The Red Deer Rebels weren’t at their best for 40 minutes Saturday night, but once again they found a way.
Red Deer won its fourth straight game, earning a 4-3 overtime victory against the Kootenay Ice. They also picked up their ninth win in 10 games at the Centrium.
Captain Reese Johnson played hero for the Rebels, finishing off a natural hat trick with a one-timer in overtime on the power play.
“We practice those types of situation in practice lots. Obviously getting the one-timer through the seam is pretty huge, it was a nice pass from Hags,” Johnson said.
“It’s awesome, obviously at winning at home in OT is one of the best feelings in hockey, it was awesome.”
The home side went three-for-four on the power play in the contest and also scored shorthanded early in the third.
As has been the case on many occasions this season, it was the top line that stirred the drink for the Rebels.
Brandon Hagel, Reese Johnson and Jeff de Wit combined for nine points on the night. Hagel had four assists, Johnson notched the hat trick and de Wit added a goal and an assist in the victory.
On a two-on-one early in the first, Ice forward Owen Pederson opened the scoring for the visitors.
Red Deer’s power play then struck midway through the period to tie the game. Hagel fired a slap pass towards the net and de Wit was johnny on the spot to direct it in. The goal was de Wit’s 14th of the year and eighth in his last nine games.
After a bad Ethan Sakowich pinch inside the Ice blueline, Connor McClennon went the length of the ice on a two-on-one and buried glove side past Ethan Anders.
The Rebels pushed back again midway through the second and tied the game at two. After a few strong shifts deep in the Kootenay end, Arshdeep Bains burst into the zone, feathered a pass to Zak Smith who found a streaking Alex Morozoff. It was his second goal in as many games.
Reese Johnson scored his first of three goals on the night and gave the Rebels a brief advantage. Originally a tip went off the crossbar and both the goal horn and goal light went on, but as play continued, Johnson pushed home a loose puck for his 11th goal of the year.
Just over three minutes later, McClennon struck again. He corraled a bouncing puck and slide it five-hole on Anders.
“They have some skill guys, but part of it was turnovers,” Rebels GM/ head coach Brent Sutter said.
“We turned pucks over in certain areas, especially in the first two periods. They are a really good transition team and if you don’t manage pucks the right way and support where the pucks are at and you get above they play, then you give up odd-man rushes. That’s what happened in the first two periods. That’s just a focus thing.”
RELATED:
Melin eager to breakout for Rebels
Highlights: Rebels win third straight, rout Rockets 7-0
Johnson added his second goal to the ledger just 2:25 into the third and opened up the lead again. Shorthanded, Hagel drove wide and slid a pass across to the Rebels’ captain, who tapped a shot into a wide open net.
With 57 seconds left in the Ice advantage, they found a way to tie the game at four. McClennon drew another assist on the Johnathan Smart power-play tally.
Red Deer dominated possession in the final eight minutes of the contest, but could not find the winner.
In overtime, the Rebels got a break when Jeff de Wit was tripped and they made the Ice on the ensuing advantage.
“Because something doesn’t go exactly right on one shift, you can’t let it bother you the next shift. I thought the first two periods we allowed it to,” Sutter said.
“But in the third, we settled down and we did a good job. I thought in overtime we were good too and we did a good job staying on the right side of pucks and our man and got an opportunity and capitalized on it.”
Sutter also noted that after a 7-0 win Friday night, it was easy for his team to get complacent and that was noticeable in the first half of the game before they buckled down.
“It was a battle. Hard game. As soon as one team would get momentum, the other team would strike back and get the momentum back and even it up,” Sutter said.
“You come off a game like (Friday), you have to park it and move on. Your preparation can’t be any different and we allowed ourselves a little bit of frustration to set into our game in the first two periods and some adversity just from the way the game was being played Some adversity from the coach and you learn from that. You get that stuff thrown at you. You have to deal with it the right way.”
The Rebels travel to Cranbrook Nov. 23 to take on the Ice and are back at home on Nov. 24.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter