Rebels drop narrow 3–2 loss to Hurricanes
RED DEER – The Red Deer Rebels showed grit and resilience but couldn’t overcome a tough start in a 3-2 loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes Tuesday night at the Marchant Crane Centrium.
Matus Lisy’s first WHL goal and Ty Coupland’s team leading third tally of the season were the highlights on a night where the club suffered a third loss in a row.
“I thought the last half of the game we were better. First half, we ran into penalty trouble a little bit, and they got us on our heels by the time we got our feet under us again. And then we were chasing the game,” said Rebels head coach Marc Habscheid.
The season series between the two clubs is now tied 1-1 as they prepare to meet again Saturday in Lethbridge.
STATS STORY:
Logan Wormald (LET): 1 goal, 1 assist
Matus Lisy, Ty Coupland (RD): 1 goal
Kade Duell, Tyden Lafournaise, Logan Wormald (LET): 1 goal
Chase Wutzke (RD): 24 saves
HOW IT HAPPENED:
A pair of quick goals late in the first gave the Lethbridge Hurricanes a 2-0 leading heading into the break. Kade Duell opened the scoring on the powerplay, slipping one past Red Deer netminder Chase Wutzke, and teammate Tyden Lafournaise doubled the lead exactly one minute later with his first WHL goal.
The Rebels responded in the second as Slovakian blue liner Matus Lisy went end-to-end down the wall and picked the top corner past Hurricanes goalie Koen Cleaver for his first goal in North America.
In the third, Logan Wormald put homehis own rebound to restore the Hurricanes’ two-goal lead.
Refusing to go quietly, Samuel Drancak found Ty Coupland in front of the net and Coupland made no mistake, tallying his third of the season to bring the Rebels back within one, which was unfortunately as close as they would get.
A tight 3-2 finish gave way to fireworks at the buzzer, as all five skaters engaged in a heated post-game exchange.
Red Deer outshot Lethbridge 31-27 and went 0-for-3 on the powerplay while the Hurricanes went 1-for-5.
“We brought it back to 2-1 and then 3-1 and then made it close, but we kind of shut ourselves in the foot. And the other thing is, especially in junior hockey, you know, you have age differences or whatever, and a lot of times you just you need your best players to be your best players. And I didn’t think that happened tonight,” Habscheid said.
“This is probably the first game which I wasn’t happy with that, but you go through that in a season and I’m sure they’ll be better the next game.”
Marc Habscheid postgame comments
BRANDT THREE STARS:
- Logan Wormald (LET)
- Matus Lisy (RD)
- Tyden Lafournaise (LET)
NEXT UP:
The Rebels are home to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday, Oct. 10 as puck drops at 7 p.m. at the Marchant Crane Centrium. TICKETS
