Rebels 8 Thunderbirds 2
So, who said the Red Deer Rebels would have trouble scoring this season?
Clearly, someone clearly forgot to pass that message on to the Rebels, who put on an offensive clinic while swamping the Seattle Thunderbirds 8-2 in a WHL contest played before a recorded crowd of 5,021 Friday at the Centrium.
“Yeah, it’s good to have one of those games once in awhile,” said captain and first star Adam Kambeitz, who sniped a pair of goals.
“We kind of got away from our game a bit in the second period but obviously it was a good game for us.”
The Rebels peppered Thunderbirds starting goalie Calvin Pickard and back-up Daniel Cotton with 47 shots en route to the one-sided victory. Patrick Bartosak faced just 20 shots for Red Deer.
“It was a well-played hockey game,” said Rebels GM/head coach Jesse Wallin.
“We came out in the right frame of mind. We felt this was a real important game for us with our next six games on the road. We wanted to finish off at home on the right note.”
The Rebels fired 11 shots at Pickard through the first half of the opening period without striking pay dirt, then watched as the T-Birds connected on their first shot as Burke Gallimore one-timed a pass through the crease at 9:58.
Red Deer struck back just 17 seconds later when Mathew Dumba took a drop pass from Turner Elson and ripped a wrist shot past a screened Pickard.
“I liked the way we responded to their first goal on their first shot,” said Wallin.
And there was much more to come, in the first period alone.
Cory Millette scooped up a turnover behind the Seattle net, moved in front and scored on a scramble at 14:53.
Millette connected again at 18:01 when he worked off the boards and stepped around Pickard, and John Person jumped on a turnover at the T-Birds blue line, broke in alone and scored on a backhand deke 35 seconds later.
After outshooting their guests 20-4 through the first 20 minutes, the Rebels eased off on the gas pedal somewhat in the second period, yet still managed to score three times.
“We got a little passive and backed off a bit in the second, but we re-engaged and re-focused in the third and did a good job,” said Wallin.
Kambeitz notched his seventh of the season at 3:46 of the middle frame, spelling the end for Pickard, who finished with 22 saves.
Kambeitz then scored on a Red Deer power play at 8:03, finishing off a nifty three-way passing play that involved Millette and Brooks Maxwell, and Elson tipped home a point shot by Aaron Borejko eight minutes later.
Chance Lund replied for the T-Birds in the final minute of the period, but the Rebels stormed out the gate and dominated the final frame, enjoying a 16-4 advantage in shots and getting a late man-advantage goal from Elson.
“We had a lot of odd-man rushes tonight and that was due to our forwards coming back hard and our D-men standing up at the blueline,” said Kambeitz.
“We were able to turn the puck over and get a transition game going and we were able to score on some of those chances.”
The eight-goal outburst followed a 5-0 win at Lethbridge the previous weekend.
“We’ve definitely been playing well these last couple of games by finishing checks, working hard and communicating,” Kambeitz added.
The forward unit of Maxwell, Millette and Mason Burr was outstanding.
“They were a very good line for us,” said Wallin. “They were going out the door and carrying the play.”
For Maxwell, it was his first game back since suffering an upper-body injury in early October.
“He looked like he’d been playing for the last month as opposed to sitting for a month,” said Wallin. “And it was good to see Cory get rewarded. He’s played well for us and had a lot of scoring chances, but has been a little snake-bitten.”
The Rebels are in Cranbrook tonight to face the Kootenay Ice, then head to the interior and coast of B.C. next week.
gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com