Rockets 5 Rebels 1
The Red Deer Rebels got too far ahead of themselves Friday night at the Centrium.
The Rebels came bearing gifts, with Christmas still two weeks down the road.
In an uncharacteristic performance, the Rebels were bad in all of the areas in which they normally excel, and thus dropped a 5-1 Western Hockey League decision to the Kelowna Rockets before a crowd of 4,057.
Netminder Darcy Kuemper, whose numbers are superior to any other stopper in the nation, was merely average, and in fact was replaced by Dawson Guhle after stopping 12 of 16 shots through 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, a team that prides on itself for its strong defensive play and puck possession, stumbled badly in both departments. Red Deer turnovers were the most popular item on Friday’s menu.
“I just didn’t think we competed hard enough,” said Rebels head coach/vice-president of hockey operations Jesse Wallin. “We didn’t have enough good hockey players tonight.
“We had a handful of guys who played hard and played well, and a bigger handful of guys, guys who we count on, who weren’t nearly good enough.”
Rockets forward Evan Bloodoff scored the first of his two goals on the evening 3:04 into the game, beating Kuemper high to the blocker side on a two-on-one break.
Colton Sissons upped the count to 2-0 just over six minutes later, but the Rebels were handed a glowing opportunity to get back into the game when the visitors were fingered for three consecutive penalties in the final three minutes of the period.
The Red Deer power play fizzled, however, and the Rockets notched two more goals in the middle frame on just eight shots.
Badly in need of a goal, the Rebels went back on the power play just past the midway point of the second period. But Bloodoff notched a short-handed goal when he broke down the right side, cut to the net and beat Kuemper to the far corner.
How bad was the Rebels’ lone second-period man-advantage opportunity?
Kuemper stopped Spencer Main on a breakaway just seconds into the power play.
Geordie Wudrick effectively put the game out of reach when he converted a two-on-one late in the period.
The Rebels tested Rockets impressive netminder Adam Brown with 38 shots, but Wallin was especially irked with his club’s play in the neutral and defensive zones.
While the visitors were full value for the win, their hosts helped them out.
“We gave up too many soft two-on-ones and there were some poor decisions by our defencemen,” said Wallin. “It’s all mental.”
The Rebels were without captain Colin Archer, who suffered a mild shoulder injury in practice earlier in the week, but as Wallin pointed out, his absence didn’t leave the club lacking in leadership.
“You take our captain out of the locker room and suddenly we decided we weren’t going to be prepared to play,” said the coach. “That’s the challenge to these guys right now — we need them to step up.”
Andrej Kudrna got the Rebels on the board just 20 seconds into the final frame, but Wudrick jumped on yet another turnover five minutes later, broke in alone and beat Guhle five-hole to close out the scoring.
“It was a great game for us. For the first two periods we were great,” said Rockets assistant coach Ryan Cuthbert.
“We capitalized on our chances and had a lot of good puck possession in their end.
“They (Rebels) had some great chances but our goalie was there when we needed him and I thought for the most part we kept them to the outside.”
The Rebels host the Regina Pats tonight, with the puck dropping at 7:30 p.m.
gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com