The Red Deer Rebels weren’t necessarily outplayed during back-to-back Western Hockey League playoff losses to the Saskatoon Blades Saturday and Sunday, at least not to the extent the respective 3-0 and 4-0 scores would suggest.
For example, the visitors held a 33-22 advantage in shots in Game 2 at the Credit Union Centre, including a 17-2 cushion in the third period, but simply couldn’t cash in against a rock-steady Blades netminder Steven Stanford.
Meanwhile, the Blades scored from every angle, and in fact got a pair of goals from two of their lesser-skilled players — grinders Curt Gogol and Darian Dziurzynski.
The bottom line is every Red Deer player has to be better in Game 3 Wednesday at the Centrium, starting with No. 1 goaltender Darcy Kuemper — if he gets the call — who was yanked after allowing three goals on four shots Sunday and sports a 5.86 goals-against average and .806 save percentage in his first two playoff starts.
“I thought we played better yesterday,” Rebels head coach Jesse Wallin said Monday night.
“I’d like to see us get a lead in a game. We’ve played 120 minutes of hockey and 95 of those minutes we’ve been down 3-0.
“We need some saves. Five of the seven goals have come from shots that could have been stopped.
“And we need to find a way to put some pucks in the net. I thought we generated some quality opportunities last night and we have to find a way to get one by this guy (Stanford). From the outset we felt that our power play would have to be a difference in the series and it hasn’t been yet. We need that to be a difference for us. At the end of the day, if we’re going to win games we have to score some goals.”
The Rebels, for the second night in succession, looked somewhat rushed Sunday night, with pucks rolling off their sticks with regularity as they pushed for a goal to get back into the contest.
“The first night we were nervous and last night we got down three goals and started pressing,” said Wallin.
“You think you have to score right away and what you saw last night was guys just trying so hard to win and trying so hard to get back in the game that they were almost over-thinking. They were almost trying too hard.
“We need a good start Wednesday and I like our chances if we keep the puck out of our net and play them straight up.
“It’s tough to play when you’re trying to claw your way back from a three-goal deficit all night long.
“If we can get a lead in this series we can build off that and play more relaxed.”
The Blades drew decent crowds in Games 1 and 2 — with over 4,000 attending the first night and in excess of 3,000 at Sunday’s contest — at the 15,000-seat Credit Union Centre, and Wallin is hoping Rebels fans will flock to the Centrium for Games 3 and 4 Wednesday and Thursday.
“Their (Blades’) crowd was a factor for them. They came out hard at home,” said Wallin. “We have to do that here as well to turn things around. We’ve played pretty well in our building for most of the season and we have to continue to take advantage of home ice.
“I know what this building can be like come playoff time. There’s a new level of energy and hopefully our fans can be a difference for us. We want to perform for them, we want to play well. Our guys want to win and we have to look to turn this thing around Wednesday and hopefully the fans can be a part of that. We’re excited to be back in our own building and Wednesday is a huge game, the proverbial game of the year for our team. That’s the reality now.”
• The WHL head office still hasn’t made a final decision on suspensions regarding Josh Cowen’s charging major late in Sunday’s game and the ensuing line brawl instigated by the Blades. Cowen will likely draw a game or more for bowling Stanford over in his crease, while Blades coach Lorne Molleken is looking at a fine and suspension and at least three of his players are likely to sit one or more contests.
Meanwhile, defenceman Aaron Borejko will likely be inserted back into the Red Deer lineup after being a healthy scratch — along with forward Colten Mayor and defenceman Matt Dumba — for the first two games.
gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com