The Red Deer Rebels month of February did not go as planned.
After a strong start to the new year in January, the Rebels trended downwards in February posting a 3-8-1-1 record through 13 games.
That’s hardly ideal with just nine games remaining in the regular season.
“It’s been quite a swing in the wrong way,” said owner and general manager Brent Sutter on Thursday.
“There’s reasons for it but this month’s over with and we’ve got to start new.”
The Rebels have nine games in March before the start of the Western Hockey League playoffs. Despite the slide, Red Deer remains just two points behind the Swift Current Broncos for fourth in the Eastern Conference. They’re also five points behind the Medicine Tigers for the lead in the central division.
The Rebels have a big opportunity this Friday to tie the Broncos in the standings when they face them at the Peavey Mart Centrium. They also play each other again in Swift Current on March 20.
Among the items on the list of priorities for Sutter is getting back some consistency in their game. He also hopes to see them return to a more structured and competitive style of play.
“The amount of goals we gave up this month is not acceptable and it’s tough to win games when your goals against have been what it is,” he added.
The defensive side of the game has typically been a strength for the Rebels but in February they gave up four or more goals in seven of their 13 games.
Despite that, they still have allowed the fourth least amount of goals in the league. Only the Portland Winterhawks, Prince George Cougars, and Saskatoon Blades have allowed fewer.
“We’ve got to tighten up in a lot of areas and we’ve got to get more consistency in those areas… There’s basics to the game of hockey and the number one thing to check those boxes off is we’ve got to get our compete level back to where it needs to be,” he said.
The Rebels have also seen the rise of Chase Wutzke who has posted a 2.53 GAA and a .913 save percentage this season. He’s also helped Red Deer win 18 games with 12 losses.
Netminder Rhett Stoesser has also been solid in net with a 2.97 GAA and a .894 save percentage. He’s dropped his last two starts in net and has recorded a 10-10-0-3 record.
“Every team that wants to be successful has to have good goaltending but you also have to have all of the elements in front of your goaltender to not have to rely on one player to get a win,” Sutter said.
This time of the year Sutter said it’s important to be trending upwards and to see their game improve both individually and as a team. The Rebels have struggled in both of those areas the last four weeks.
“We need to change the narrative on that and we’ve got to get to a different level here, play at that level, and play consistently,” he added.
They’ve been without veteran forward Carson Latimer since he was ruled out indefinitely with an upper-body injury in mid-February.
He had a hot start with the Rebels compiling 24 points but was out long term with a knee injury he suffered on Nov. 28. He returned to the lineup on Jan. 20 but only suited up in 10 games before breaking his jaw in practice.
Sutter explained fans shouldn’t expect to see him return before the end of the regular season. They’ll reassess where he’s at in March and move forward from there.