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Rebels fall to Giants in Vancouver

Nov 15, 2017 | 9:26 PM

A night after ending their six game losing streak, the Red Deer Rebels couldn’t keep the momentum going in Vancouver, dropping a 4-2 decision to the Giants.

James Malm opened the scoring for the home side when he beat Rebels goalie Ethan Anders 7:48 into the first period.

Red Deer responded with 30 seconds left in the period as Kristian Reichel put home his ninth goal of the season past Giants netminder David Tendeck.

The two teams also traded goals in the second period. Brandon Cutler gave the Rebels a 2-1 lead when he scored his first goal of the season, from a near impossible angle, at the 6:17 mark. Brayden Watts pulled Vancouver back even when he tallied his eight of the year a little over six minutes later.

In the third, Red Deer thought they had taken a 3-2 lead when the referee signaled a goal for Reese Johnson. However, video replay showed Johnson’s shot instead rang off the crossbar.

Later in the period, Malm put home a rebound to give Vancouver their second lead of the game with just under eight minutes left to play.

Reichel came close to tying the game again when he fired a shot of his own off the crossbar with less than two minutes remaining. That’s as close as the Rebels would get as Ty Ronning sealed the deal with an empty netter for Vancouver, his 20th goal of the year extending his goal scoring streak to eight games.

Edmonton Oilers prospect Tyler Benson finished with three assists on the night for Vancouver.

The Rebels outshot Vancouver 33-31 and were 0/2 on the power play while the Giants were 1/2.

Immediately after the game, the Rebels hopped on the bus and headed to Cranbrook where they will battle the Kootenay Ice on Friday (7 p.m. on 106.7 The Drive). They will also tangle Saturday at the Enmax Centrium (7 p.m.) as the Rebels play their first home game since Nov. 1.