Rebels fall short in third-period push against Warriors

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Shore left the bench even though he was pulled for the extra attacker to go after the Warriors’ netminder, Matthew Hutchison. However, the officials put an end to that before it could even get started.

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Head coach Marc Habscheid said he liked the way his team stuck up for one another.

“That’s part of the identity that’s been here for a long time, and we want to be a tough team to play against. At the end, the guys didn’t like what happened, so they reacted a bit and stuck together. That can be a galvanizing thing for your group,” he said.

Following Red Deer’s loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Habscheid said he wanted to see more from the older players.

Tonight, he said the effort was better but believes there’s still room for improvement.

“We’re not going to accept losing, that’s just not a part of our DNA, but we did like the effort,” Habscheid added. “If we keep competing like that and our execution gets better, we’ll be fine.”

Following multiple high-quality scoring chances for the Rebels, the Warriors drew first blood in the opening period after Casey Brown chipped the puck past the defender for a breakaway. All alone and shorthanded, he fired a shot over the blocker of Rebels netminder Chase Wutzke.

The Rebels found the equalizer with 6:17 left in the opening period. Captain Talon Brigley screened the goaltender and redirected a point shot from defenceman Keith McInnis.

However, the Warriors retook the lead four minutes later when Lankovic entered the zone with speed and split the Rebels’ defenceman before scoring his fourth of the season.

In the second period, forward Matthew Gard scored to make it 2-2 just under a minute and a half into the frame. He knocked in a rebound in front of the net following a shot from Samuel Drancak.

Moose Jaw followed that up by scoring a pair of goals within five minutes of each other. The first came off the stick of Riley Thorpe on the power play, five minutes into the period, followed by a goal from Kash Andresen.

The goal by Andresen sparked a goalie change by the Rebels, who replaced Wutzke with Peyton Shore. Wutzke made 12 saves on 16 shots before he was pulled. Meantime, Shore made six saves on seven shots.

Over three minutes later, former Red Deer Rebel Steven Steranka increased the Warriors’ lead to 5-2, assisted by Brady Ness.

Red Deer showed signs of life with a goal from forward Jaxon Fuder to cut into the lead heading into the second intermission. Fuder’s shot bounced off the end board, off the back of the goalie, and in.

In the third period, they continued that momentum with a snipe from forward Beckett Hamilton nearly five minutes into the final period.

Red Deer pulled their goalie in an attempt to find the equalizer, but were unsuccessful.

Habscheid said he wants his team to play with effort and intensity, both of which were present in their game.

“I liked the effort, the try, the compete, and those types of things. We scored some goals, so it’s something to build off of,” Habscheid said. “It’s not the outcome we wanted, we’re not happy about that, but I just came from the room and the guys are upset and ticked off. That’s what we want because losing is no fun and it’s not acceptable.”

The Rebels now have a 1-6 record and are in last place in the Eastern Conference. Next up, they’ll head to Lethbridge on Saturday to battle the Hurricanes at 6 p.m.

“We like our guys; it’s a good group. We just have to keep working away, and we as coaches have to find a way to help our group. That’s what we plan on doing.”