In a back-and-forth battle against the Calgary Hitmen in pre-season action the Red Deer Rebels won an action-packed game 5-4.
In front of 50 fans at the Siksika Deerfoot Sportsplex in Calgary, Red Deer tied the game four different times before scoring in sudden-death overtime.
Forward Dwayne Jean Jr., who scored the goal in overtime, and defenceman Quentin Bourne both had multi-point performances.
The Hitmen scored the lone goal of the opening period when Wyatt Piscarczyk found the back of the net on the powerplay.
In the second period, the two teams traded multiple goals.
It all began when Rebels forward Jeramiah Roberts tied the game just over five minutes in. Nearly two minutes after the Hitmen reclaimed the lead off the stick of Benjamin Kindel.
At the midway point of the second, Rebels forward Samuel Drancak notched a powerplay goal to tie the game 2-2.
However, it didn’t last long as the Hitmen took the lead once again a minute and a half later. Keets Fawcett scored the goal for Calgary.
In the final frame, the Rebels trailed until defenceman Quentin Bourne tied the game early in the period.
Maxim Muranov gave the Hitmen their fourth lead of the game at the midway point of the period. He buried an opportunity to make it 4-3 with just 10 minutes left.
Not long after, Red Deer’s first-round selection in the 2023 WHL Prospects draft Beckett Hamilton tied it again for the Rebels.
And in three-on-three overtime, Dwayne Jean Jr. scored the game-winning goal to come out on top 5-4 in Calgary. The goal was also the Rebels’ first lead of the contest.
Red Deer Rebels goaltender Taylor Tabashniuk made 28 saves on 32 shots to secure the win. In net for Calgary was Alex Garrett who made 18 saves on 20 shots in 40 minutes of work and Ethan Buenaventura who added 14 saves on 17 shots in nearly 23 minutes on the ice.
The Rebels will be back in action on Sunday against the Edmonton Oil Kings at 2 p.m. in Red Deer at the Peavey Mart Centrium.
