Birnie shines, Wutzke stands tall in Rebels win over Medicine Hat
It was deja-vu all over again Friday night at the Peavey Mart Centrium as the Red Deer Rebels once again battled the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The Rebels scored twice in period two and held down the fort in period three for a 4-2 win over the visiting Tigers in front of over 4,300 largely pleased spectators.
“We worked really hard this week, and we put a lot of time and effort into our preparation, so that investment paid off tonight. For me, it was probably our best game of the year,” suggested Rebels head coach Dave Struch.
Stats Story:
Carson Birnie (RD) – Game winning goal – 1 assist
Chase Wutzke (RD) – 40 saves, win
Gavin McKenna (MH) – 2 assists
Bryce Pickford (MH) – 2 assists
How it Happened:
It was an early liftoff for Jhett Larson as he gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game.
Jhett Larson living up to his name getting @RebelsHockey the lead early ✈️ pic.twitter.com/pfUOARh5ol
— The WHL (@TheWHL) October 26, 2024
A Medicine Hat powerplay opened the door for the sixth-best powerplay unit in the league. Gavin McKenna, red hot of late, took a cross-ice pass from Bryce Pickford and found Andrew Basha for a tap-in from the doorstep past Chase Wutzke for a 1-1 score.
A tangle-up between Red Deer’s Luke Vlooswyk and Medicine Hat’s Nate Corbet lead to a four-on-four opportunity where the Tigers would capitalize. This time, McKenna stretched out Wutzke with a pass to Oasiz Weisblatt who fired a shot home for a 2-1 Tigers lead through twenty.
In the second period, tables turned as Carson Birnie came alive for the Rebels.
A pinned puck in the corner had the Rebels grinders, Jaxon Fuder, Birnie and Talon Brigley battling. Winning possession, the trio combined for a powerplay goal as Fuder beat Meneghin blocker side.
Jaxon Fuder + Carson Birnie + Talon Brigley = hard to play against. #RDREBELS | #WHL pic.twitter.com/ssxezOPUeX
— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) October 26, 2024
Birnie wasn’t done though. Breaking from the Rebels zone, Birnie found Jeramiah Roberts at the offensive blue line allowing Roberts to enter the zone while Birnie drove the net. Roberts fed a sensational pass to Birnie, who deflected it home for the eventual game-winning goal.
Have a night, ☝️🖐️!#RDREBELS | #WHL https://t.co/JZjMpApBVm
— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) October 26, 2024
With 3:39 left to go in the third, the Tigers pulled Meneghin for the extra attacker. Ollie Josephson would put home a long range empty-netter with 1:26 remaining to seal the game for Red Deer.
Wutzke came up big for the Rebels on their road to the victory, fending off 13 shots in the third to tally a total of 40 saves. The Minnesota Wild prospect earned his fifth win of the season.
With the win, the Rebels continue to improve their record to 7-4-1-0, while Medicine Hat are now even at 6-6-0-0. Red Deer has bested Medicine in four of their five meetings so far.
Three Stars:
1. Birnie (RD)
2. McKenna (MH)
3. Wutzke (RD)
What they said:
“We played to our identity here tonight, and we’ve been consistent with it for the most part of the season so far. But against these guys, we have to put so much more into because they’re good individually, and a good team. So, stuff that the guys did this week really paid off for us. Chase made some big saves in the third period, and that’s what he’s there for. But I think overall, our entire team played fantastic. They worked hard, they played physical. They were engaged from start to finish.” – Struch
“I thought that was probably one of our best sixty minutes we’ve had all year, start to finish. We played hard, and they’re a good team, and we were able to shut them down. So we’re pretty happy with it.” – Birnie
Next up:
The Rebels are on the road Saturday, October 26, to Lethbridge for a 6 P.M. start against the Hurricanes (106.7 Rewind Radio, CHL TV).
Hockey is still in full-force at the Peavy Mart Centrium throughout Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, October 26, the stars of tomorrow go head-to-head in the WHL Cup semi-finals with Team Alberta meeting Team Saskatchewan at 1:15 P.M., followed by Team B.C. taking on Team Manitoba at 4 P.M. The tournament for the top under-16 males of the western provinces will crown a champion on Sunday.
