(Red Deer Rebels/ Donovan Wagner)

By Ian Gustafson

4-3

Rebels eliminated from playoff contention in loss to Raiders

Mar 14, 2025 | 10:34 PM

It’s official, the Red Deer Rebels have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

On Saturday night they fell 4-3 to the Prince Albert Raiders in overtime at the Westerner Park Centrium, despite getting a much needed loss by the Swift Current Broncos.

The Rebels trailed the Broncos for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but Swift Current has clinched a postseason berth.

Red Deer had multiple opportunities to end it in overtime, including a golden opportunity by Doogan Pederson but with less than a minute left in the extra frame, forward Aiden Oiring completed the hat trick scoring in alone on rookie goaltender Peyton Shore.

“We’re definitely not happy,” said Rebels captain Ollie Josephson. “We were hoping to make playoffs… We’re not feeling the greatest right now but it happens, it’s hockey. We’ve just got to keep together and play hard the rest of the year and end on a high.”

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The Oiring goal came on an unfortunate turnover in the Rebels defensive end by Kalan Lind. Immediately after the Raiders goal, Lind was visibly upset but his teammates had his back, consoling him.

“It happens,” Josephson added. “He played great, it was just an unfortunate play but not his fault. He played great all game. He scored a goal, was laying hits, and he’s a big part on why we were even in a fight for our season. He has nothing to hang his head on. He’s a great player, great guy, and we’re all supporting him.

“We have lots of character in our room, there was no give up. No one was quiting in there. I want to say we just ran out of time but it is what it is. We’ve just got to play hard the rest of the year.”

Head coach Dave Struch said it was a tough way for the season to end but added there were plenty of games throughout the year where they gave the win away.

“Tonight was one of them,” Struch said. “I think as disappointing as it is, the guys did play hard tonight. It’s an unfortunate mistake at the end for sure, especially knowing what other teams in the league did for us. The season’s not over yet. We still have to approach it with the right mindset because that’s what’s going to define us at the end of the year.”

After the Rebels took an early penalty, the Raiders made them pay on the man advantage. With 16:23 left in the opening frame, Oiring knocked in the rebound in front of net following a shot from forward Tomas Mrsic.

Rebels found the equalizer with 11:01 left in the first. Forward Jaxon Fuder carried the puck into the offensive zone with a full head of steam and after circling behind the net, fired a shot from a sharp angle on from the right circle that beat the goaltender through traffic.

Red Deer took their first lead of the game approximately four minutes later, Russian import Gleb Semenov scored his second career WHL goal assisted by Fuder. He gave his team the lead after taking a couple of whacks at the puck in front of the net before it went in.

A minute and 34 seconds after that, Lind gave the Rebels a two-goal cushion. The Shaunavon, Sask. native scored top shelf while cutting towards the net. He ultimately, crashed into the goalie but the puck went in prior to the collision.

However, the Rebels lead was short lived as Prince Albert scored two straight before the end of the first period, one of which was shorthanded.

The first came with 4:22 left scored by Niall Crocker on the powerplay assisted by Raiders defenceman and Lacombe, product Daxon Rudolph.

Just over two minutes after that, Prince Albert found the equalizer while the Rebels were on the powerplay. The Raiders forced a turnover and Oiring fired a shot past Shore while on a two-on-one offensive rush.

After a scoreless second period, both teams pushed to take the lead in the third but it was a defensive battle. Red Deer killed off an important penalty kill and were rewarded a powerplay with less than two minutes to go but were unable to buy a goal.

In the overtime period, the Rebels nearly ended it on several occasions but the Raiders got the upper hand.

Next up, the Rebels will head to Medicine Hat to take on the Tigers at Co-op Place with four games left in the regular season. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.

“How we approach the next day is going to define us as who we are as people, and who we are as characters,” Struch added.

“I think it’s really important that each individual gets ready and approaches every single shift, every game, like we’re going to win it. Because when you go into next year you want to get the right guys on board in rowing the boat. It’s going to be a challenge for the guys but they have to rise to it.”

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