Kelsey blanks Hitmen as Rebels draw first playoff blood
Rebels 3 Hitmen 0
There were no passengers on the Red Deer Rebels bus Friday night at the Peavey Mart Centrium,
Each and every player contributed in his own way as the Rebels downed a stubborn Calgary Hitmen squad 3-0 in the opening game of a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference quarter-final witnessed by 4,811 fans.
“The guys worked hard, you have to work hard against that team. That’s a good hockey team over there,” said Rebels head coach Steve Konowalchuk.
The most impressive performance was turned in by netminder Kyle Kelsey, who made at least four grade-A stops to post his first ever WHL playoff shutout.
“He was good, we took penalties and he had to make some good saves. He made some good saves throughout the game, some timely saves,” said Konowalchuk.
“I felt really good and it feels good to get that first playoff game under my belt,” said the rookie stopper, who robbed David Adaszynski twice — with a first-period pad save and a timely reaction on a one-timer in the middle frame.
He also took goals away from Maxim Muranov and Riley Fiddler-Schultz en route to a 25-save, clean sheet victory.
“The guys played great, they were winning their one-on-one battles,” said Kelsey. “They were fantastic out there.”
The Rebels, as it turned out, got the only goal they needed late in the first period as Kalan Lind, from low in the left corner, passed across to Kai Uchacz who quickly found the back of the net.
The 1-0 lead held up through the second period before the home side put the game away with a pair of third-period markers.
Jayden Grubbe cashed a short rebound of a Jace Weir point shot at the 13:22 mark — with the puck also deflecting off a Hitmen defenceman — and Frantisek Formanek connected with a blast from the high slot just over four minutes later.
“It’s playoff hockey, your top guys have to be on their game and they were,” said Konowalchuk. “I thought Uchacz played a real good game, that line with Formanek and Grubbe.
“It’s playoff hockey, you need everyone going. I could name off everybody . . . (Dwayne) Jean Jr., with his forechecking, helped create that second goal with his speed . . . those little plays from different guys.
“It’s just so important that everyone contributes. It was a good team effort.”
The second game goes Saturday at the Centrium and Konowalchuk expects more of the same from the visitors.
“We have to get ready, we have to be a little better in some areas, there are still some things we can improve on,” he said.
“They (Hitmen) are going to I’m sure talk about some things and try to improve too. The first game is the first game. We know we have a tough series here with these guys.”
Kelsey was in full agreement.
“It feels great (to post the shutout) but I can’t get too high,” he said. “It was a hard fought battle out there. It’s a long series and we have to reset and get back at it tomorrow.”
Notable: Brayden Peters was also sharp in the Calgary net, turning aside 33 shots . . . Neither team was able to cash in on the power play — the Rebels were zero-for-six and the Hitmen zero-for-five . . . The three stars: (1) Uchacz, (2) Grubbe and (3) Kelsey . . . The third and fourth games of the series will go Monday and Wednesday in Calgary. Games five to seven, if necessary, are slated for April 7 in Red Deer, April 9 in Calgary and April 11 at the Centrium.
