RECAP: Rebels Hold On, Defeat Pats 3-2
Red Deer, Alta. – The Regina Pats ended their three game Alberta road trip with a 3-2 loss to the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday inside the Peavey Mart Centrium.
The Pats opened the scoring for a second straight game early in the first period with a goal from Brayden Barnett. After the Rebels began a stretch of three straight goals, Sam Oremba put the Pats down one in the second period at 3-2.
The Pats got unassisted goals from Barnett and Oremba as well as a 35 save performance from Kelton Pyne. The Rebels got goals from Mats Lindgren, Matthew Gard and Carson Birnie, and 23 saves from Rhett Stoesser as the Rebels won their fourth straight game.
THEY SAID IT
As a coaching staff, we’re really pleased with the effort tonight. Our guys never quit all night long and at the end of the day it’s about winning but we are playing the right way over the last couple games. I don’t think we had one passenger on the bus today. Everyone was playing, everyone was doing their part. It was just a matter of trying to find that third goal to tie the game. It would have been easy for our group to say it’s the third game of our road trip and we’re going home, but I give our guys a lot of credit, we never stopped playing.” – Regina Pats Assistant Coach Ken Schneider
FULL POST-GAME INTERVIEW WITH KEN SCHNEIDER
FINAL SCORE: Rebels 3, Pats 2
Click for the Official WHL Box Score
THE GOALS
First Period
1-0 Pats at 7:07 – Brayden Barnett (3), unassisted // Barnett picked off a pass in the Rebels slot, and he wired the puck past Stoesser to give the Pats a 1-0 lead.
1-1 Rebels at 19:35 – Mats Lindgren (3), assisted by Kai Uchacz & Hunter Mayo (PP) // Uchacz sent a pass to the mid-point where Lindgren ripped a one-timer past Pyne to tie the game up at 1-1 late in the first period.
Second Period
2-1 Rebels at 2:04 – Matthew Gard (3), assisted by Quentin Bourne // A turnover deep in the Pats zone went to Gard, and he neatly tucked the puck over Pyne’s shoulder to give the Rebels a 2-1 lead early in the middle frame.
3-1 Rebels at 5:22 – Carson Birnie (3), assisted by Ollie Josephson & Jace Weir // From the right circle, Birnie threw the puck toward the Pats net, the puck bounced in off a Pats defenceman and in to extend the lead to a pair of goals at 3-1.
3-2 Pats at 6:57 – Sam Oremba (5), unassisted // A weird bounce at the Rebels line went straight to Oremba who got some space and ripped a shot past Stoesser to pull the Pats to within one at 3-2.
Third Period
No scoring.
THE STATISTICS
SOG: Regina – 8-12-5-25 | Red Deer – 13-13-12-38
PP: Regina – 0/2 | Red Deer – 1/4
Face-offs: Regina – 28 | Red Deer – 43
THE GOALTENDING BATTLE
Regina: Kelton Pyne ( 35 saves / 38 shots)
Red Deer: Rhett Stoesser ( 23 saves / 25 shots)
THE 3 STARS
First: Mats Lindgren – Rebels (1G)
Second: Sam Oremba – Pats (1G)
Third: Carson Birnie – Rebels (1G)
JUST NOTES
- Brayden Smith made his WHL debut with the Pats wearing #36. He is the 1,260th skater and 1,427th player (including goalies) to suit up for the Pats in the regular season playoffs.
- Brayden Barnett scored his third goal of the season breaking a 23-game skid (his last goal was the second game of the season on September 23rd against the Blades.
- Sam Oremba notched his fifth of the season and first in seven games.
- The Pats are on an eight-game road losing streak.
- The Pats have also lost five straight games and have fallen to ninth in the Eastern Conference.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Pats conclude their five-game road trip on Friday, December 1, in Brandon with a 7:00 pm puck drop against the Wheat Kings. The Pats’ next home action is the next night, Saturday, December 2nd when the Pats host their annual Teddy Bear Toss game against the visiting Swift Current Broncos. Puck drop is at 7:00 pm and you can get your tickets here.
