Rebels 6 Hitmen 1
The Red Deer Rebels are back in the win column.
The Rebels snapped a seven game skid on Tuesday night defeating their central division rival Calgary Hitmen 6-1 at the Peavey Mart Centrium in front of 2,875 fans.
Head coach Derrick Walser said postgame the Rebels returned to playing their own game. The one that won them nine straight games before the recent losing streak.
“I think the biggest thing is we played for 60 minutes,” he said. “That was our test tonight we wanted to play a complete game for 60 minutes. That’s been killing us as of late we’re getting periods here and there but not a full effort. Tonight was a good job.”
The Rebels got on the board first with less than a minute to go in the opening period when forward Samuel Drancak scored his eighth of the season.
Drancak knocked in the rebound off a shot from Jhett Larson into a wide-open net on the powerplay.
Captain Kai Uchacz added the Rebels’ second of the period with less than 30 seconds to go. His 35th of the season came off a wrist shot from the blue line that made its way through traffic to beat netminder Ethan Buenaventura.
In the second period forward Ollie Josephson hammered in a one-timer on the powerplay from the right side with 14:27 to go.
Near the midway point of the second, the Rebels made it 4-0 off a shot in front of the net from Talon Brigley.
In the third period, Jhett Larson made it 5-0 after beating the goaltender on the offensive rush off the pass from Uchacz.
However, with less than five minutes to go, the Hitmen broke the shutout off a shot from Ben Kindel.
Red Deer sealed the deal with less than a minute left in the game on the powerplay off the stick of Zane Saab.
Uchacz, who finished with three points on Tuesday, said it was am important win for the team to get back on track.
“It was good to get the win. We’re back in the win column and I’m hoping to keep this thing rolling and build off it,” Uchacz said.
Rebels netminder Chase Wutzke had a solid effort making 31 saves on 32 shots. The defence also played great in front of him.
“They had some chances in the third. Don’t forget it’s not easy for him either, right? I thought he battled. He looked strong and confident in the net,” Walser said.
The Rebels also had a strong night on special teams scoring three powerplay goals and holding Calgary scoreless on four opportunities on the man advantage.
“We needed that,” he added. “We needed to get some goals and needed to get some kills. It’s a building block. It’s only one this week it’s up, it’s over, and it’s forgotten. Now we’ve got to make sure we’re set for tomorrow’s practice and get focused for Edmonton.”
The Rebels will host the Oil Kings on Friday at the Peavey Mart Centrium before playing them again on Saturday in Edmonton.
