Oilers 4 Rebels 3
The U15 AAA Red Deer Rebels lost their regular-season finale on Saturday.
After holding a 3-2 lead over the Okotoks Oilers heading into the third period, the Oilers scored twice to beat Red Deer at Servus Arena.
In the long run, the loss won’t matter since they’ve already secured a playoff spot but in the moment, head coach Justin Jarmolicz said it stings.
“That loss was a tough one to swallow the way we played,” he said. “It was hard but that team is a good team too.”
Their focus now turns to the Calgary Flames who will match up in the first round of the Alberta Elite Hockey League playoffs.
The Flames finished in fourth place just five points ahead of the Rebels in the south division standings. Red Deer had a 24-11-1-1 record in the regular season.
They will head down to Calgary on Wednesday for Game 1 of a best-of-three series between the two teams. The second game will take place in Red Deer next Saturday and if needed game three will be played in Calgary.
If Red Deer wins they’ll move on to the semi-finals for a chance to earn a spot in the provincial tournament in Okotoks on March 23-26.
During the regular season, the Rebels beat them twice and lost to the Flames once.
“We kind of wanted a crack at the Flames. We owe them one and we’ve had a good matchup with them. We’re going to push them hard and see what they’ve got,” he added.
“It’ll be a good series. It’ll be fast and great hockey.”
Rebels captain Easton Daneault currently leads the team with 71 points with 29 goals and 42 assists.
Daneault explained they’re a big strong team so if they use that to their advantage against the Flames that’ll help them in the long run.
“We have lots of confidence going in. We just need to bury our chances, finish all of our bodychecks and we’ll be good,” he said.