It just wasn’t meant to be on this night for the Red Deer Rebels.
Medicine Hat piled on goal after goal and did not let up at any time until the final buzzer sounded.
The lone bright spot for the visitors was an early goal from Josh Tarzwell, his fifth of the season. It was the only goal from 20 shots that would get past Tigers starting netminder Mads Sogaard.
That goal came a minute and 15 seconds after the Tigers scored on their second shot of the game just 33 seconds in. Daniel Baker had his first of the night, a point shot that blazed past everyone and into the top corner behind Ethan Anders.
Baker gave the Tigers the lead, one they would not look back from, at 4:06 of the first period. With Anders screened again, the 2001-born defenseman riffled another shot high and it fooled Anders.
“It was nice to get us started, I think it was a good screen in front by the forwards. It was really nice to get two early.” said Tigers defenseman Daniel Baker.
“It felt unbelievable, I think it was pretty much from the same spot. I just picked a spot and had a good screen.”
Shortly after the mid-period break, the Tigers were adding to their lead. A loose puck in the Rebels defensive zone was scooped up by Caleb Willms. His second goal of the season gave the home side a two goal lead.
That’s how the period ended, the Tigers also led the shot clock, 13-9.
The second period did not go well for Red Deer either. Medicine Hat added three more goals before the period was out and had a 6-1 lead.
Scoring in the period were James Hamblin, short-handed, Ryan Chyzowski, on the power play and rookie sensation Cole Sillinger at even strength.
“It was a great response, I thought all four lines really just came to play. It showed in the second period. We came and out worked them,” said Tigers forward James Hamblin.
Byron Fancy replaced Anders to start the third for the second consecutive night.
The third period was no different from the first two periods, Medicine Hat scored three more goals to finish off the Rebels in convincing fashion.
With his second goal of the evening, Sillinger made it 7-1. His seventh of the season leads all rookies in scoring. He is also tied with Pavel Novak of the Kelowna Rockets with 11 points among all rookies.
The Rebels became unhinged at this point of the game, taking penalties and stirring up fights with the Tigers. The unruly play led to the Rebels being down two men.
Nick McCarry scored the eighth goal for the Tigers and the team’s second on with the man-advantage. For the 18-year-old McCarry it was his second goal of the season.
As the final minute ticked off the clock, Willms added his second of the night.
“Red Deer had a tough one last night there at home against Portland, that’s a tough team to play they have lots of speed and I think they were a little worn out with the travel coming in but I thought our guys were jumping hard and I thought we had lots of energy tonight,” added Tigers general manager and head coach Willie Desjardin following the night’s action.
Rebel Yell… The Tigers swept the three stars 1) Sillinger (2G, 1A) 2) Hamblin (1G, 2A) 3) Baker (2G,1A, GWG). Red Deer was out shot for the eighth time in nine games, 40-20. Chyzowski led all players with 5 shots on net. Red Deer was 0-for-1 on the power play, Medicine Hat was 2-for-5. Ethan Sakowich was given a 10-minute misconduct penalty with less than 8 minutes to play. There were also 2 fights in the game. The two teams meet again in Red Deer on November 15th, it will be the third of six matches between the division rivals.
Medicine Hat next takes on the Saskatoon Blades at home on Tuesday October 15th. Red Deer’s next action is on Friday the 18th as they host the Edmonton Oil Kings.
