By Josh Hall

a giant two points

Rebels coast away with W over Vancouver, bumping five-game slump

Feb 1, 2026 | 8:27 PM

The slump is over for the Red Deer Rebels who win game five of their six-game road trip on Sunday, 2-1 over the Vancouver Giants.

Ahead of the night’s action, Red Deer sat eighth in the Eastern Conference playoff race, tied with Regina on points. They had lost all four on the trip so far, and five straight overall.

Vancouver, meanwhile, sat last in the Western Conference, and was coming off a 9-2 loss on Saturday to Kelowna, who also beat Red Deer last week. The Giants have now lost eight consecutive.

This was the only meeting of the season between these teams.

Scoring Summary

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There was nary a goal in this one until 5:14 of the second period, when Rebels captain Talon Brigley (15th) got the visitors on the board first.

Okay, stand right there and don't move.

Shot by Kohen Lodge, deflected by Talon Brigley!👏👀@Rebelshockey pic.twitter.com/7bCSAYqyQA

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) February 2, 2026

The Giants’ Brett Olson (10th) scored at 10:33 of the middle frame to even things up, that one coming on the power play surrendered by the Rebels bench for Too Many Men.

In the third, Nate Yellowaga (6th) found twine and the eventual game-winner for Red Deer at 6:51. That goal was also a power play marker, as Jaxson Pawlenchuk served a minor for holding.

Smile if you love scoring: 😆😁😄😃😀

Nate Yellowaga's 6⃣th goal of the season for the lead!👏@Rebelshockey pic.twitter.com/pRd6cz429T

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) February 2, 2026

Each team killed off one more penalty later in the third.

Final score: 2-1 Rebels.

Between the pipes, Matthew Kondro (9-12-2-1) made 21 saves for Red Deer, while Kelton Pyne (3-13-1-1) stopped 35 of 37 in the loss.

Red Deer was 1/3 on the man advantage, while Vancouver went 1/2.

Three Stars

1st: Nate Yellowaga (RD) – 1 goal

2nd: Brett Olson (VAN) – 1 goal

3rd: Kalder Varga (RD) – 1 assist

Unfortunately for Red Deer, the Regina Pats also won on Sunday, beating Moose Jaw 3-2 in overtime. The teams are tied with 38 points for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, but Regina has two games in hand.

For those keeping track: Red Deer and Regina have no further games against each other down the stretch.

Next up for the Red Deer Rebels is the final game of their lengthy road trip, on which they’ve gone 1-4 thus far. The finale goes Tuesday evening in Prince George with the third-in-the-West Cougars (29-17-2-0). The Cougards lost 6-5 in OT on Saturday to Penticton. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. MT and all the action can be heard live on 106.7 REWIND Radio.

The Rebels return home Saturday, Feb. 7 to face the Moose Jaw Warriors. Note the 6 p.m. start time.