WHL Red Deer Rebels

Rebels Battle Back from Two-Goal Deficit, Beat Raiders in a Shootout

Published on January 19, 2020 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Red Deer Rebels News Release


Call it a character win.

One night after falling in overtime at Lethbridge, the Red Deer Rebels found themselves trailing the Prince Albert Raiders by two goals in the third period Saturday at the Centrium.

But the host squad buckled down, notched a pair of markers to force a scoreless overtime frame and eventually recorded a 4-3 WHL shootout win in front of 4,072 fans.

"We played with a lot of emotion," said Rebels alternate captain Zak Smith, whose second goal of the game drew the home team even at 3-3.

"The last couple of games everyone's been stepping up and everyone's been filling their roles. We've been rollin'.

"Tonight we played with speed and we were hard on the forecheck. Like I said, we played with a lot of emotion on the night. Even when we were down 3-1 we just kept rolling, came back and got a win out of it."

The Raiders snapped a 1-1 tie with a breakaway goal from Landon Kosior in the final minute of the second period, and Eric Pearce made it 3-1 from a goalmouth scramble just 1:24 into the third.

"Their second goal at the end of the period, unfortunately we just didn't handle it right coming out of the box. And on their third goal we just mishandled the puck at the side of the net," said Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter.

"But other than that I thought we played really well. It was a heck of a game."

The Rebels cut the deficit to 3-2 just 74 seconds after the Raiders' third goal, as Keaton Sorensen carried the puck around the PA net after taking a feed from Dallon Melin and scored on a wrap-around.

Barely three more minutes had passed when Smith pulled the Rebels even, accepting a rink-wide pass from Arshdeep Bains during a Red Deer power play and beating netminder Carter Serhyenko with a rising shot from 35 feet out.

"Obviously it was a big goal by Keaton to get us right back into it quickly, and then we get a power play and make something happen on it," said Sutter.

"Again, this weekend we played hard. We competed and did a lot of really good things."

Ilya Usau notched the Raiders' first goal, throwing an inside-out move on a Red Deer defender and put the puck upstairs on goalie Ethan Anders 5:07 into the contest.

Smith replied for the Rebels at 8:50 of the second period, fighting off a check just outside the PA crease, then turning and stuffing the puck under Serhyenko.

Smith's two goals gave him nine for the season and earned him a first-star selection.

"That was nice. I've been struggling this year with points, but I'm just trying to stick with my game," he said. "I've been getting better at different aspects of my game. I thought the offence would come and tonight it did."

Raiders forward Ozzy Weisblatt was named the game's second star and Anders was fully deserving of his third-star selection.

The Rebels third-year stopper turned aside 31 shots. Included were several in regulation time, including a pair in the late going, and stellar overtime saves on Matthew Culling and Kaiden Guhle.

"Andy has struggled with injuries the past couple of months and you kind of wonder that staying off the ice a bit he'd get a little rusty," said Smith. "But he came in tonight and he stayed strong. He made big saves and kept us in the game. He was a big part of our win tonight."

Smith and Sutter were both impressed with the line of Sorensen, Melin and Jace Isley.

"They were playing really well all night. The first two periods they were probably our best line for getting chances," said Smith.

"To see a guy like Keaton get a goal like that . . . he's kind of a small guy but plays a big role on the fourth line against big boys. So for him to get a goal like that, it's huge for him and huge for our team."

"We've kept that line together," said Sutter. "For the most part they bring us energy, they're young kids learning the league still.

"There's a bit of everything on that line. Keaton brings some skill, the other two are straight line guys who are good down low. Tonight they generated some offence for us just pushing the pace and getting pucks to the net and around the net. And they were rewarded for it."

Notable: Serhyenko made 24 saves for the Raiders, including a pair of beauties on Chris Douglas in the dying seconds of overtime . . . The Rebels prevailed 2-0 in the shootout, as Josh Tarzwell and Ben King connected while Anders denied Weisblatt and Usau . . . The Rebels were one-for-four on the power play, the Raiders zero-for-one . . . The game was the fourth and final meeting of the two clubs this season. Red Deer finished 3-1-0-0 against the Raiders . . . The Rebels are idle until next Saturday when they host the Calgary Hitmen. It will be the 300th game of Red Deer forward Cam Hausinger's WHL career.

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 19, 2020


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