Rebels erupt for six second-period goals to run win streak to eight
Rebels 6 Oil Kings 3
Make it eight in a row.
The Red Deer Rebels extended their WHL win streak Friday, erupting for a half dozen second period goals enroute to a 6-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings in front of 4,147 fans at the Peavey Mart Centrium.
The visitors outshot their hosts 10-5 in the opening period and scored the lone goal, with Smyth Rebman tipping a point shot past a partially screened Chase Wutzke in the Red Deer net.
But the second period was a whole other story as the Rebels scored seemingly at will.
“We all weren’t happy with our first period,” said Rebels forward Kalan Lind, selected as the game’s first star. “We were kind of getting on each other, telling each other we had to dial in and kind of restructure how we’re playing and what we’re doing.
“Obviously in the second period we came out and it was a totally different team out there. We had a good second period, got the puck to the net and had a good cushion.”
Lind drew the Rebels even 2:40 into the middle frame, moving out from behind the net, shifting to his forehand and beating netminder Hudson Perry.
Just over two minutes later, Frantisek Formanek scored on two-on-one break with a shot low to Perry’s glove side. Defenceman Matteo Fabrizi made it 3-1 with his first goal of the season. Lind looked off on a short break and passed over to Fabrizi, who had basically an open net.
Defenceman Hunter Mayo then potted his first of two goals in the period, accepting Carson Latimer’s feed and firing a one-timer from the point during a Red Deer power play.
From there, Mats Lindgren connected on a second power play with a blast from the point, and Mayo completed the onslaught, taking a drop pass from Jhett Larson and finding the back of the net from the top of the left circle.
“The whole thing we talked about his week is taking care of pucks and that’s what we didn’t do in the first period,” said Rebels head coach Derrick Walser. “We were lucky to get out of the first down 1-0. I had to go in and be a little hard on the guys and they responded the right way.
“Our skill and strength is a certain breed in us. If we stick to that breed and stick to our strengths we’re a great hockey team.”
Fuelled by three consecutive power plays, the Oil Kings held a 12-8 advantage in shots in the final period and notched two unanswered goals as Roan Woodward buried one from the low slot and Gavin Hodnett scored a man advantage marker off a fortuitous bounce.
“We came into the third period just wanting to get out of the game and obviously still wanting to play the right way and be ready for tomorrow,” said Lind, who can help the Rebels make it nine in a row when the Brandon Wheat Kings – 8-0 losers Friday in Calgary – visit the Centrium Saturday.
“It’s awesome, you win one game at a time and just kind of try and go from there,” he added, in reference to the Rebels’ consecutive string of victories. “We’ve been fortunate to win quite a few right now and we’ll see what goes on tomorrow and how we can continue on this roll.”
The Rebels were two-for-four on the power play and erased four of the Oil Kings’ five man advantage opportunities.
“Our power play was excellent along with our penalty kill,” said Walser. “We’ve been spending a lot of time on that (power play), trying to get it going. We as a group have done a good job of buying in and now we just have to make sure we start on time tomorrow.
“The message is we got the two points, we’re moving on and we have a big game tomorrow.”
Notable: Perry turned aside 23 shots while Wutzke made 25 saves, including a few key stops in the third period . . . The three stars: Lind, who had a goal and an assist, (2) Mayo, who added an assist to his pair of tallies and (3) Red Deer captain Kai Uchacz, who picked up three helpers . . . Lindgren also had a multiple-point game with a goal and assist . . . The Rebels will head east following Saturday’s last segment of a successful eight-game homestand. Red Deer will open a five-games-in-seven-nights trip Wednesday in Prince Albert and will also visit Brandon, Moose Jaw, Regina and Swift Current.
(Photos by Taylor Lachance)
