The Red Deer Rebels can finally breathe a collective sigh of relief.
In their first trip of the season to Medicine Hat, the Rebels hung on for a 4-1 victory over the Tigers to snap an 11-game losing streak.
The last win for Red Deer was all the way back on Nov. 14 against the Victoria Royals.
It was just the Rebels fourth victory in their last 20 games.
Defenceman Alex Alexeyev scored twice in the game including an empty-net goal to seal the victory.
Goalie Ethan Anders played his first game for Red Deer since Dec.1 after being held out with a lower body injury. The Regina, Sask. native looked strong in his second appearance of the month, stopping 11 shots in the first, 10 in the second and six more in the third to earn first star honours.
Alexeyev opened the scoring for the Rebels just 81 seconds into the game. His second goal of the season came on a blast of a slapshot after Mason McCarty missed a wraparound on Tigers goalie Jordan Hollett.
Austin Pratt added to the lead at 2:25 in the second when he burst out of the corner and ripped a backhand past Hollett. The goal was Pratt’s seventh of the season and first since Nov. 14. Lukas MacKenzie added an assist for just his second point since joining the Rebels on Nov. 3.
Mark Rassell notched his 28th goal of the year for the Tigers late in the second to cut the deficit to one.
Captian Grayson Pawlenchuk redirected a Dawson Barteaux point shot late in the game to extend the Rebels lead to 3-1.
The Rebels are back on home ice Saturday night when they host the Tri-City Americans for their final contest before the Christmas break.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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