Three-goal second period sinks Rebels in Brandon
Wheat Kings 5 Rebels 2
BRANDON — It was a 20-minute segment that the Red Deer Rebels would sooner forget.
The Rebels were torched for three unanswered second-period goals Tuesday in a 5-2 WHL loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings before 2,128 fans at the Westoba Centre.
After an opening frame in which each team scored twice and the visitors were arguably the better team, the Wheat Kings pulled away in the middle period, outshooting their guests 21-6 and getting goals off the sticks of Luke Shipley, Brett Hyland and Nate Danielson.
Shipley connected from the low slot 2:11 into the period, Hyland scored at the 12:47 mark when he cut across the slot and beat netminder Rhett Stoesser high to the stick side, and Danielson potted his second of the night with a long range slot that Stoesser never saw.
Coach Walser after tonight’s defeat in Brandon #RDREBELS I #WHL pic.twitter.com/SNsRYCB6o4
— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) December 6, 2023
The Rebels finished zero-for-five on the power play, including a lengthy man advantage opportunity late in the game when Brandon forward Rylan Roersma was assessed a slew foot major and game misconduct with 3:12 remaining.
The Rebels had netminder Chase Wutzke, who replaced Stoesser at the start of the final frame, on the bench for the majority of the late power play but couldn’t get a puck past Brandon goalie Carson Bjarnason.
The game started on a positive note for Red Deer as captain Kai Uchacz, from the high slot, stepped into a snap shot after taking a feed from Frantisek Formanek 3:26 into the contest.
The Wheat Kings, however, responded with a pair of goals as Nolan Flamand, on the power play, scored on a one-timer from the top of the right circle and Danielson cashed a rebound.
Carson Birnie pulled the Rebels even late in the period, scoring on a wrap-around, but the visitors were unable to find the back of the net the rest of the way.
Notable: Brandon was one-for-three on the power play . . . Stoesser stopped 24 of the 29 shots he faced and Wutzke blocked all eight shots he faced over the final 20 minutes. Bjarnason made 23 saves . . . Already minus veteran Carson Latimer, out indefinitely with a lower body injury, the Rebels lost fellow top six forward Kalan Lind to a second period injury . . . The three stars: (1) Danielson, (2) Shipley and (3) Hyland . . . The Rebels continue their four-game Eastern Division trip Wednesday with a stop in Moose Jaw to face the Warriors. Red Deer will face the Saskatoon Blades Friday and take on the Prince Albert Raiders Saturday. The Rebels will visit the Calgary Hitmen Dec. 13 before closing out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule Dec. 14 and 16 at home versus the Swift Current Broncos and Regina Pats.
(Photo by Scramble Studio)
