The Red Deer Rebels (17-26-10-3) made the short trip up north to Edmonton to face off against the Oil Kings (15-32-5-2), in a game broadcasted by Sportsnet. The Oil Kings returned to Rogers Place following a six game road trip, which saw them go 1-5. Josh Dechaine got the nod for the Oil Kings today while Ethan Anders stepped into the crease for the Rebels.
A scoreless first period ensued with the Red Deer Rebels dictating the play for the most part, and keeping the puck in the offensive zone. Edmonton seemed to struggle to stay out of the box early and gave Red Deer two power play opportunities in the first 20. Shots after the first were 13-5 in favour of the Red Deer Rebels.
Edmonton broke the scoreless tie early in the second period. A short handed goal by rookie Liam Keeler came off an errant pass by goalie Ethan Anders that allowed Keeler to find the open net. Edmonton still struggled to stay disciplined, allowing three more power play opportunities for the Rebels all of which Red Deer couldn’t capitalize on. Goaltender Josh Dechaine had played great thus far, and has been the key element to the Oil Kings lead. Shots after two were 21-12 for Red Deer.
After only one goal through two periods, we saw a flurry of goals in the third – three for both Red Deer and Edmonton. Starting with Red Deer tying the game at one, Reese Johnson found the loose puck in the slot and put it by Dechaine. Red Deer would take the lead shortly after, Brandon Cutler found his own rebound and put a shot over the glove of Dechaine. Two goals within 30 seconds of each other gave Red Deer their first lead of the game. Edmonton’s rookies would score once again, ’00-born David Kope redirected Conner McDonald’s point shot to tie the game at two. Colton Kehler would later score on the power play to regain the Oil Kings lead. It was a power play goal and gave Kehler his 24th of the season. Red Deer did tie the game late with Reese Johnson’s second of the game, but Edmonton’s Trey Fix-Wolansky then scored with eight seconds left in the game on a redirect off his own skate. The result was a 4-3 win for Edmonton over Red Deer with the final shots being 32-22 for Red Deer.
Game Notes:
-Edmonton struggled to stay disciplined, giving Red Deer five power play opportunities in the first two periods. Trey Fix-Wolansky’s game winning goal looked controversial to me. I felt he directed it in with a kicking motion but the goal would stand. Brandon Hagel has continued to get under the skin of the opponent in Edmonton. It seems every time he makes his way up north he ends the game on the other team’s bad side or with an added misconduct to his name.
NHL Draft Notes:
-Brett Kemp – Kemp, who has had a productive second season in the WHL, looked great in this one. He’s a slippery player with the puck who plays fairly possessive, exploiting even the smallest of lanes with the puck and generating a tonne of offensive chances. Brett’s got a pass-first mentality and hard to contain skill. I could see an NHL team taking a late round stab. Kemp has all the tools to produce at a high rate in the WHL.
-Dawson Barteaux – A puck moving defender who has some good offensive tools. He distributes the puck with power and precision to high percentage targets and is on their first power play unit. He thrives with his vision on the blue line. Dawson’s fairly static in his own zone and definitely needs to work on being more assertive defensively.
-Josh Tarzwell – He’s a perimeter player who is slippery along the wall and likes to slow the pace of play down to his speed. Josh is fairly skilled and good in finding open ice. He does seem to be inconsistent shift to shift though and struggles with the puck under pressure.
-Jacob Herauf – An enthusiastic two-way defender who plays with physicality. He’s willing to activate off the blue line and creep down and make himself an option. He controls the gap well and can close in on guys in the neutral zone. I think he will start to produce well next season if he gets opportunities to play more on the blue line because he looks more comfortable every time I watch him.
-Chris Douglas – Hard to contain energy and protects the puck well. He’s a playmaking forward who plays an up tempo game and attacks with speed. Sometimes his feet are too fast for his hands and struggles to control the puck.
