [MacDougall] did well. He’s got a lot to learn but I really felt good about the way he played,” struch said. “He’s got some grit for sure, plays hard, and wants to be involved. Once he gets accustomed to the way we play he’ll be a good player.”

Red Deer broke the tie with 13 minutes left in the third period, scored by forward Trae Wilke who fired a shot past the goalie on the offensive rush. Rookie Nolan Schmidt beat the defender along the left circle before passing it through the slot to Wilke who cut to the net.

However, the lead was short lived because the Blades went on the attack 46 seconds later and tied it at two off the stick of Tyler Parr.

Less than a minute into overtime, Parr scored again to lift the Blades to victory.

With the WHL trade deadline set for Thursday at 6 p.m., Struch acknowledged it may be a distraction for the players, but didn’t want to use it as an excuse.

“We’re in such a funk right now that these guys have to change their mindset, especially our young guys. Getting opportunities like this, you can see some of them getting better our old guys really have to step it up for us if we want to get a win.”

Red Deer will return to action on Friday in Medicine Hat against the Tigers before returning to the Centrium on Saturday for a tilt with the Prince Albert Raiders at 7 p.m.