The Red Deer Rebels had a successful weekend in Saskatchewan, recording a pair of shutouts.
On Friday, Jan. 31, Rebels goaltender Peyton Shore stopped 18 shots to earn his first Western Hockey League shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Regina Pats.
"It was awesome to see (Shore) get the win and get his first shutout. The players were super excited for him. He battles, works hard every day, whether he's playing the game or not," said assistant coach Mike Egener.
The Rebels forward Talon Brigley tipped a point shot from defenceman Doogan Pederson past Pats goaltender Kelton Pyne just 1:27 into the game to put his team ahead.
Kalan Lind scored in his return to the Rebels lineup. The Red Deer forward had missed eight games with an upper-body injury. Rebels captain Ollie Josephson also returned to the lineup on Jan. 31 — this was his first game since Dec. 30.
Derek Thurston added an empty-netter to give Red Deer the 3-0 victory.
"It was a pretty complete game by our group," Egener added.
On Saturday, Feb. 1, Chase Wutzke backstopped the Rebels to another 3-0 victory, this time over the Moose Jaw Warriors.
"It's nice to get two shutouts back to back. It's a really good boost for this team right now," said assistant coach Clayton Beddoes.
"We're taking care of the puck through the neutral zone and getting it into the offensive zone more. Getting those high percentage plays along the offensively blue line is really important. It contributed to our defensive game, in that we're not playing in our end as much and reducing turnovers."
After two scoreless periods, Noah Milford scored his first WHL goal 2:41 into the third period to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.
"He's played a couple really good games. He's come a long way since training camp, especially his strength and confidence. I was really happy to see him get a goal tonight," said assistant coach Clayton Beddoes.
Lind scored his second in as many nights 5:10 into the final period and Derek Thurston added an empty-net goal to life Red Deer to the 3-0 victory.
Red Deer is currently 10 points out of a playoff spot. The club sits ninth place in the WHL's Eastern Conference with a 18-25-4-2 record.
The Rebels will play three straight home game over the next week: Friday, Feb. 7 against the Moose Jaw Warriors, Saturday, Feb. 8 against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and Tuesday, Feb. 11 against the Regina Pats. Puck drop is 7 p.m. for all three of these home games.