Rebels pull off late win over Hitmen in front of new coach
Rebels 2 Hitmen 1
He’s new to the team but Dave Struch knows all about the Red Deer Rebels brand.
“To me it looked like the team of old,” said the Rebels newly hired head coach, following a 2-1 WHL win Saturday over the Calgary Hitmen before 3,753 fans at the Peavey Mart Centrium.
“This team for me, in 17 years of coaching in the Western League, it’s always been a real hard team to play against and I think teams try and emulate that,” said Struch, who was brought in on an interim basis to replace Derrick Walser and has served as a head coach and assistant with several WHL teams in the past.
“It was really fun to see these guys do that tonight. It was really hard hockey and the guys in the room were hard to play against. We have a lot of work ahead of us but they did a real good job.
“It was a full group working together tonight. They were engaged on the bench, on the ice, in the dressing room and it’s a good start for getting us the win.”
Struch, who most recently was director of hockey at Notre Dame College in Wilcox, Sask., didn’t hesitate when asked what brand of game he prefers.
“Hard and fast, compete, get engaged in the game and stay engaged right from start to finish,” he said. “Engaging isn’t just physical, it’s mental more than anything else.”
The Rebels left it until near the end Saturday, getting the winning goal from Talon Brigley with 30 seconds remaining. The veteran forward, low in the left circle, hauled in a pass from Jace Weir at the right point and beat Ethan Buenaventura before the Calgary netminder could move across to block the shot.
“I was just trying to get to the net, honestly,” said Brigley. “Weirsy had hit me a couple of games in a row and it was great to capitalize there . . . great pass from Weirsy.”
Brigley was somewhat surprised that he was left alone in a prime scoring area.
“I think it was at the end of our power play and they (Hitmen) were a little scattered, disorganized. Weirsy found me in the open and made a great pass.”
Jhett Larson beat Buenaventura from the low slot at 12:45 of the opening period and the lead held until Oliver Tulk pulled the visitors open early in the third period, jumping on a loose puck between the circles and wiring a wrist shot past netminder Rhett Stoesser.
The Hitmen had plenty of scoring chances but were denied time and again by Stoesser who made 34 saves and was selected as the game’s first star.
Buenaventura was equally stellar at the other end and finished with 32 saves.
Brigley, the sniper of the hour, was impressed with the Rebels new head man despite the fact that Struch didn’t arrive in Red Deer until just hours before game time.
“He’s a pretty energetic guy, he brought us a lot of energy,” said the 19-year-old winger. “It’s been a wild 24 hours for our group. He kept an even keel in the room, told us to go out and play our game.
“Everyone was pretty prepared and we showed it tonight.”
Struch was impressed with his team’s performance considering five regulars — defencemen Hunter Mayo and Quentin Bourne and forwards Matthew Gard, Kalan Lind and Carson Latimer — were out with injuries.
It was also the Rebels fifth game since Tuesday.
“We had a little depleted lineup tonight, we had some young guys in there,” said Struch. “These guys just played four in five (days) so for them to play that way, we can use that.
“It’s Red Deer Rebels hockey . . . hard forecheck, great track, a team playing hard against the opposition. We have to get better in those areas and tonight was a really good start.”
The new head coach admitted he’s glad to be back in the saddle.
“I love it, there’s no other way to put it,” he stated. “I get energy from it.
“I like to work with and develop young hockey players, young people, and I have an opportunity to do it again.
“So it’s a special night.”
Notable: Tulk and Larson were named second and third stars . . . The Hitmen were zero-for-two on the power play, the Rebels zero-for-one . . . The Red Deer penalty kill was extra impressive in the second period when forwards Ollie Josephson and Kai Uchacz were penalized three seconds apart, leaving the team two men short for nearly a full two minutes . . . The Rebels will return to action next weekend for a pair of games against the Hitmen, Friday in Calgary and Saturday at the Peavey Mart Centrium.
(Photos by Taylor Lachance)
