Rebels 5 Wheat Kings 3
The Red Deer Rebels (9-5-1-0) found their footing in Manitoba Friday night.
After a tough loss Thursday to the Winnipeg ICE, the Rebels rebounded a few hours down the Trans-Canada highway in Brandon.
Red Deer scored four straight goals between the seven-minute mark of the second and the eight-minute mark of the third on the way to a dominant 5-3 victory over the Wheat Kings (5-8-0-0).
Rylen Roersma scored the only goal of the opening frame and Brandon held a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes, despite the Rebels outshooting the home side 15-7.
Red Deer got a pair of goals in the second, with Jhett Larson tying the game and Arshdeep Bains cashing in his sixth of the year at 13:26.
Just 18 seconds into the third, Kai Uchacz buried on the Rebels red hot power play to open up a 3-1 advantage. Red Deer has 18 power play goals in 70 chances this season and is operating at 26 per cent.
At 8:03 of the third, Carter Anderson potted his second of the year with a one-timer after a great pass from Uchacz.
Brandon got within a goal late, thanks to tallies from Marcus Kallionkieli and Roersma, but Jayden Grubbe sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 19:11 of the final frame.
Connor Ungar earned the victory against his former club, stopping 14 shots for the win. Ethan Kruger stopped all 17 shots he raced in the game but suffered an injury and was replaced by Carson Bjarnson. Bjarnson made 23 saves in the losing cause.
Three stars: Larson (1), Uchacz (2) and Roersma (3).
Red Deer continues its road trip Sunday in Winnipeg when they take on the ICE at 1 p.m.
byron.hackett@reddeeradvocate.com
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