Bisons 5 Rebels 2
The Red Deer Rebels White are hanging on by their finger tips, but they’re not about to hand the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League South Division title to the Calgary Bisons.
The Bisons grabbed a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series with a 5-2 win over the Rebels Thursday at the Arena and can put it away Saturday in Calgary.
However, Rebels head coach Dallas Gaume isn’t throwing in the towel.
“They finished first in the league for a reason, they’re a real good team,” said Gaume. “They’re skilled, skate well and when they do make a mistake they have Adin Hill, who is a real good goaltender. But having said that I think we can put a push on and make a series out of this.
“I thought out effort was outstanding and we were very physical, especially after the first period,” added Gaume. “I told the guys that if we bring the same effort Saturday we will keep the series going.”
The Rebels finished with 31 shots on Hill while Jayden Sittler faced 24 in the Red Deer net.
“That happens to them a bit as they get outshot, but they have a number of guys who can finish and their goaltending is solid,” said Gaume. “Plus they hurt a lot of teams with their power play.”
The Bisons’ power play has done the Rebels in, scoring five times in a 6-1 win in Calgary Wednesday and adding three more Thursday.
“We talked about that before the series, but we have a bunch of 14-year-olds, and while we’re not letting them off the hook, they’re emotional and at times that got the best of them.”
Plus the Rebels showed their frustration.
“Last night (Wednesday) we got frustrated and took some bad penalties and tonight was a little bit of the same,” added Gaume. “But overall I liked our game a lot better. I thought we competed, were more physical and we carried the play for most of the final two periods. But at the end of the day we needed to keep them off the power play.”
Ross Heidt and Ty Mappin scored for the Rebels, who trailed 1-0 and 3-1 by periods. They trailed 4-2 late in the game when they took three penalties with a little over a minute remaining, which spelled the end.
Dylan Hogue scored for the Bisons with a two-man advantage with a little over six seconds remaining while Brayden Point and Tanner MacMaster each scored twice.
Saturday’s game is at 2 p.m. at the Max Bell Arena while a fourth game, if necessary, goes Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at the Arena.
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com