It was a wild and historic night for the Red Deer Senior AA Rustlers in Penhold.
The club dropped the puck in their inaugural North Central Hockey League home opener Saturday night in front of a packed house and treated their supporters to a 3-1 win over the Devon Barons.
“They came out hard, just like they did in Devon. They’re a pretty solid team. Obviously, they have a solid goaltender. I think it just took us a little bit to get going,” said team president and Rustlers captain Mike Dempster.
“Once we got going, got the puck in and started winning battles and it titled our way.”
Dempster said it was a special night and the team was happy to see the building as full as it was at puck drop and they hope it will continue through the rest of the season.
“It’s unbelievable if we can still get support like that and we’ll keep trying to put the show on the ice,” he added.
The crowd was anxiously awaiting a goal before Rustlers forward Andrew McArthur finally brought them out of their seats late in the second.
Almost 37 minutes in, McArthur was johnny on the spot at the side of the Barons’ net to poke home the Rustlers’ first home tally to tie the game at one.
“We had a ton of chances,” Dempster said.
“I got three or four in the first period that should have been easy goals. Once the first one went in, it was a little bit of a weight off. The fans got going and the cowbells got going. Just felt like you could breathe a little bit and play hockey.”
Less than two minutes later, Eric Frere scored what was the game-winning goal, again poking home a loose puck past Barons goalie Tanner Schalin.
Brennen Francon iced the game for Red Deer with a wrist shot from the slot just short of the 10-minute mark in the third.
Despite the loss, Schalin was brilliant in the opening 20 minutes for Devon and stood tall most of the night to keep the Barons in the game. He finished the night with 38 saves.
Rustlers netminder Brett Bothwell stopped 29 shots to earn the win for Red Deer.
Before the game started, Wynne Dempster, who played for the Junior ‘A’ Rustlers in 1969-71 and was also the head coach and general manager from 1980-85, dropped the ceremonial faceoff.
“It’s pretty close to my family, my dad played for the Rustlers and coached. Right off the bat, we knew that was the name we wanted and that was the heritage we had to bring back. Everything we do, we want to do the name proud and add a new chapter,” the Rustlers captain said post-game.
The Rustlers will next host the Sylvan Lake Pirates in Penhold on Oct. 20.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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