Just a few weeks ago, no one would have thought to call the Red Deer Rebels a team that would be contending for a playoff spot. They had losing streaks of 11 and 13 and sat in the basement of the Western Hockey League standings.
There were some players dealt at the deadline and the team’s fans were left wondering if the Rebels might not be contending for the first overall draft pick in May.
The team has turned things around in the last 28 days, going 6-3-3 since the trade deadline and closing the gap on the Kootenay Ice to just four points. The two teams will play three more times over the next five weeks of regular season play.
The Rebels and Calgary Hitmen would take this game to a shootout for the second straight match-up between the two teams. It was also the third straight game that went to extra time.
The Calgary Hitmen took an early lead, as Connor Chaulk tipped a point shot by Andrew Viggars 2:49 into the first. The redirection fooled Ethan Anders, as there were multiple bodies in front of him. The play began when the Rebels couldn’t get the puck out of the zone and Viggars had a clear shot at the Rebel net.
A snowy night in Red Deer would see the lights flicker on and off, the audio in the arena not work and the fire alarm to ring in what many are calling the ghost of the Enmax Centrium. No one is sure what actually caused all the malfunctioning but it made for an interesting night on many fronts.
Red Deer pressured Calgary in the later stages of the first period, the line of Mason McCarty, Arshdeep Bains and Grayson Pawlenchuk provided the offense the team needed to knot the game at one before the period was done. With 2:22 to go in the first, McCarty nabbed a pass from Bains in the slot and riffle a heavy wrist shot past Nick Schneider. The fans who did make it out to the rink were boisterous in cheering for their hometown heroes.
The Rebels kept the pressure on for the final two minutes, forcing Schneider to make some really good saves. The teams would head down the tunnel even at one a piece.
Despite not making the score sheet, Vladislav Yeryomenko was dangerous all night. Yeryomenko was putting pucks to the Rebel net, making plays in his own end and generally aggravating the entire Rebels roster. Early in the second he made Anders work hard to preserve the tie, busting into the slot and putting a wrist shot just within reach of the Rebels netminders’ glove.
The continued hard work by the third line of Johnson, Tarzwell and Douglas would result in another Rebel goal, this one giving the Rebels their first lead of the night. Johnson and Douglas worked the puck off the boards right in front of their own bench. Johnson passed the puck to Douglas just inside the Hitmen blueline, Tarzwell went to the net from the far side and created just enough of a distraction for Schneider, as Douglas was able to rip a shot just under the outstretched glove of Schneider. This goal would come on the power play, Red Deer’s second opportunity of the night.
On the Rebels next man advantage it would be the Hitmen who scored. With Riley Stotts in the box, Tristen Nielsen and Carson Focht had a two on one. The Rebel defender went sliding down to take away the pass and Nielsen would shoot above Anders. The puck would go up and under the crossbar for a goal. The goal would be reviewed but it stood and the teams were tied up at two.
Right at the buzzer, Jakob Stukel was denied a great chance for the Hitmen to take the lead. While cutting in front of the Rebel net, Stukel’s shot hit the sprawling leg of Anders who was able to keep the game tied at two headed to the locker room for the second intermission.
The teams would trade chances and hit posts on both ends of the ice in a sloppily played third period. Both goaltenders had to be sharp as the defensive lapses were plenty. Neither team was able to put a puck in the net before the game expired and send the teams to an extra five minutes and some three on three hockey.
Again the teams would trade chances, with Red Deer having the best opportunity to score when Pawlenchuk was sent in on a partial breakaway. Hitmen goaltender Schneider was able to stop him, along with 39 other pucks during the game. “We did a good job in overtime. I just felt that our focus was better and we were handling the man-on-man situations well,” said Head Coach and GM Brent Sutter post-game “We knew when to generate a chance and when not to make a high risk play to give up an opportunity.”
Kristian Reichel was the first shooter in the skills competition. He would score on a lucky bounce, the puck hit the post and banked off the back of Schneider and into the net. It would be all the offense the Rebels would need as they would take this game 3-2. After the game Brent Sutter had this to say about the shoot out goal, “We got a break, no question, it was certainly a lucky goal, but sometimes you earn your luck and maybe in the last couple of weeks we’ve earned some.”
Rebel Yell… The three stars for this game were 1) Nick Schneider (39 saves) 2) Chris Douglas (1 PP goal) 3) Ethan Anders (29 saves). Yeryomenko led the Hitmen with 5 shots on goal while Grayson Pawlenchuk led all skaters with 7. Carson Focht was the best in the face off circle for Calgary going 12-for-21 while Reese Johnson went 15-for-26 for Red Deer. With the game tied in the third period the Rebels took their only penalties that led to a man advantage, both for Delay of Game. The Red Deer power play was 1-for-4 while Calgary was 0-for-2. The next action for the Red Deer Rebels comes on Friday as they host the Edmonton Oil Kings in the front half of a weekend home and home series. The next action for Calgary is also on Friday, they travel to Medicine Hat to take on the Tigers.
