Ollie Josephson has been stepping up for the Red Deer Rebels as the 2024-25 Western Hockey League regular season nears its end.
The Rebels captain has 13 points in the eight games played between Feb. 21 and March 12. This includes a three-goal, two-assist effort in a comeback 6-4 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on March 11.
Fellow Rebels forward Kalan Lind has also been piling up points for his team over the past couple weeks. From March 1-13, Lind has nine points in six in games, including a two-goal, three-assist performance against the Warriors — the same game where Josephson also put up five points.
It's been a tough season for both Josephson and Lind when it comes to health. Josephson has missed 20 games this season due to injury. Despite that, Josephson has the most points among all Rebels, with 34 in 43 games. Meanwhile, Lind has missed 31 games due to injury. In the 32 games he's played, Lind has 25 points in 32 games, which puts him at a 53-point pace over a complete 68-game season.
Red Deer defeated the Swift Current Broncos in a tight 2-1 game on Wednesday, March 13. Jaxon Fuder, Doogan Pederson and Brett Calhoon were Red Deer's goalscorers in the game — Josephson collected an assist in the victory. Rebels goaltender Peyton Shore stopped 20 of 22 shots.
"I thought we were buzzing out there from the puck drop. We played a hard game. (Shore) did a great job in our net," assistant coach Mike Egener said in a post-game video posted by on social media by the Rebels.
"We felt the pressure from (the Broncos), but we held with it and kept things simple, and battled it out until the very end."
Following Red Deer's home game against the Prince Alberta Raiders on Friday, March 14 at the Westerner Park Centrium, the WHL club will only have four games remaining on the season.
The Rebels will travel to Medicine Hat on Saturday, March 15, to take on the Eastern Conference-best Tigers. Red Deer will then travel to Calgary on Wednesday, March 19 to battle the Hitmen.
Red Deer's final home game of the 2024-25 regular season is set for Saturday, March 22 against the Calgary Hitmen, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. Then the Rebels will wrap up the regular season with an afternoon road game against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
