(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

another one in the win column

Blades no match for rockin’ and rollin’ Rebels

Feb 5, 2022 | 9:30 PM

The Red Deer Rebels just keep rolling, now winners in four of their last five games.

The latest victory was a 6-1 butt-kicking of the Saskatoon Blades, on the road a province over.

Red Deer came in 28-13-2-1, four points back of Edmonton for first in the Central Division. Saskatoon entered the game at 23-15-1-1, third in the East Division, 13 points back of Winnipeg for first.

And it was yet another big night for the Rebels’ two machine guns, Ben King and Arshdeep Bains, who came in tied for second in points league-wide with 59 apiece.

Bains added three goals and two assists with eight shots on goal, notching his second hat trick of the season. It was also the first five-point game of his WHL career. The performance gives him 64 points in 45 games, leapfrogging the Blades’ Kyle Crnkovic for tops in the league.

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King tallied three assists, giving him 34 goals and 28 assists for 62 points in 45 games, third-best in the league. Though he had none tonight, his 34 goals lead the WHL, four ahead of Everett’s Jackson Berezowski.

Crnkovic, for what it’s worth, was held pointless by the Rebels on this night as the defense also turned in a marquee performance.

It was actually Saskatoon drawing first blood on Saturday, Brandon Lisowsky (23rd) scoring at the 15:52 mark of the first period, but that was all the home team would muster.

Kalan Lind (9th) scored on the power play 1:56 later, Bains and King getting their first points of the night with assists, and it was 1-1 after 20 minutes.

The rest of the scoring came in the second period.

Arshdeep Bains (21st) scored what would stand up as the game-winner at 3:16 — another power play goal — with King and Christoffer Sedoff getting the helpers.

Bains (22nd), with King assisting, scored his second of the night to make it 3-1 at 4:50.

At 7:11, Jace Isley (9th) scored to make it 4-1, unassisted.

Bains (23rd) completed the hatty, with Jhett Larson assisting, at 10:08.

The final nail in the coffin was Liam Keeler (21st) scoring at 12:19, Bains once again assisting, with Sedoff adding his second helper of the night.

The 6-1 goal was the Rebels’ third power play goal of the night, giving Red Deer 50 power play markers on the season, tied with Saskatoon for most in the league. The Rebels also have the league’s third best man advantage at 26.7%, compared to the Blades in second at 28.6%, and Winnipeg in first at 30.1%.

Red Deer outshot Saskatoon 36-19 Saturday, going 3/5 on the power play, while the Blades finished 0/3.

That boosts Red Deer’s penalty kill to 80.8% on the season, sixth-best in the WHL.

Between the pipes, Connor Ungar stopped 18 of 19 to improve to 15-6-1-0. On the losing end was Ethan Chadwick, who stopped 19 of 25 before being pulled in favour of Nolan Maier who stopped the final 11 shots Red Deer fired the Blades’ way.

Bains, King, and Sedoff earned first, second and third star honours, respectively.

Edmonton also won on Saturday, remaining four points up on Red Deer for first the Central, and the same number of games played (45).

Next up for Red Deer is a date with the Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday, Feb. 8 in Manitoba. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. Mountain, with the broadcast live on 106.7 REWIND Radio at 5:50.