There was a lot to talk about last night in Red Deer before puck drop. The team had made a big trade with the Kootenay Ice sending River Fahey (’01), Austin Schellenberg (’00), Justin Svenson (’01), unsigned 2018 WHL draft pick Chase Bertholet (2003 born) , a 2019 1st round pick, a 2019 3rd round pick, a 2020 2nd round pick and a conditional 2020 3rd round pick for 1999 born forwards Cameron Hausinger and Brett Davis.
There was also something different about Ethan Anders. When he made his way out onto the ice it was noticeable right away. Something that has not been done in the Brent Sutter era of the Red Deer Rebels.
The first painted mask to be worn by a goaltender. It is painted in Red Deer Rebels colors and logos and it has a lot to do with Central Alberta.
But there was a game to be played and the Rebels were looking fresh in their fourth jerseys in bright white with black, burgundy and cream trim.
It was about four minutes of the first period spent in the Rebels end of the ice, the Hitmen were applying a lot of pressure on Anders and the defenders.
At the first opportunity for the Rebels, they would capitalize. Alexander Alexeyev drew all the defenders attention in the Hitmen end. This left Jeff de Wit wide open and Alexeyev’s pass was perfect. All de Wit had to do was slide the puck into the open cage and it was 1-0.
It was a sign of things to come in the first for the Rebels.
91 seconds later on a Rebels power play, Reese Johnson won the ensuing faceoff to Brandon Hagel. Just four seconds into the power play, Hagel powered into the slot area and sniped a goal beyond Jack McNaughton to make it 2-0 on the Rebels fourth shot of the game.
Another 73 seconds and the Rebels padded their lead on the eventual game winning goal. A short breakaway for Jeff de Wit resulted in a goal that would be reviewed by the officials. de Wit’s original chance pinged off the post and slid along the goal line. McNaughton attempted to cover the puck but his opportunity was denied by a Hitmen stick that poked the puck beyond the line. de Wit’s team leading 19th made it 3-0 and the clock at not yet wound down past eight.
It was time for the second line to get in on the action. An Ethan Sakowich point shot was tipped in the slot area by Chris Douglas. His seventh goal of the season came on the Rebels seventh shot of the night.
McNaughton would settle in after the fourth goal. It was obvious that the Hitmen bench brass did not want to throw in AP goaltender Brayden Peters, who had just been called up from the midget AAA Lethbridge Hurricanes.
The period ended with the Rebels up 4-0. It was their most productive period of the season.
<div class=”s2nPlayer k-bdCNxQeVeq-471789-8970″ data-type=”float”></div><script type=”text/javascript” src=”https://embed.sendtonews.com/player3/embedcode.js?SC=bdCNxQeVeq-471789-8970&sound=off&offsetx=0&offsety=0&floatwidth=400&floatposition=bottom-right” data-type=”s2nScript”></script>
The second period would not see as many goals scored, the teams would trade goals.
Five and a half minutes into the period on their third power play of the night, Brandon Hagel would make quick work of the five-on-four chance. Reese Johnson’s work in the faceoff dot would again prove fruitful.
Almost exactly eight minutes later, the Hitmen broke the shutout bid for Anders.
Vladislav Yeryomenko took a shot from the point that Anders gave up a huge rebound on. The puck landed on the stick of local product Luke Coleman. The Hitmen’s 32nd shot of the night would get past a sprawling Anders to make it 5-1.
That’s how the period would end. The Hitmen were controlling much of the play in the second and led on the shot clock 36-18.
The Hitmen just didn’t go away in the third period either.
Jeff de Wit was nowhere to be found in the final 11 minutes, he had made his way down the tunnel and did not return. He was available post game, and had this to say about the team’s performance, “I thought we capitalized on our chances in the first period, but we were kind of a long way from where we needed to be. We had a tough second and third period. It was nice to see Dougy (Chris Douglas) score that goal. We gotta be a bit better tomorrow.”
Out shooting the Rebels 9-5 in the period, the Hitmen did get back to within three goals with eight and a half minutes left to play. Mark Kastelic scored his 22nd goal of the season, good for third in the WHL. A Jake Kryski shot produced a rebound that would evade Anders and Kastelic just tucked it over Anders shoulder.
Kastelic nearly made it a two goal game just a few moments later as he rang a shot off the post behind Anders.
Chris Douglas would seal the deal though with his second of the night. Oleg Zaytsev’s hard work behind the Hitmen net gave Douglas an opportunity to slide into the high slot. Zaytsev’s pass was perfect and Douglas was able to beat McNaughton for the sixth goal of the night.
Following the game, Brent Sutter discussed his thoughts on how he saw the 6-2 final.
“I thought we were ok, I didn’t think we were great.”
“We spent a lot of time without the puck. Spent a lot of time in our own zone.” Sutter added.
“Our goalie was good. Was good to see him have a response from the last two games he played.” commented Sutter on Anders return to the net following a two uninspired starts.
“We scored on some opportunities in the first half of the game. I thought we chased the game a lot, I thought our defensemen did a pretty good job. Our forwards made too many turnovers. Our positional play we need to work on that and get better on that.” ended Sutter before moving on to talk about the deal he made before the game.
Rebel Yell… The three stars of the night were Hagel, Johnson and Coleman. Carson Focht was the best Hitmen faceoff taker, he was 10-of-19. Reese Johnson led the Rebels at 17-for-27. It is believed that the Rebels newest forwards will make their debut tonight as the Rebels take on the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Warriors defeated the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 last night. Red Deer was 2-for-5 on the power play and the Hitmen were 0-for-2.
