With one month remaining in the Western Hockey League season, the Red Deer Rebels still have plenty to play for.
Red Deer has just 12 games left in the schedule and is tied with the surging Swift Current Broncos for fourth in the Eastern Conference.
If the playoffs started today the Broncos would host the Rebels in the opening round but with a dozen games left both teams still have an opportunity to move up the standings.
The Rebels also trail the third-place Moose Jaw Warriors by four points and the central division-leading Medicine Hat Tigers by six points.
However, this is bound to change with the Warriors, Tigers, and Broncos all in action on Friday night.
With no more head-to-head matchups against the Tigers, it may be tough to catch them but the Rebels face the Broncos two more times before seasons end.
The first will take place in Red Deer on March 1 and the second in Saskatchewan on March 20 which will be the third last game of the regular season. Depending on how close they are to each other in the standings those could decide who finishes higher in the standings.
Despite that, the Rebels are focused on the games in front of them. This Saturday they’ll host the WHL’s newest franchise the Wenatchee Wild for the first time.
The franchise, formerly known as the Winnipeg Ice, is in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 28-23-4-0 record.
Red Deer will then hit the road for a pair of road games through Saskatchewan early next week. On Tuesday they’ll face the WHL’s top team the Saskatoon Blades at the SaskTel Centre at 6 p.m. Mountain time followed by a matchup in Prince Albert on Wednesday against the Raiders at the Art Hauser Centre at 6 p.m.
The last time the Rebels faced the Blades it ended in a 5-4 victory for Red Deer at the Peavey Mart Centrium in January. This will be the final matchup of the season series which is led 2-1 by Saskatoon.
Prince Albert had Red Deer’s number the last time they faced off beating the Rebels 4-3 in the shootout at the end of January. Despite that, the Rebels lead the season series 2-1 over the Raiders.
The Rebels have battled the injury bug recently as forward Carson Latimer is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. Rookie forward Jeramiah Roberts is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and defenceman Quentin Bourne is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.