(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Ian Gustafson

Home sweet home

Rebels tame Tigers in 4-3 shootout victory

Nov 21, 2025 | 10:49 PM

In the first matchup of the season against the Medicine Hat Tigers, the Red Deer Rebels took down their Central Division rivals in a 4-3 shootout victory.

On Friday night in front of 3,717 fans at the Centrium, Samuel Drancak and Beckett Hamilton scored in the shootout for the Rebels and goaltender Matthew Kondro made 32 saves and stopped both Tigers shooters in an impressive performance.

The rookie goaltender said it felt good to get the win in just his second career WHL shootout.

“The boys played great in front of me. That’s a great team over there, and it’s a big win for us,” he said. “That was my second shootout. The first one didn’t go as well, but this one went pretty well, so it was lots of fun.”

The youngster said he felt confident in the net and knew his team also had some good shooters, which helped.

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“I knew the boys could do it,” Kondro added. “It’s all about belief for us. We have a great group. If we play well, there’s not a team in this league we can’t beat.”

Head coach Marc Habscheid said he was proud of his team for beating the defending champions.

“At the start, I think we were a little bit slow, but we respect them, but sometimes I think we gave them too much respect. Once we got those two goals, we realized we could play with them, and then we just kept moving,” Habscheid said.

“I liked a lot about our game. We were good, we were fast, and we played together. They needed to be rewarded. Justice was served tonight.”

The Tigers jumped out in front with an early 2-0 lead in the first period.

With 12:11 left in the opening frame, Tigers defenceman Bryce Pickford fired a shot from the blueline that made its way through traffic and into the back of the net.

Just 42 seconds later, forward Dayton Reschny knocked in a loose puck in front of the net following up a shot from forward Cam Parr.

“[Kondro] played really good, he was solid, and made some key saves. [Medicine Hat] got those two goals early, but he didn’t really miss a beat, he didn’t get rattled, he just stayed with it, and our guys played well in front of him,” Habscheid added.

However, the Rebels came right back with two goals of their own.

The Rebels scored their first of the game with 9:38 left, off the stick of defenceman Nate Yellowaga. The rookie scored his first WHL goal after he was sprung on a breakaway off a pass from Jaxon Fuder.

Just 24 seconds later, Drancak found the back of the net on a backhand wrap-around attempt. His goal marked his 10th of the season and extended his goal streak to eight games.

The Rebels’ longest goal streak belongs to former Red Deer Rebel forward Arshdeep Bains, who had goals in nine straight games during the 2021-22 season.

The Rebels took the lead with 10:55 remaining in the second period while on the power play. Forward Beckett Hamilton fired a shot, but a Tigers defenceman, in an effort to clear the puck from in front, knocked the puck into his own net.

The Tigers answered 1:35 later with a goal from Kadon McCann to tie the game at three. His shot made it through a lot of bodies in front before beating Kondro.

In the third period, the Rebels were unable to break the tie, despite being awarded a pair of power plays late in the frame.

Overtime was needed, and the Rebels had plenty of opportunities to end it, but were unable to buy a goal. Despite that, the big guns showed up when it mattered most in the shootout.

Friday night’s game also marked the return of Matthew Gard, who served a five-game suspension for a hit to the head.

Next up, the Rebels will host the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday, Nov. 28, at the Centrium at 7 p.m.

“We’re building to get better every game… The guys did good and I’m proud of them,” Habscheid said.