Rebels rally stalls in loss to Vees

PENTICTON, BC – For the first time ever, the Red Deer Rebels made the trek to Penticton to face the WHL’s newest expansion team, the Vees, on Sunday afternoon, where they came up short with a 5-3 loss.

Red Deer got off to a slow start but sparked a furious push back into the contest. Kalder Varga lit the fuse, Talon Brigley narrowed the gap, and Cameron Kuzma finished the comeback with a slick equalizer that held for nearly 20 minutes of play, until Penticton scored twice in the third.

The loss drops the Rebels to 16-24-2-2 as they continue their B.C. road swing Tuesday in Kelowna. Penticton won their 14th in a row to improve to 29-9-4-3.

STATS STORY:

Brady Birnie, Matteo Danis (PEN) – 1 goal, 1 assist

Nate Yellowaga (RD) – 2 assists

Peyton Shore (RD) – 32 saves

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Penticton got on the board early as Brady Birnie got a piece of Ethan Weber’s point shot, tipping it past Peyton Shore to give the Vees the lead 1:45 into period one.

With traffic stacked at the top of the crease, Matteo Danis slipped home for a loose puck to make it 2-0. Noah Milford made it 3-0 just over a minute later.

The Rebels came to life following a timeout and a power play that generated several quality scoring chances.

Before the period came to a close, Nate Yellowaga fired a pass up to Beckett Hamilton, who found Kalder Varga in stride. Driving wide, Varga cut inside and tucked a backhand past Andrew Reyelts to make it a 3-1 game through 20 minutes.

GET ON YOUR HORSE, KALDER VARGA.🏇🏇🏇@Rebelshockey | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/EPvr9PnqZ8

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) January 26, 2026

The Rebels carried that momentum into the second as Yellowaga fired a puck toward the net and Talon Brigley battled his way to the loose change, finishing the play to pull Red Deer within one.

Brigley gets it done. #RDREBELS #WHL pic.twitter.com/yIYQm35tn1

— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) January 26, 2026

The equalizer would come a couple minutes later when Cameron Kuzma pounced on a miscue by the Vees defence, broke in alone, and snapped a shot top shelf to knot the game at three.

Cameron Kuzma goes🆙

We're all tied up, 3-3.👀@Rebelshockey | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/Xt3kuwvSfg

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) January 26, 2026

Penticton retook the lead in period three when Jacob Kvasnicka jammed home a loose puck in the crease.  Diego Johnson sealed the result, flipping a deflected shot past Shore to make it 5-3.

Red Deer held a slight edge in shots, outshooting Penticton 39-37. The Rebels finished 0-for-3 on the powerplay, and the Vees went 0-for-1.

BRANDT THREE STARS:

1. Brady Birnie (PEN)

2. Matteo Danis (PEN)

3. Nate Yellowaga (RD)

NOTES:

Rebels scratches for the game were forward Cole Temple (lower) and defenceman Cameron Dillard  … Beckett Hamilton has points in eight straight (6G, 4A) … Yaremko has four goals and four assists in six games with the Rebels since being acquired from Portland … Kalder Varga now has five goals and five assists in 10 games heading into a tilt versus his former club … former Rebels centre Samuel Drancak had an assist Sunday for Penticton.

NEXT UP:

The Red Deer Rebels are staying in the Okanagan as they head north to Kelowna for a Tuesday night match-up against the Rockets on January 27 at 6:05 p.m. MT (106.7 Rewind/Victory+).