Rebels own worst enemies in loss to Seattle
Thunderbirds 5 Rebels 2
The Red Deer Rebels pushed forward on a consistent basis Tuesday at the Peavey Mart Centrium.
Problem is, the Rebels also took a step backwards defensively, resulting in a 5-2 WHL loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds in front of 3,013 fans.
The Thunderbirds, an opportunistic team with a nice mix of speed and skill, scored once off an outright giveaway deep in the Red Deer zone and also notched a short-handed breakaway goal.
“We were a bit more aggressive tonight but made two big mistakes that cost us. But I thought we generated more offence which was nice to see, but we’re still snake-bitten there,” said Rebels head coach Derrick Walser.
The Rebels started with a bang, getting a goal from Carson Birnie just 63 seconds in. Ollie Josephson cut across the blueline, directed a shot at Spencer Michnik and Birnie cashed the rebound, beating the Seattle netminder to the short side.
The visitors responded just over six minutes later when defenceman Bryce Pickford moved down into the right circle and caught the top corner of the far side on goaltender Rhett Stoesser.
“We were forechecking hard and I think on their first goal we let them off the hook,” said Walser. “We want to keep that relentless pursuit, but we just let up and it cost us.”
Jhett Larson restored Red Deer’s lead at 14:44 of the opening frame, scoring from the edge of the crease after linemate Carson Latimer circled the Seattle net and attempted a wrap-around.
However, just 24 seconds later, Seattle pulled even again as Gracyn Sawchyn, in the low slot, pounced on a terrible turnover and beat a partially screened Stoesser.
Neither team connected in the second period, but Seattle notched three third-period goals, the eventual winner coming early in the frame. With Red Deer on the power play, Coster Dunn hauled in a stretch pass from Antonio Martorana and broke in alone.
Martorana then added an insurance marker at the 14-minute mark, converting a centering pass from Sawchyn while unguarded in front of the net. Sawchyn added an empty-netter in the final minute for good measure.
Red Deer was zero-for-two with a man advantage and erased three Seattle power plays.
“Our discipline was good and I thought we did a good job of containing their offence and their power play, but again we just made two big mistakes and they cost us,” said Walser.
The setback was the third in succession for the 4-6-0-1 Rebels despite holding a 37-25 advantage in shots.
Walser said he wants his charges to keep pushing the puck forward, but with more defensive awareness.
“We have to keep playing that way. You have to earn it the right way and right now we’re shooting ourselves in the foot at times and it’s costing us games,” he said.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Rebels with the Portland Winterhawks, the CHL’s top-ranked team, in town Friday.
“We can’t make the mistakes we made tonight on two goals,” said Walser, looking ahead to the Friday contest. “We have to start getting hungry. We don’t get to the paint enough. We find a way to get pushed to the outside.”
Indeed, too many of the Red Deer shots Tuesday were from the perimeter, although Michnik, whose hometown is listed as Sylvan Lake, made a handful of excellent stops while finishing with 35 saves.
Stoesser, who couldn’t be faulted on any of the pucks that eluded him, stopped 20 shots.
Notable: Sawchyn, the game’s first star with two goals and a pair of helpers, was selected first overall by Red Deer in the inaugural U.S. Prospects Draft in 2020, but did not sign with the Rebels and his rights were dealt to the Thunderbirds in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2022 WHL draft. Born in Grande Prairie and raised in Minnesota, Sawchyn was taken by the Florida Panthers in the second round of June’s NHL Entry Draft . . . Selected as the second and third stars of the game were Larson and Pickford . . . Following Friday’s game, the Rebels will visit the Calgary Hitmen Saturday and next week will head west on a five-game tour of the BC Division, starting Nov. 3 in Kamloops.
(Photos by Taylor Lachance)
