Rebels 4 Oil Kings 3
A matchup between two of the top teams in the Western Hockey League didn’t disappoint, as the Red Deer Rebels continue to march towards the playoffs.
The Rebels rallied in the third period to top the Central Division-leading Edmonton Oil Kings 4-3 in a hard-hitting game at the Peavey Mart Centrium Saturday night.
“It was definitely an intense game, a fast-paced game,” said Rebels head coach Steve Konowalchuk.
“It definitely felt a lot closer to playoffs than a regular-season game. You can’t replicate playoff intensity until you get that extra adrenaline going, but it certainly was (turned) up a notch.”
Edmonton capitalized on a Rebels bench-minor penalty for too many men on the ice to get on the scoreboard first Saturday night. Dylan Guenther got a shot past the glove hand of Rebels goaltender Chase Coward at 8:19 of the first period.
Rebels defenceman Jackson van de Leest beat Oil Kings goaltender Sebastian Cossa with a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to tie things up just over a minute later. This was the 250th game of van de Leest’s WHL career.
After Jakub Demek regained a one-goal lead for Edmonton 12:05 into the first, Rebels captain Jayden Grubbe slid the puck past an outstretched Cossa to tie the game once again about three minutes later.
Grubbe almost added a second in the second period when he rang a shot off of the post during the Rebels’ first powerplay of the game.
Edmonton’s Justin Sourdif scored a shorthanded goal later in the period to put his team ahead heading into the third.
Grubbe was handed a double-minor for high sticking at the end of the second period – the Rebels started the third shorthanded. During the penalty kill, Rebels forward Kai Uchacz went bar down on a wrist shot to record his 13th of the season and tie the game at three.
About halfway through the period, Kalan Lind had two thunderous hits on Oil Kings players, then Chase Coward made a big save on the breakaway to earn loud cheers from the crowd.
“That’s a big game saver for us right there,” Konowalchuk said.
Just minutes later, Arshdeep Bains picked up a loose puck in the Oil Kings slot and beat Cossa to the glove side, to score the eventual game-winner. The unassisted tally was Bains’ 37th of the season.
Grubbe said the team “stuck with it” all night, even though there weren’t able to take the lead until the 12:24 mark of the third.
“We just tried to keep playing the same way, be physical and wear them down. I think it showed in the third period there. (Getting) on the forecheck and on their D led to a couple of goals,” Grubbe said.
The three stars were Chase Coward (1), Justin Sourdif (2) and Jayden Grubbe (3).
Coward finished the game with 32 saves on 35 shots, while Cossa stopped 19 of 23. Red Deer had a season-best 4,552 fans in attendance for the contest.
The Rebels also defeated Edmonton 5-4 in Edmonton Sunday. Red Deer’s next home game is Friday, when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes at the Peavey Mart Centrium. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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