Rebels 5, Oil Kings 2
Red Deer Rebels forward Brandon Hagel went into beast mode against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Hagel, 20, notched a natural hat trick and added a fourth goal in the third period to power the Rebels to a 5-2 over the Edmonton Oil Kings.
“I thought we hung tight. We got off to a great start on the first two shifts but the rest of the first period wasn’t great,” said Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter.
“We settled into our game and played much better and did some good things.”
Hagel’s first goal just 68 seconds into the game put the Rebels up 2-0 and it was a highlight reel tally. He split the Oil Kings defence and slid a shot five-hole past Edmonton goalie Boston Bilous.
Jake Neighbours brought the Oil Kings within a goal midway through the period but Rebels netminder Ethan Anders turned aside 19 shots in the frame to keep Red Deer ahead. Anders finished the night with 41 saves. Hagel added his second of the night 1:16 into the second period but again the Oil Kings responded when Trey Fix-Wolanksy found the mark at 7:15 of the second.
The Rebels alternate captain scored his hat-trick goal 49 seconds after the Fix-Wolansky tally to restore the Red Deer advantage.
“We got more engaged in the second period and we started finishing checks and moving our feet. We were more intelligent and harder on pucks. We just did a better job in all those areas,” Sutter said.
Hagel capped off the spectacular night with a goal midway through the third period, it was also his team leading eighth goal of the campaign. He has 19 points through 10 games this season.
“Every shift he was on the ice he had something happen. He’s been playing this well the whole time for us. It’s been good,” Sutter said.
With the win, the Rebels moved into first in the south division with a 6-3-1 record and 13 points, just ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers and Oil Kings. The Rebels will be back at the Centrium for their first home game in two weeks Saturday when they take on the Kootenay Ice at 7 p.m.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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