Rebels 4 Raiders 3
The Red Deer Rebels won their fifth game in a row in dramatic fashion Saturday night.
Captain Reese Johnson played hero as the Rebels were able to knock off the previously undefeated Prince Albert Raiders 4-3.
With the game tied at three late and under two and a half minutes to play, Johnson had a spectacular individual effort to put Red Deer ahead.
The Saskatoon, Sask. native bolted down the wing, deked around Raiders’ defenceman Max Martin and outwaited Ian Scott before sliding the puck in at the far side of the net.
“I wanted to use my speed and get to the net, I was just happy to put it in,” said Johnson about the game-winner.
“He’s a big goalie, I didn’t want to shoot there because he’s so good that way. I wanted to wait him out, so it was good.”
Both Johnson and Brandon Hagel also had key blocks in the dying moments to help secure the victory.
Rebels netminder Ethan Anders was stellar in the contest, with 49 saves and first star honours. He also was able to out-duel the previously undefeated Scott, who made 17 saves in the loss. Scott had a 1.50 goals against average and .949 save percentage coming into the game.
“You gotta win ugly sometimes too,” said Rebels GM/ head coach Brent Sutter.
“They have a very good hockey team. Older team, but our young kids battled and we found a way. We had some good shifts, some bad shifts and we had some shifts that were hit and miss.
“We turned the puck over in areas you don’t like to. We continued to fight and battle and scratch and claw. Big goal by Johnny, our goalie was outstanding. Andy played great.”
Red Deer looked in firm control of the contest up 3-1 with about 12 minutes to play, before the Raiders struck quickly.
A turnover just inside the Rebels’ blueline near the midway point of the third proved costly. Sergei Sapego picked up the puck and from the hash mark wired his fourth of the campaign past Anders.
Just 15 seconds later, the Raiders evened the game at three. Raiders forward Brett Leason fired a shot past Anders who appeared to lose the shot through a crowd.
“Whenever that happens, us leaders on the bench have to do our best to keep everyone calm,” Johnson said.
“It was still a tie game and there was nothing to panic about. We were just happy to get up there and win the game.”
Raiders forward Aliaksei Protas opened the scoring with time winding down in the first period. His shot from the slot fluttered past a screened Ethan Anders with just 12 seconds left in the opening frame.
Rebels veteran Brandon Hagel helped his squad climb back into the game early in the second.
Jeff de Wit slid a slick feed across to his linemate and Hagel chipped it past Ian Scott 2:20 into the period. The goal was a special tally for Hagel, who was playing in his 200th career WHL regular season game, all of which have been in a Rebels uniform. It was also his fourth goal of the season and 14th point.
Despite being heavily outshot in the second, the Rebels continued to push in the third. Arshdeep Bains beat Scott with a weak shot from the top of the circle to give Red Deer a 2-1 lead. It was his first of the season and third career WHL goal.
Linemate Chris Douglas got in on the action just over three minutes later. Hunter Donohoe wired the puck deep off the end wall and the puck bounced right out to Douglas. The Richmond, B.C. native banged his second goal of the year to open up a two-goal advantage.
“Credit to the kids, they didn’t give up. They stayed with it. Every day is a learning day, especially with a lot of these young players and hopefully they learned something too,” Sutter said.
Red Deer picked up their fourth win of the season at home and are in the hunt for top spot in the Central Division. Johnson said despite being outshot 52-21, the team battle through some adversity to pick up another win.
“I think everyone worked hard and that’s what we want,” Johnson added. “Being hard workers every night and we definitely have some areas to clean up. It’s a great win, we’re happy with it.”
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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