Rebels prepared for stiff test versus top-ranked Blades
The Red Deer Rebels are a team on the rise, brimming with confidence with a 7-1-1-1 slate in their last 10 outings and winners of four in a row.
Now comes the supreme test, with the newly minted No. 1 team in the Canadian Hockey League, the Saskatoon Blades, set to visit the Peavey Mart Centrium Wednesday evening.
Clearly, the Rebels will have to bring their A-game if they hope to knock off the WHL Eastern Conference front runners, who are also first overall in the league.
“Any time you play those teams, if you don’t play your best you’re in trouble,” Rebels head coach Derrick Walser said Tuesday.
“I think it’s a good measuring stick to see where we are. It’s a good challenge and it’s always nice to have those challenges. We want to put our best foot forward and make sure we’re ready to go.”
The Blades are on a roll of their own with points in 18-straight games and a 29-8-2-2 record. They are 13 points up on the 22-13-1-4 Rebels, who were one point up on Swift Current for fourth place in the conference prior to the Broncos’ game in Medicine Hat Tuesday night.
Saskatoon already had the likes of top-end forwards Trevor Wong, who’s sixth in league scoring with 68 points (11g,57a), Egor Sidorov and Brandon Lisowsky, before adding Fraser Minten, Alexander Suzdalev and Easton Armstrong to their up-front collection this season.
In addition, the Blades also traded for defencemen Grayden Siepmann, John Babcock and Nicholas Andrusiak, acquired from the Rebels last month, to strengthen a blueline corps headlined by Tanner Molendyk, a first-round pick of the Nashville Predators in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
It will be imperative that the Rebels play as close to error-free hockey as is possible Wednesday night, Walser suggested.
“They are a team that can score, so you want to eliminate your mistakes,” he said. “Again, we’re not going to sit back and change, we just have to make sure we don’t give them a lot of opportunities.
“You don’t want to give them easy goals. You don’t want to give them six or seven power plays. To beat those teams you can’t be in the box all night.
“And you can’t give them turnover after turnover. Sometimes you don’t have anything and just putting the puck deep is the right play.
“We want to play these guys five-on-five, unless we’re on the power play, and they’re a very disciplined team so you’re not going to get a lot of looks on them that way. So we have to match that.”
Indeed, the Blades add to their luster with the impressive fact that they’re the least penalized team in the WHL.
The Blades have been assessed nearly 100 minutes fewer in penalties than the Rebels, whose discipline has faltered in games this season but overall has been OK, especially in the last six weeks or so.
“Everyone goes through little stages,” said Walser in reference to the Rebels’ self control. “Again, I’m not going to blame referees or anything like that, I think it’s just hit and miss sometimes. You don’t get the calls or you have the calls go against you.
“But I think we’ve been pretty consistent with it. Discipline is a huge thing, especially in the second half of the season. You’re more dialled in on areas, you want to play five-on-five or be on the advantage.”
As the Rebels bench boss stressed, from here to the end of the regular season and on into the playoffs maintaining discipline will be a major factor in determining outcomes.
“It’s do or die now. Look at our conference, it’s tight and you don’t want to give a team six or seven power plays no matter who you’re playing,” said Walser.
“It was the same message against Edmonton (in Saturday’s 4-1 win). Discipline is massive now in the second half of the season and it gets you prepared for the playoffs. Being disciplined and playing the right way are imperative.”
Notable: Regarding injuries, Red Deer forwards Carson Birnie and Matthew Gard are day-to-day (both upper body) while Carson Latimer (lower body) is week to week. Netminder Rhett Stoesser is day-to-day with a lower body ailment . . . Goaltender Taylor Tabashniuk (’07, Regina SK) remains with the club as an affiliate player for the time being . . . The Rebels will be in Medicine Hat Friday to face the Tigers and will host the Prince Albert Raiders Saturday.
(Photos by Taylor Lachance)
