Rebels drop home opener to Oil Kings

“In the second and third periods, Edmonton pushed back, and they were physical,” Kisio said.

Saturday’s game was the second straight contest where the Rebels outshot their opponent by a large margin.

Kisio said their lack of scoring certainly wasn’t because of a lack of chances.

“Our guys worked hard; we were around the net. We have to get a bit more traffic in front of the net. The chances are there; we’ve just got to bring it home,” he added.

The Rebels’ lone goal scorer was forward Kalder Varga who potted a goal in the first period; meanwhile, goaltender Matthew Kondro made 23 saves on 25 shots.

Edmonton netminder Ethan Simcoe was on top of his game with 41 saves on 42 shots.

Kisio said Kondro made some big saves that kept them in the game.

“He played well, really well,” Kisio said.

The Oil Kings also had the special teams advantage with two power-play goals on six opportunities. The Rebels were held scoreless on seven power plays.

The Oil Kings scored the first goal of the game with 12:30 left in the opening period.

While on the man advantage, Oil Kings forward Jensen Marsh fired a shot that Rebels defenceman Jake Missura redirected into the net.

The Rebels tied the game with 6:27 left off the stick of forward Kalder Varga.

The 18-year-old got a clear look at the net from the slot after the puck found his stick off the faceoff, and he made no mistake.

After a scoreless second period, the Oil Kings took a 2-1 lead nearly two minutes into the third.

In a bit of an unlucky play, an Edmonton shot bounced off the boards behind the net and landed in the crease before Kondro unknowingly knocked it in with his skate.

Edmonton then sealed the deal with an empty-net goal with 47.9 seconds to go.

Varga said the team had a strong start but felt they played undisciplined later on. He said they need to play more like professionals.

“We gave that one to them, so it’s tough to see with how good of a crowd we had. It’s tough to lose one at home, but we’re going to bounce back, regroup, and move on from this,” Varga said.

“We’re getting quality chances, we’re getting good looks, we’ve just got to execute, and become more like pros… Tomorrow is going to be a day of reflection and to heal our bodies.”

The Rebels were fresh off a 3-2 overtime loss in Calgary on Friday night. The good news is, despite a 0-1-0-1 start, it is just the start for this Rebels team as there are still 66 games to go.

Red Deer was also without their captain, Beckett Hamilton, who is attending the Colorado Avalanche’s training camp this week.

Next up, the Rebels will head to Lethbridge next Friday, Sept. 25, to play the Hurricanes, followed by a home game against the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Centrium.

by Ian Gustafson

Rebels drop home opener to Oil Kings

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