Sometimes when teams get into a groove, they think they can settle in. Red Deer has seen both sides of getting into a groove this season and of late. It seems the team is settling into the wrong side of the groove.
Red Deer has been allowing teams to control the puck in both ends of the ice and it has shown on the scoreboard. Over their three games in four nights the team has allowed four, six and six goals against. When scoring is at a premium for your own team, this generally results in a sting of losses. Following the game against the Hitmen in Calgary, Red Deer has now lost two straight. The game before this losing streak went all the way to a shoot out.
The Rebels needed to come out and show that the game before in Medicine Hat was not the norm. The team allowed more than 50 shots on net and were out scored 6-1.
For the first 40 minutes, the Rebels were in control of the game. The team built up a two goal lead just past the half way point in the game but fell apart after their second goal.
The first period was especially dominant by the Rebels. They out worked and out shot the Hitmen to the tune of 17-7. 17-year-old rookie netminder Matthew Armitage was sharp through the first 20 minutes. He was able to stop 16 shots, allowing just the one goal to give Red Deer a small lead heading into the intermission.
That goal came 5:31 into the period on a Brandon Hagel snipe. Hagel’s 13th came on the power play, and was assisted by Grayson Pawlenchuk and Dawson Barteaux.
The second period was more closely matched, especially after Reese Johnson made the Rebels lead two. His goal came 11:02 into the second period, Mason McCarty got the puck to him and he was able to beat Armitage. It was his 22nd goal of the season.
After this point something snapped in the Hitmen’s collective minds and they were able to turn the tide in their favour.
While no goals would come in the second period for Calgary, the pep talk in the dressing room after 40 minutes must have got the boys going.
Exactly 40 minutes after Red Deer’s first goal of the night, Calgary would score theirs. With Hagel in the box for holding, Riley Stotts would 
score his 16th goal on the power play.
47 seconds later the Hitmen would tie it up at two. Phoenix, Arizona native Mark Kastelic scored for the second night in a row, his 17th of the season.
Just a little over five minutes later with the Hitmen continuing to hold court, it would be Dakota Krebs’ turn to get in on the action. One of the pieces of the Jake Bean trade earlier this year, Krebs would get his fourth goal in Hitmen silks. The goal would hold up as the eventual game winner but the Hitmen were not done there.
Less than two minutes later Jakob Stukel would join the goal scoring party with his 33rd goal of the season. It was his first of the game and the second would come with the net empty at 19:32.
And just when you think things couldn’t get any worse for the Rebels, Zach Huber scored his second WHL goal 14 seconds later.
An absolutely abysmal third period for the Rebels, they were out scored 6-0 and out shot 22-6.
Rebel Yell… The three stars of the night were a sweep for the Hitmen 1) Jakob Stukel (2g,2a) 2) Riley Stotts (1g) 3) Matthew Armitage (30 saves). Calgary won the faceoff battle by taking it 43 times on 76 chances. Carson Focht was the best Hitmen at 15-of-26 while Kristian Reichel was 10-of-20. Jakob Stukel took 7 shots at Anders while three Rebels had 4 shots each. Red Deer is now off until Friday night when they hit the road to Lethbridge to take on the Hurricanes. Calgary’s next action comes on Wednesday, they too hit the road, to Swift Current to take on the Broncos.
