HItmen Win 9-5 Over Rebels

With warmer temperatures returning to Central Alberta, the Rebels and Hitmen looked to turn the heat up even more in their third battle in 11 days.

FIRST PERIOD

The Hitmen came out firing on all cylinders and took control of the game early. Beck Malenstyn snapped home his 3rd of the year 2:24 into the game. 42 seconds later Chase Lang netted his 12th of the year to chase Rylan Toth from the Rebels net.

Calgary added one more at the 6:55 mark as Connor Rankin netted his 9th goal of the year to make it 3-0. Rankin fired home his second of the period with the Hitmen on a powerplay at 11:37 to make it 4-0. The onslaught contined when Adam Tambellini scored his 15th of the year at 15:25 for a 5-0 Calgary lead.

SECOND PERIOD

The newest Rebel finally got the home team on the scoreboard early in the middle period. Riley Sheen put home his 4th goal of the season and first with the Rebels at the 4:55 mark. Tyler Sandhu and Austin Strand set up Sheen for the 5-1 goal.

Calgary restored its five goal lead when a puck bounced in off of Rankin’s body for his hat trick goal at 8:04, 6-1 Hitmen.

Red Deer found the back of the Hitmen net for the second time at 14:03 when Brooks Maxwell beat Mack Shields for his 8th of the year. Austin Strand and Brett Cote set up the 6-2 goal.

THIRD PERIOD

The Rebels climbed to within 6-3 when Haydn Fleury set up Presten Kopeck for his 9th of the year, on the powerplay, 1:27 into the final frame. Sandhu picked up the second assist on the goal.

The game became even more interesting when Sheen found the rebound from a Jeff de Wit shot and found the back of the Hitmen net for his second goal on the night. 6-4 was the score 7:10 into the third.

Calgary poured some cold water on the Rebels comeback bid when Jake Bean recorded his first WHL goal at 11:05 to make it 7-4.

Red Deer refused to give in as Brett Cote’s point shot eluded Shields for the blue liner’s 5th goal of the year, a powerplay marker. Sheen and Adam Musil assisted on the 7-5 goal which came at 12:55.

However, Travis Draude would seal the deal for Calgary with an empty net goal at 18:10. Malenstyn then added his second of the game at 19:12 to send the Hitmen back to Calgary with a 9-5 victory.

MOLSON CUP THREE STARS
1. Riley Sheen RD
2. Connor Rankin CGY
3. Chase Lang CGY

HARDEST WORKING REBEL – Austin Strand

NOTES – The game marked the Rebels debut for Riley Sheen, acquired on Monday from the Lethbridge Hurricanes along with a conditional 5th round selection in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft in exchange for forward Brayden Burke and defenceman Devan Fafard… Scott Feser and Haydn Fleury were honoured as the Rebels’ Ryobi Hardest Working Players for November… Rebels scratches for this game were Nick Charif, Josh Mahura and Austin Shmoorkoff… attendance for the game was 4168

NEXT GAME – The Rebels host the Moose Jaw Warriors at the Enmax Centrium this Friday, December 5 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the game are available through Ticketmaster. The pregame show on 106.7 The Drive starts at 6:30.

By Troy Gillard