The Red Deer Rebels' offence wasn't clicking in a road loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings.
On Saturday, Oct. 12, the Rebels were defeated 5-1 by the Oil Kings in a divisional matchup at Rogers Place in Edmonton. This was Red Deer's third straight loss, dropping the team's record to 4-3-1 early on in the 2024-25 Western Hockey League season.
Oil Kings forward Gracyn Sawchyn got his team on the board first, tucking a wraparound attempt between the right pad of Rebels goaltender Chase Wutzke and the post 4:02 into the opening period. Edmonton captain Gavin Hodnett doubled his team's lead about eight minutes later by hammering a one-timer from a tough angle to the back of the net.
In the dying seconds of the opening frame, Roan Woodward chipped a shot over Wutzke while on the power play to extend Edmonton's lead to three. Rhett Stoesser replaced Wutzke in the Rebels net at the beginning of the second period.
Edmonton forward Cole Miller scored on his own rebound to put his team up 4-0 nearly five minutes into the middle frame. Landon Hanson scored another for the Oil Kings 13:05 into the second.
Samuel Drancak nearly got the Rebels onto the board with a breakaway opportunity late in the second, but Oil Kings goaltender Alex Worthington stuffed the Red Deer forward's backhand shot attempt with his left pad.
Rebels defenceman Hunter Mayo broke Worthington's shutout bid with a wrist shot 1:45 into the third period. The goal, assisted by Derek Thurston and Carson Birnie, was Mayo's third of the season. That was the final tally for either team, as the game ended 5-1 for the Oil Kings.
Worthington stopped 29 of 30 Red Deer shots, while Stoesser stopped 16 of 18 after replacing Wutzke, who stopped nine of 12.
The three stars of the game were all Oil Kings players: Gracyn Sawchyn (first), Ethan MacKenzie (second) and Cole Miller (third)
The Rebels will now turn their attention to a road matchup against the Calgary Hitmen at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Then this weekend, the Rebels will play host to a pair of home games.
The Saskatoon Blades come to town on Saturday, Oct. 19 to battle the Rebels at the Peavey Mart Centrium — puck drop is set for 7 p.m. On Sunday, Oct. 20, Red Deer hosts the Oil Kings in an afternoon matchup at the Peavey Mart Centrium — puck drop is 4 p.m.
