(Red Deer Rebels/ Taylor Lachance)

By Ian Gustafson

4-1 victory

First period lead propels Rebels to victory over Regina Pats

Feb 11, 2025 | 10:15 PM

The Red Deer Rebels took a three-goal lead in the first period and never looked back in a 4-1 victory over the Regina Pats on Tuesday.

Head coach Dave Struch thought his team got off to a poor start but after the first five minutes, they started to improve.

“It was a game of powerplays and penalty kills so it killed any five-on-five momentum on both sides,” he said. “On the powerplay I know we got a couple but I thought we had some good looks early… Overall, we’re happy with the win but the inconsistency of our individual play needs to be play.

There were plenty of penalties on both sides. As a result, the Rebels scored two powerplay goals on six attempts and the Pats went one-for-six. Rebels goaltender Chase Wutzke made 26 saves on 27 shots.

“When you’re taking penalties like that it means you’re chasing the game… That’s the inconsistency in the game. Five-on-five we put together three or four shifts where we’re skating, moving our feet, playing physical, making plays, and then we take a couple shifts off.”

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The Rebels relentless pressure in the offensive end paid off nearly eight minutes into the game. After forcing a turnover in Regina’s end, forward Matthew Gard knocked the puck loose to Jhett Larson who fed Beckett Hamilton, who was left alone in front of the net.

Hamilton then proceeded fire in a shot from the right side of the net after making a move to fool the goaltender.

With 9:13 left in the opening frame, Red Deer built on their lead on a blast from the blue line from defenceman Derek Thurston on the powerplay.

They added another one with 1:12 left in the first off the pass from Brett Calhoon scored by forward Talon Brigley who made a move in front and scored on his back hand while he was falling down.

Brigley, who hadn’t scored since Jan. 31, said it felt good to get back on the score sheet.

“I’m just trying to do anything to help the team win. That one just happened to find the back of the net,” he said.

“I was just trying to take it to the hole and I just got tripped up or something. I tried to throw it on net and it went in.”

The Pats finally got on the board with 5:16 remaining in the second period. Forward Keets Fawcett scored from the high slot on the powerplay with a wrist shot that beat goaltender Chase Wutzke.

No one found the back of the net again until later in the third period when Matthew Gard tapped in an empty net goal on the breakaway with 33.4 seconds.

Brigley nearly had his second of the night earlier in the period but couldn’t beat the crossbar.

“The puck was just finding me. That was a great play by Gard. He saw me late there and I hit the triple post. I don’t think I’ll ever do that again if I try. It was a good game by the guys and we have a really big one tomorrow night against Lethbridge. those are the teams we’ve got to beat moving forward.”

Red Deer will head on the road to Lethbridge to take on the Hurricanes at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Rebels remain 12 points back from a playoff spot with a 19-26-4-2 record with 16 games remaining.