(Image Credit: Red Deer Rebels/Taylor Lachance)

By Ian Gustafson

Playoff hunt

Red Deer Rebels held scoreless in loss to Oil Kings

Feb 27, 2026 | 10:04 PM

At a time of the year when the Red Deer Rebels need to be winning games, they’ve struggled.

On Friday night, they were shut out by the Oil Kings at the Centrium for their fourth-straight loss.

Rebels head coach Marc Habscheid said they had plenty of chances to score, including several on the man advantage, but couldn’t find a way.

“Even five-on-five we had chances, and I think we had four posts,” he said. “We were probably the better team tonight, but didn’t win. That’s all that matters at this time.”

With 11 games remaining, the Rebels are in desperate need of victories. Currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, they trail the Moose Jaw Warriors by one point for the final playoff spot and are behind the Regina Pats by five points for seventh place.

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“We’re one point back, and we’ve got two games in hand, so we’ve just got to win games. This one’s done, it’s behind us, so we can grieve until midnight. Tomorrow’s a new day, and we’ve got a big game tomorrow night,” Habscheid added.

The Oil Kings opened the scoring 48 seconds into the game when forward Lukas Sawchyn was found by his teammate in behind the Rebels’ defence.

Sawchyn was sprung on a breakaway off the feed from Kayden Stroeder and beat Rebels netminder Matthew Kondro with a shot up high.

The Rebels had numerous close calls on the attack but were unable to tie it before the first intermission.

After a scoreless second period, the Oil Kings nearly potted a shorthanded goal near the midway mark in the third.

Once again, the Rebels were relentless on the offensive end in the final frame and were rewarded with a five-on-three power play. One of the penalties handed out was a four-minute high-stick. However, they couldn’t capitalize.

The Oil Kings sealed the deal with an empty net goal late in the game.

Edmonton Oil Kings netminder Parker Snell was fantastic with a 34-save shutout. Meantime, Kondro had a solid performance with 21 saves.

Next up, the Rebels will return to action on Saturday when they host the Swift Current Broncos at 6 p.m. in the Centrium.