(Red Deer Rebels/ Taylor Lachance)

By Ian Gustafson

Red Hot Rebels

Rebels defeat Wheat Kings for third-straight victory

Mar 4, 2025 | 10:24 PM

The Red Deer Rebels have found their game.

On Tuesday night they beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 4-2 at the Centrium for their third consecutive win.

Forward Matthew Gard scored three powerplay goals for his first Western Hockey League hat trick and rookie goaltender Peyton Shore made 22 saves on 24 shots to secure the victory.

Gard said postgame that it was a huge win for the club, who are now nine points back of the eighth and final playoff spot with nine games left.

“We did our job tonight,” Gard said. “We played hard, we were physical and we stuck to our game. It worked out for us.”

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The last time Gard had scored three goals in a game dated back to his minor hockey days in Manitoba. The offensive outburst couldn’t had come at a better time for the team but also for Gard, who is expected to be selected in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft this summer.

“It’s pretty exciting to get my first hat trick but it’s not about me. It’s about the team winning and pursuing our goal of making the playoffs,” he added.

The Rebels scored first with 7:57 left in the opening period. Gard knocked in the rebound from the right side of the net on the powerplay after captain Ollie Josephson threw the puck on net through traffic.

Red Deer built on their lead early in the second period with another powerplay goal. Nearly two and a half minutes in, forward Jhett Larson knocked in his own rebound while on the offensive rush.

However, the Wheat Kings scored two straight to tie the game heading into the final period.

They got on the board just a few minutes later off the stick of Caleb Hadland, who stick handled his way through multiple defenders before scoring on rookie netminder Peyton Shore. The goal marked the Sylvan Lake product’s 20th of the season.

And with 1:27 left in the middle frame, the Wheat Kings added another to tie it at two after forward Joby Baumuller scored from the slot.

Midway through the third period, the Rebels were awarded a five-minute powerplay after a hit from behind on forward Beckett Hamilton. The rookie was able to skate off the ice but did not return.

While on the man advantage, Gard was able to redirect a point shot from Josephson to take a 3-2 lead.

Gard completed the hat trick just over a minute later with another powerplay marker. Talon Brigley passed the puck down to Kalan Lind who fed Gard as he was cutting to the net.

In an effort to push for the tie, the Wheat Kings pulled the goalie late but the Rebels defence stood tall to hang on to the victory.

Rebels head coach Dave Struch said the victory was a combination of a lot of great things his team continues to do on the ice.

“You can’t stress the importance of having good hard practices and that part of preparation is important when you have a full group of guys who are fighting for ice time,” he said.

“They’re pushing each other in practice and now in games it’s going to get difficult. When you have that kind of competition, it breeds a little bit of success. The powerplay, special teams, and penalty kill was really good again tonight.”

For the second game in a row, the Rebels had success on the powerplay. They went four for five on the man advantage and held the Wheat Kings scoreless on four opportunities.

They’ll look to continue that success on Friday when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers at 7 p.m. at the Centrium.

They’ll also welcome the Swift Current Broncos to town on Saturday. Puck drop is also at 7 p.m.

Goaltender Chase Wutzke was ruled out of the game after he was injured at practice on Tuesday. Struch said he’s day-to-day. There was no update on Hamilton who left the game with appeared to be a head injury.

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