(Image Credit: rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Ian Gustafson

B.C. road trip

Rebels comeback effort falls short in loss to Penticton Vees

Jan 25, 2026 | 7:40 PM

The Red Deer Rebels’ road trip through B.C. got off to a rocky start on Sunday.

They fell 5-3 to the Penticton Vees in the club’s first-ever matchup with the franchise, which joined the Western Hockey League as an expansion team last summer.

The Rebels went down by three early but managed to claw their way back and tie it in the second period.

However, despite the Rebels’ best effort to get back into the game, the Vees scored twice in the third period to pick up their 14th straight victory. The Rebels outshot the Vees 39-37.

Penticton struck first and early as Brady Birnie opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game with a laser from the blue line.

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The Vees then added another goal from Matteo Danis with 11:19 left, followed by a strike just over a minute later from former Red Deer Rebels forward Noah Milford, who had a wide-open opportunity off the feed in front of the net.

That led Rebels head coach Marc Habscheid to call a timeout in an effort to rally his troops.

It appeared to pay off as forward Kalder Varga notched his 13th goal of the year on a sweet move off the setup from Beckett Hamilton with 3:43 remaining in the first.

GET ON YOUR HORSE, KALDER VARGA.🏇🏇🏇@Rebelshockey | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/EPvr9PnqZ8

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) January 26, 2026

In the second period, the Rebels built on their momentum and scored a couple of goals to tie the game at three.

The first came from Captain Talon Brigley just over three minutes in on a rebound opportunity in front of the net.

Brigley gets it done. #RDREBELS #WHL pic.twitter.com/yIYQm35tn1

— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) January 26, 2026

And then, with 13:13 left in the frame, forward Cameron Kuzma found the equalizer with a short-side goal while skating toward the right side of the net.

Cameron Kuzma goes🆙

We're all tied up, 3-3.👀@Rebelshockey | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/Xt3kuwvSfg

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) January 26, 2026

In the third period, the Vees retook the lead with 10:53 left in the game. After a shot from a Penticton defenceman, the puck went straight up and over the netminder in the crease before Jacob Kvasnicka tapped in the loose puck.

Penticton then took a 5-3 lead with 8:09 left with a shot from Diego Johnson that fluttered over the goalie and in.

That turned out to be the final goal of the evening, despite the Rebels pulling their goalie late in the game.

Next up, the Rebels still have five games left in the road trip, including a stop in Kelowna on Tuesday, Jan. 27, against the Rockets and in Kamloops on Wednesday against the Blazers. Both games are set for 8 p.m. Mountain time.

All Rebels games can be heard live on 106.7 Rewind Radio.