(Image Credit: Red Deer Rebels/Taylor Lachance))

By Ian Gustafson

6-3

Rebels push top-ranked Silvertips but come up short

Feb 10, 2026 | 10:14 PM

The Red Deer Rebels knew they were going to need to bring their ‘A’ game on Tuesday night as they welcomed the top-ranked Everett Silvertips.

The Canadian Hockey League’s best Silvertips have only lost nine games this season and haven’t lost since Jan. 16.

Despite a strong effort by Red Deer, they fell to the Silvertips 6-3 at the Centrium after outshooting their opponents 36-32.

“They’re a very good team, but we just talked about it now, we kind of beat ourselves in the second period,” said Rebels head coach Marc Habscheid. “We respect them, but their three goals in the second, like I said, we beat ourselves. We didn’t think that would happen, but that’s kind of what happened.”

The Rebels erased a two-goal deficit in the first period to take a 3-2 lead early in the second period. The Silvertips went on to score four straight to snap the Rebels’ three-game winning streak.

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“We don’t want to be a measuring stick; we could have won this game,” Habscheid said. “We outshot them, and they were pretty good early in the first, but then after that, we went toe-to-toe with them. In the second period, when they got those three, those were on us… That’s something we can control and need to control when we’re playing against good teams in tight games.”

Silvertips captain Tarin Smith got his team on the scoresheet first, less than a minute in with a shot from the middle of the offensive zone that beat the goalie through traffic.

A few minutes later, Everett extended their lead 2-0 with a power play marker from forward Matias Vanhanen.

After that, it was all Rebels for the rest of the period.

Forward Cameron Kuzma scored Red Deer’s first tally of the night with 3:09 left when he knocked in his own rebound on the right side of the net following a wrap-around attempt.

Mama jamma! 🕺

Cameron Kuzma jams in the loose puck to get the @Rebelshockey on the board.#RDREBELS | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/P1YIolY7FT

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) February 11, 2026

With 43 seconds to go, Red Deer forward Kalder Varga ripped a shot past the goalie on the power play off a great pass from captain Talon Brigley.

NO HESITATION! 🤩

Kalder Varga snaps his 14th of the season to make it even.@Rebelshockey | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/QxuH38FBON

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) February 11, 2026

In the second period, the Rebels took their first lead of the game, 3:18 into the frame, off the stick of forward Tyson Yaremko, who buried an opportunity in front of the net, assisted by Beckett Hamilton.

Steal ✅ Shoot ✅ Score! 🤩@Rebelshockey pic.twitter.com/w67UxFMo1i

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) February 11, 2026

The Silvertips tied it with 12:21 left in the middle frame on an opportunity in front of the net by Jaxsin Vaugan.

Everett then retook the lead with a goal from Carter Bear and another from defenceman Landon DuPont, who fired a slap shot in from the point on the power play.

In the third period, the Rebels pulled their goalie with approximately three and a half minutes left in an effort to tie it. However, the Silvertips scored an empty netter to seal the deal.

Both goalies were solid in net, including 26 saves from Red Deer’s Matthew Kondro and 33 saves from Everett’s Raiden LeGall.

The Rebels remain in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 17 games remaining. They’re three points ahead of the Regina Pats, who also lost on Tuesday.

Next up, the Rebels will welcome the Medicine Hat Tigers to the Centrium on Friday at 7 p.m.

“We’re a young group, we know that, but we’re not going to hang our hat on that. We’ve got to find ways to win, and it’s up to me to help these kids grow and turn into the best players they can be,” Habscheid said. “We’re here to win championships and get these guys to move on.”