(Red Deer Rebels/Taylor Lachance)

By Alessia Proietti

Three consecutive wins

Rebels earn shutout win against Wheat Kings in final 20 seconds

Nov 24, 2023 | 10:53 PM

The Red Deer Rebels went out with a bang Friday night, beating the Brandon Wheat Kings 2-0 with both goals scored in the final 20 seconds of the game.

After back-to-back wins in the past two of six consecutive home games, Red Deer goaltender Rhett Stoesser brought the team to a third win with a shutout, further proving his title as WHL Goaltender of the Week.

READ: Rebels netminder Stoesser named WHL Goaltender of the Week

Only one power play opportunity occurred for the Rebels in the first period but was left uncapitalized. Brandon outshot Red Deer 9-6 and the scoreboard was left untouched.

In the second period, the Wheat Kings were presented with a few chances at a power play goal but also left them unscored. With Red Deer gaining puck dominance in the middle frame, outshooting Brandon 10-6, the game was still stuck at zero.

Last seen March 31

Missing: Eugenie Headman, 66, of Maskwacis

Apr 04, 2026

mayor hopes to meet housing minister this month

Alberta demands Ottawa back off on housing funding stripped from Red Deer

Apr 02, 2026

Last seen Jan. 15

Missing: Courtney Cattleman, 17, of Maskwacis

Apr 02, 2026

It was in the last 20 seconds of the game that the Rebels brought the win home with Ollie Josephson scoring his third goal of the season on a rebound off Brandon’s goaltender Ethan Eskit. Assisted by Kai Uchacz and Jhett Larson, the Rebels were finally on the scoreboard 1-0.

As the Wheat Kings pulled out their netminder in an attempt to tie the game, Red Deer’s Kai Uchacz scored an empty netter just eight seconds later, assisted by Matteo Fabrizi. The Rebels won 2-0 by the end of the final period.

The Rebels outshot the Wheat Kings 15-10 in the third and overall 31-25.

The win puts the Rebels in fifth place of the Central Division with 9-9-0-3 while the Wheat Kings are second last in the Eastern Division at 10-10-4-1.

Power play

RD: 0/4

BDN: 0/1

Three stars

1^st: Ethan Eskit (BDN) – SV29

2^nd: Rhett Stoesser (RD) – SV25

3^rd: Kai Uchacz (RD) – G1, A1

Rebels Coach Derrick Walser commented on the game’s slowness, adding he particularly didn’t like the first period of the game, but gave a shout-out to goaltender Stoesser and first goal scorer of the night, Ollie Josephson.

“Early days when you’re sitting there and you had a tough period, we were coming down out quite big of a hole and Stoesser kept us in it and he’s seeing the puck right now and it’s great to see the guys are battling for him,” he said.

About Josephson, he said, “he’s one of those guys you don’t worry about; he works hard every day, gives you everything he’s got every night.”

Red Deer Captain Kai Uchacz echoed a similar comment, adding they missed a few high-quality scoring chances.

“I guess it took us a full 59 minutes and a half almost. We stuck with it; our goaltender kept us in it. I think we had a little bit of a slow start but, like I said, stuck with it and found a way later,” he said.

The Rebels remain at the Peavey Mart Centrium for their fourth home game in a row out of six Saturday night against the Regina Pats. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. with the broadcast live on 106.7 REWIND radio 30 minutes before.