Winterhawks 4 Rebels 3
Slow starts are beginning to sound like a broken record for the Red Deer Rebels.
On Friday, the Portland Winterhawks scored just 59 seconds into the game and went on to win 4-3 over the Rebels in WHL action.
The Winterhawks scored again 1:16 into the second on Rebels goalie Lasse Petersen before Red Deer got back into the game on a goal from captain Adam Musil.
Keegan Iverson made it 3-1 Portland just over halfway through the period but Michael Spacek kept things close for the Rebels with his 25th goal of the year.
Jake Gricius scored his seventh of the season for Portland to restore the two-goal lead at 14:37.
Jared Freadrich scored on the power play with a wrist shot from the point late in the third to make it close but Red Deer wasn’t able to close the gap.
One positive for the Rebels was two goals on six power play opportunities.
The loss was the seventh straight for the Rebels and their ninth in 10 games.
The Calgary Hitmen also grabbed a 2-1 overtime win at home to pull within three points of the Rebels for third place in the Central Division.
Red Deer left Portland late Friday night after the game to make the six-plus hour trip to Vancouver for their game Saturday against the Giants.
byron.hackett@www.reddeeradvocate.com