MOOSE JAW– The Red Deer Rebels rolled into Moose just looking to keep some momentum rolling.
What they found was much bigger than that, a 3-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors, the second best team in the CHL and the WHL’s top squad.
For Red Deer, it was their fifth win in a row and their sixth straight game with a point. They’ve won all three games on their Eastern Conference road trip.
“We’ve got 11 of our last 12 points and there’s a reason for it. You’ve got to have good goaltending to do that. As we’ve gone on here, we’ve gotten better in our game. We’ve been solid in the way we played,” Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter said.
“When you have work ethic and do it the right way and the young kids continue to get better every game and that’s huge. Our veterans are playing like veteran players. They’re doing their part to make sure things are done the right way.”
The Rebels got another top-notch performance in net Friday as Riley Lamb turned aside 32 shots in the victory.
Chris Douglas scored the opening goal for the Rebels in the first period, just his fourth of the season and first since Jan. 1 also against the Warriors.
Josh Brook tied the game for Moose Jaw midway through the second, but the Rebels continued their strong defensive play throughout the frame and only allowed six shots.
Veteran Rebels forward Brandon Hagel broke the deadlock at 9:46 of the second when he fired a wrist shot past Moose Jaw netminder Brody Willms.
“You’re tied going into the third but we talked about just staying with our game and playing the right way. Make sure our details are good,” Sutter said.
“We had some chances and scored on them. Anything we did give up Lamber was solid. It was impressive on the kids part and the way they played. I was really happy for them.”
Kristian Reichel added his 20th goal of the season into the empty net to ice the victory for Red Deer.
Heading into the game, the Warriors were 12-2 in their last 14 games and hadn’t lost at home since Dec. 15
The Rebels killed off both Moose Jaw power plays in the game and have not allowed a power-play goal in seven games.
Red Deer is back on the ice Saturday when they head to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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