Pats Fall to Rebels in Red Deer

First Period
Through their first three games, the Pats scored the first goal of the game in each contest, but that streak came to an end as the Rebels would strike first.  Matt Bellerive worked Chase Harrison off the puck and found Conner Bleackley in front of the Pats’ net for the quick goal and a 1-0 lead.  The Pats replied unconventionally when Chandler Stephenson’s centering pass deflected off a skate in front past rookie netminder Taz Burman.  The Rebels re-took the lead when Lukas Sutter found Rhyse Dieno at the top of the circle and Dieno beat MacAuley along the ice to give the Rebels a 2-1 lead.  After the goal, MacAuley locked things down, making some big saves for the Pats while down a man on the penalty kill to maintain the 2-1 score after twenty minutes.

Second Period
The middle frame saw the Rebels earn a pair of early powerplay opportunities, but the Pats penalty killers and MacAuley held the Red Deer scorers at bay.  The period mostly saw a deadlock, but the Pats found a great opportunity when they went on a 5-on-3 powerplay in the back-half of the second.  Morgan Klimchuk nearly pulled the game even, but Burman came up with a glove save.  Dmitry Sinitsyn followed that with a hard wrist-shot that grazed the crossbar and the Rebels would hold on to the 2-1 lead after two periods.

Third Period
The Pats headed into the third period looking to get the offence rolling after a slow second period.  The Rebels found some chances to add to their lead and made good on them.  Grayson Pawlenchuk drove forward off a draw in the Pats zone and took the puck around MacAuley before lifting a backhander above the sprawling Pats goalie.  While the penalty kill held strong through forty, the Rebels would finally break through late in the game when Bleackley found Bellerive to the far side of the Pats’ goal for a quick convert and the Rebels cruised through the third to a 4-1 win.  Goaltender Taz Burman made 16 saves to earn his first victory of the season.

Next Game: at Kootenay – Saturday, September 28^th – 7:00 p.m. (CKRM)

Next Home Game: vs. Saskatoon – Sunday, October 6^th – 6:00 p.m. (CKRM)