It’s come down to a best-of-three series between the Red Deer Rebels and Brandon Wheat Kings.
The Rebels will host the Wheat Kings for Game 5 of their Western Hockey League Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup this Friday at the Peavey Mart Centrium, with puck drop set for 7 p.m.
It’s been a back-and-forth series between the No. 3 seed Rebels and No. 6 seed Wheat Kings, as the teams split the first four games.
After grabbing a decisive 5-0 victory at home in Game 1, the Rebels were defeated 2-1 in overtime in Game 2. Red Deer bounced right back in Brandon, winning Game 3 by a score of 3-1. But the Wheat Kings responded by taking Game 4, also by a score of 3-1.
In Red Deer’s two losses, they’ve struggled to get the puck past Wheat Kings goaltender Ethan Kruger. In Brandon’s 2-1 Game 2 victory, he stopped 38 of 39 shots and blocked 27 of 28 in his Game 4 win.
The power play was quiet for Red Deer in those two losses as well, going scoreless on a combined six opportunities. In the Rebels’ victories, they have scored on three of 14 opportunities with the extra man.
Meanwhile, Red Deer’s penalty kill had kept Brandon off of the board on its first 18 chances with the man advantage. But that ended in Wednesday’s Game 4 when Brandon scored two power play goals.
READ MORE: Brandon ties up series 2-2 as Rebels lose 3-1
Rebels coach Steve Konowalchuk said after the game he wants to see his players take fewer penalties.
Arshdeep Bains, who had the most points in the WHL during the regular season, leads Red Deer offensively with two goals and two assists. Ben King and Jayden Grubbe each have one goal and two assists.
Marcus Kallionkieli, who has played just two games in the series, has scored two goals and added one assist to lead the Wheat Kings offensively – both of his goals came on the power play in Game 4.
Rebels goaltender Chase Coward has been exceptional for his team. Through four games, he’s recorded a 1.22 goals-against average, 0.954 save percentage and one shutout. As of Thursday afternoon, he has the fourth-best save percentage and goals-against average among goalies who have appeared in more than one game in this year’s WHL Playoffs.
Puck drop for Game 5 is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Red Deer will head to Brandon for Red Deer for Game 6 on Sunday at 4 p.m. If necessary, the Rebels will host the Wheat Kings for Game 7 on Tuesday night.
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