Oil Kings 3
Rebels 1
The Red Deer Rebels’ struggles continued on Saturday.
The Rebels were fresh off a loss to the Oil Kings on Friday night at home and for the second straight night, the Rebels fell 3-1 to the Oil Kings at Rogers Place.
Head coach Derrick Walser said he felt his team played more physically but a lack of scoring and undisciplined penalties played a factor once again.
“In the first period, we were on our toes but we can’t take four minors in a row. It drains you and it gets into the flow of the game,” Walser said.
“We didn’t execute on our opportunities on the powerplay and it was the difference in the game. You can’t win games when you score one goal. You have to get more desperate and have to be willing to pay the price.”
The Rebels’ four straight penalties came at the end of the first period and into the second frame. Even though the Oil Kings didn’t capitalize on the man advantage the Rebels struggled to create any momentum.
That led to the Oil Kings’ first goal off the stick of Cole Miller just under five minutes into the second period.
The Oil Kings found the back of the net again early in the third period scored by Gracyn Sawchyn with under 13 minutes to go.
The Rebels cut into their lead late in the third when Carson Birnie scored his 13th of the year but with eight seconds left Edmonton put the game out of reach with an empty net goal.
The Rebels struggled on the powerplay failing to score on six opportunities on the man advantage. The Oil Kings also couldn’t score on five powerplays.
“You have to get traffic to the net and get guys jamming at the net at the same time. A shoot-first mentality because again the goalie saw everything tonight. Too many pucks he saw clean and it’s not good enough.”
A bright spot for the Rebels was the performance from rookie goaltender Chase Wutzke who made 33 saves on 35 shots. Walser said he gave them a chance to win.
“He only gave up two. I thought he was aggressive and he played well. He gave us the opportunity just like Stoesser did the other night. We’ve got to find a way to generate more offence,” Walser added.
The setback marks the Rebels’ ninth loss in the last 10 games. With 13 games left in the regular season, Red Deer has plenty of time to get back on track but the clock is ticking.
They’ll get the chance on Monday when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes at 2 p.m. at the Peavey Mart Centrium.
“We’ve got to have a good work ethic and try to stay mentally strong. We’ll prepare for Monday and make sure we’re rested and ready to compete. Discipline is going to be the key. We can’t keep giving teams five to six minor penalties a night.”