Huskies and Rebels meet in MasterCard Memorial Cup Semi-Final

After a day off on Thursday, Friday’s long-awaited Semi-Final clash between the host Red Deer Rebels and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies is drawing nearer.

The do-or-die game pits a Rebels team coming off a thrilling overtime win over the Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday up against the QMJHL champion Huskies who played to a 1-2 mark in the round robin.

The Rebels knocked off the Huskies 5-2 on Sunday. Coach Brent Sutter feels his club has played some of its best hockey over the past two games.

“We need to continue to build off those wins and continue to get better,” he said. “We’ve found ways to win in our last two games because we’ve done some really good things. We need to make sure we continue to build off of that. We know our opponent is a very, very good hockey team but we’re approaching this game the right way.”

The Rebels have been led in scoring by the four-point trio of Adam Helewka (3-1–4), Jake DeBrusk (1-3–4) and Haydn Fleury (1-3–4) while goaltender Rylan Toth turned in a 33-save performance in Wednesday’s overtime win.

Sutter has been pleased with what he’s seen from his club on this big stage.

“We’re in a situation where it’s do or die. I know coming into this that a lot of people saw three champions and a host team, but I think the host team has shown that they’re a pretty good hockey team here.”

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, who come off losses to Red Deer and London, will need to regain their footing tonight if they hope to keep their MasterCard Memorial Cup hopes alive.

A tournament-opening win against Brandon even had it’s share of late hiccups as the Huskies were outshot 20-4 in the third period.

While the Huskies have shown glimpses of excellence, they’re still looking for that full 60-minute effort and hope Friday, albeit late in the tournament, can be a turning point.

“It’s all about us in this game,” said Huskies coach Gilles Bouchard. “We have to be ready to play Huskies hockey. We’ll need to change a couple things but we’re not focused on the opponent, we want to focus on our team.”

Penalties have been an issue for Rouyn-Noranda throughout the tournament, with the opposition going 6-for-21 (28.5%) against them on the man advantage. Bouchard says more discipline is needed from his club.

“It’s been an issue for us throughout the tournament. It’s not always easy but our guys know they have to stay out of the box and that will be important tonight.”

The Rebels, who have last change tonight, will have the home crowd behind them when the puck drops at 6:00pm MT/8:00pm ET.

Tonight’s game can be seen live across the country on Sportsnet, TVA Sports 2 and on the NHL Network in the United States.