(Image Credit: rdnewsNOW staff)

By Ian Gustafson

Down to the wire

Rebels fall to Tigers but can still clinch playoff spot on Saturday

Mar 20, 2026 | 10:26 PM

In a win-and-you-are-in situation, the Red Deer Rebels fell short on Friday night.

In front of 5,549 fans at the Centrium, the Rebels lost to the Medicine Hat Tigers 9-3 with an opportunity to secure a playoff spot on the line.

Forward Poul Andersen led the way offensively for the Rebels with a pair of goals; meanwhile, Yaroslav Bryzgalov had three goals and a hat trick for the Tigers.

Rebels head coach March Habscheid said his team gave the Tigers far too many scoring opportunities.

“In the first two periods, we had some egregious errors that led to their goals against a team that has some offensive firepower. We can’t create chances for them if we’re going to have a chance against them,” Habscheid said.

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“We handed them some 10 bell opportunities, and we had some chances in the first two periods. We felt like we would get chances, and we just couldn’t get many. We gave up way too many chances.”

As a result, the Rebels remain in sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 58 points.

Red Deer is just one point ahead of the ninth-place Moose Jaw Warriors after they defeated the Swift Current Broncos and one point behind the seventh-place Regina Pats.

This means the Rebels’ fate remains in their own hands as they can clinch on Saturday with a victory over the Tigers on the road.

If they don’t come out on top, they can still make the playoffs if the Warriors, who also play on Saturday, lose in regulation.

There are also a couple of scenarios where the Rebels and Warriors could end up playing in a play-in game against each other.

When asked for his message for the players heading into Saturday’s game, Habscheid kept it brief.

“Just look at the tape, put this one behind us, and move on to tomorrow. [It’s] pretty simple.”

The Tigers scored the opening goal while on the power play with 17:38 left to go in the first period.

Rebels goaltender Matthew Kondro made the initial save, but the puck trickled over to forward Jonas Woo, who knocked it in to the open net.

In the second period, the Rebels pushed right off the opening face-off and came close to finding the back of the net a few times.

Despite that, the Tigers extended their lead to 4-0 with three straight goals from Bryce Pickford, Kadon McCann, and Kade Stengrim.

However, with 10:30 left in the second, Poul Andersen got the Rebels on the board with a superb individual effort.

He made a move around a Tigers defender before cutting in front and whacking at it twice before it beat the sprawled out goaltender.

Stayin' with it! pic.twitter.com/eQA35HxzAO

— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) March 21, 2026

After that, the Tigers tacked on two more from Yaroslav Bryzgalov to lead 6-1.

A minute later, Andersen scored his second of the game on the power play for the Rebels with 59 seconds left in the middle frame.

Poul x2! pic.twitter.com/L5vsJHnMUe

— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) March 21, 2026

Netminder Peyton Shore replaced Kondro to begin the third period after Kondro made just 21 saves on 27 shots.

The Tigers continued to pile it on with goals from Liam Ruck, Andrew Basha, and Bryzgalov. Red Deer also added one more in the last few minutes of the game off the stick of Kohen Lodge.

Fans can tune in on Saturday to see if the Rebels make the postseason. You can catch the action live on 106.7 Rewind Radio at 7 p.m.