By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Rebels apply the sharpshooter to Hitmen in skid-stopping victory

Nov 30, 2018 | 11:01 PM

On the strength of an opportunistic first period, the Red Deer Rebels no longer have to say they’re on a losing streak.

Red Deer defeated division rival Calgary 6-2 on Friday, and improve to 5-0 against the Hitmen this season.

“I thought we were okay. I didn’t think we played great. We spent a lot of time without the puck, and in our own zone,” head coach Brent Sutter said post-game. “Our goalie was good, it was good to see him have a response after his last two games. Certainly we scored on some opportunities in the first half of the game, but we chased the game a lot too.”

Red Deer opened the scoring early, Jeff de Wit scoring his 18th of the season at the 4:46 mark.

Just 91 seconds later, Brandon Hagel scored his 16th goal to make it 2-0 Rebels. Hagel’s 42nd point of the season came just four seconds into a man advantage.

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Then, 1:13 after that, Jeff de Wit scored his second of the period and 19th of the year. The point gave him 100 in his WHL career.

Before the period was out, Chris Douglas scored his 7th and it was 4-0 Red Deer headed to the break.

In the 2nd period, Brandon Hagel was at it again, notching his 17th goal, and also his third point of the night. Unbelievably, this goal came just three seconds into the man advantage, and it was 5-0 Rebels.

At 13:29, Red Deer native Luke Coleman ended the shutout bid for Ethan Anders with his 8th of the year. It was 5-1 after 40 minutes.

In the 3rd, Mark Kastelic cut the Red Deer lead to 5-2 with his 22nd.

<pHowever, Chris Douglas would get his second of the game at 17:39 to put the final nail in the coffin.

“We capitalized on our first chances,” said Jeff de Wit after the game. “I think we were kind of a long way from where we need to be. It was nice to see Dougy (Douglas) score that goal. We’ve got to be a bit better tomorrow, but it was awesome to get those goals and go up 4-0 on a team that was super hot as of late.”

De Wit left the game with about 10 minutes remaining in the third. His status for Saturday is unknown.

Brandon Hagel had two powerplay goals and one assist to give him 44 points and sole possession of 4th in the WHL points race. He was named first star of the night.

Captain Reese Johnson, who was named second star, and Oleg Zaytsev added two assists each.

Ethan Anders made 43 saves for his 15th win in 22 games played. At the other end, 17-year-old rookie Jack McNaughton stopped just 17 of the 23 shots he faced.

The Rebels, who are now 5-0 against Calgary this season, remain atop the Central with 35 points, 12 ahead of 5th place Calgary, who still finish their seven-game road trip an impressive 4-2-0-1.

Edmonton lost Friday and is three back of Red Deer, though the Rebels have three games in hand. Lethbridge is 3rd with 29 points, Medicine Hat has 27, and Kootenay is 6th with 18 points.

Red Deer also made a significant trade Friday afternoon. More details here.

Next action for the Rebels is Saturday night at the Enmax Centrium versus Moose Jaw. Puck drop is at 7 p.m., and the broadcast can be heard LIVE starting at 6:30 on 106.7 The Drive.