Winterhawks sink Rebels with last-minute goal
RED DEER – It wasn’t the type of performance the Red Deer Rebels wanted and yet they were right there with the Portland Winterhawks until the game’s final minute.
That’s when disaster struck as the Winterhawks scored a go-ahead goal and an empty netter to stun the Rebels 3-1 at the Marchant Crane Centrium.
Chase Wutzke stood tall between the pipes with 25 saves for the Rebels, while Landon MacSwain found the back of the net for the second-straight game. At the other end, Ondrej Stebetak came up big, turning aside 30 shots for Portland.
“Not great. We probably got what we deserved,” lamented Rebels head coach Marc Habscheid.
“Took some bad penalties. I think we were short-handed for the first half of the game, for almost half the game. So you’re not going to win like that.”
The Rebels now sit at 2-7-0-0 on the season while Portland moved to 5-5-0-0.
STATS STORY:
Sam Spehar (POR): 2 assists
Reed Brown (POR): 1 goal, game winner
Landon MacSwain (RD): 1 goal
Ondrej Stebetak (POR): 30 saves
Chase Wutzke (RD): 25 saves
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Portland opened the scoring late in the first period as rookie Nathan Brown put home a one-timer past a sprawled out Wutzke.
The Rebels responded with pressure of their own and were eventually rewarded when Landon MacSwain stepped away from the chaos in front of Portland’s net to bury a loose puck with eight seconds to go in the middle frame.
The deadlock held until the final minute of regulation. With a delayed penalty pending against Red Deer, Reed Brown tipped home the go-ahead goal with just 27 seconds left to play. Ryan Miller iced the game moments later with an empty-netter.
Neither team scored with the man advantage despite there being 13 power plays on the night. Portland was 0-for-7 while Red Deer was 0-for-6.
WHAT THEY SAID
Rebels head coach Marc Habscheid
BRANDT THREE STARS:
1. Reed Brown (POR)
2. Ondrej Stebatak (POR)
3. Chase Wutzke (RD)
NEXT UP:
The American invasion of the Marchant Crane Centrium continues tomorrow night, Saturday, October 18 as the Rebels host the Spokane Chiefs at 6 p.m. (TICKETS).
