Another quick start for the Prince Albert Raiders put the Red Deer Rebels behind the eight-ball early and a couple of passes gift wrapped the game and a 3-0 series lead for the Raiders.
The fans had barely sat in their seats before a neutral zone giveaway found the stick of Noah Gregor. He made a move around a defender then deked out Ethan Anders. It was the team’s first shot.
“Goals happen, we shouldn’t sit back after a goal.” Rebels captain Reese Johnson on his team’s effort following the opening goal just 69 seconds in.
“This is always a tough barn to play in, Red Deer always plays really good here. Getting a quick lead is always good for us,” Prince Albert Raider forward Noah Gregor remarked on his teams’ quick start.
There would be more shots, namely for the Raiders as they put the rubber to Anders early and often.
They’d be the recipients of another gift, this time while killing a penalty. With 6:38 to play in the first period, Dante Hannoun swiped the puck from Brandon Hagel in the slot and headed down the ice. The diminutive speedster overwhelmed the Rebels defense and he was in the clear for a shot on Anders. The rocket clanged off the post and fell behind Anders to stake the Raiders to their third straight 2-0 lead to start the game.
Prince Albert put 15 shots on Anders, to just five shots that Red Deer directed on Ian Scott.
Red Deer had a much better start to the second period.
Just 4:37 in, Hagel scored his fourth goal of the series. His hard work in the Raiders end created some space and he fired a puck at Scott. With the Calgary, AB native down, the rebound landed right back on Hagel’s stick and he buried it to bring the Rebels back to within a goal.
There really wasn’t much more action for the Rebels after they scored, Prince Albert’s forecheck kept the Rebels hemmed in their own end for the better part of the last 15 minutes. The Raiders again outshot the Rebels by a 13-6 margin.
While it didn’t look pretty in the third period, the Rebels kept hanging around. The shots Prince Albert were able to muster were turned aside by Anders, he also had some help from the posts on a couple of occasions.
“Their goalie was real good. He made some key saves and we hit a lot of posts and missed a lot of the net,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid.
“When we hit the net, he made some real good saves. I liked our energy and we skated real well. It’s great, we got three but we need one more.”
“There just wasn’t enough urgency in our game, especially the first two periods. Andy stood on his head, he played outstanding for us. When you get that many shots and give up 40-plus, you’re not winning the hockey game. It wasn’t a great outing by us.” said Rebels GM/ head coach Brent Sutter.
Unfortunately, more of the same problems plagued Red Deer in the last five minutes of this contest.
Yet another giveaway in the neutral zone created a grade A chance for the Raiders, and with the skill they have, they make you pay.
Noah Gregor’s second goal of the night, and the series was a heartbreaker for the 3199 fans in attendance. He corralled the puck in the neutral zone and was able to blow right by the defense. His shot made no mistake as it bent the twine.
Red Deer though, did not throw in the towel after the Raiders reclaimed a two goal lead.
With Anders on the bench and just over a minute left to play, Hagel directed a shot on Scott from the side of the net. The rebound went straight to Reese Johnson, and he had nothing but net to shoot at. His first of the series made it a one goal game.
Alas, it was not enough. Head Coach Brent Sutter called a timeout to rest the players on the ice. Once Red Deer gained possession of the puck Anders was yanked from the cage again. Parker Kelly collected an errant pass and marched into the Rebels zone unscathed. The wide open net gave the Raiders a 4-2 win and a 3-0 series lead.
“We spent a lot of time chasing. We never had much of a forecheck at all. They’re a good team but you have to get after them,” said Sutter following the contest.
“I didn’t like our forwards at all tonight, there was no urgency at all getting in there to battle and compete. Then when you have turnovers in the neutral zone, in our zone.”
“We chased a lot of numbers tonight.”
Rebel Yell… The three stars were Noah Gregor (2G) Ethan Anders (38 saves) and Dante Hannoun (1G). Both teams power plays were fruitless, Red Deer was 0-for-2 and Prince Albert was 0-for-4. Noah Gregor had 8 shots on net to lead all players, Hagel led the Rebels with 3. The teams will play Game 4 on Wednesday at 7pm at Westerner Park Centrium in Red Deer.
