WHL Red Deer Rebels

Sloppy First Period Costly for Rebels in Loss to Raiders

Published on November 28, 2018 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Red Deer Rebels News Release


The Red Deer Rebels were the equal of the powerhouse Prince Albert Raiders through the final two periods of a WHL game Tuesday at the Centrium.

But that first 20 minutes . . .

"The first period was really the difference in the game," said Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter following a 4-3 loss before 3,726 fans. "We were sloppy, we gave up too many two-on-ones and didn't have great goaltending.

"Our power play didn't produce for us when we needed something, but the last two periods I thought we played pretty well. We only gave up 11 shots in the last two periods and at the end of the night you're outshooting them by three shots (31-28)."

The game started on a negative note for the Rebels, who were down 2-0 barely four minutes after the opening faceoff.

Spencer Moe scored at 2:59 when Rebels netminder Ethan Anders appeared to overplay a seemingly harmless shot and kicked the rebound directly into the low slot.

Parker Kelly connected shortly after, converting a nifty three-way passing play while all alone at the side of the net.

Sutter called a timeout at that point and had a message for his troops.

"Just get on your toes and get playing. You're showing a team way too much respect and you have to get some urgency in your game and start playing," the Rebels boss relayed to his players.

"Right from Andy (Anders) out . . . that's two games in a row Andy hasn't been great for us and your starting goaltender has to be good for you."

Defenceman Ethan Sakowich got one back for Red Deer when his wrist shot from just inside the blueline eluded a screened Raiders stopper Ian Scott, but Cole Fonstad restored the visitors' two-goal cushion near the midway point of the first when he looked off on a two-on-one and whipped the puck past Anders.

That marked the end of the night for the Red Deer starter, who has been superb the vast majority of the season and finished with seven saves on 10 shots.

The Rebels had a glorious opportunity to close the gap later in the opening frame but came up empty on a lengthy five-on-three man advantage.

It didn't help that premier rearguard Alex Alexeyev, a power play weapon who has produced seven goals and 28 points this season, was out of the Rebels lineup with an upper-body injury.

"Our power play needed to be better than it was tonight," said Sutter, whose extra-man units were a mere one-for-seven. "Obviously you're missing your top player, your top defenceman, but that being said we missed him a lot last year and we were fine.

"But our power play, especially in the first period, on that five-on-three, all we were doing was looking to pass the puck. Nothing was being directed at the net and we weren't creating enough."

Zak Smith narrowed the gap to 3-2 midway through the second frame, burying a loose puck in the crease following some solid down low play by Alex Morozoff, but league-leading scorer Brett Leason potted the eventual winner five minutes later, connecting from the left circle during a Raiders power play.

The Rebels outshot their guests 9-6 in the final period but couldn't solve Scott until Jeff de Wit redirected a shot by Brandon Hagel, then stuffed the rebound under the Raiders netminder with 59 seconds remaining.

Earlier, and with the Rebels short-handed, Scott slid across to make a tremendous pad stop on a one-timer from Hagel from in tight.

"We had some scoring chances. We had a short-handed chance by Hages and some other chances that we didn't capitalize on," said Sutter.

"But we're a young team and for us to have success we have to have everyone playing well and tonight we had some guys who just didn't play well enough for us, whether it was our top guys or other guys.

"For us to have success it has to start with our goaltender. Our goaltender has to be solid, our defence has to be solid and we have to have a solid forward group throughout. If you're missing in any of those areas, especially when you're playing a team like that, you're putting yourself in dire straits, and in the first period we did that, we were just too loose."

Sutter also wasn't impressed with his team's play in Scott's territory.

"I didn't like our guys low on the goal line tonight, their feet were pointed in the wrong direction. They were pointed at our goalie, not at their goalie," he said.

"When you play hockey like that, when your placement on the ice is like that, you're only looking to be a passer, not a shooter."

Scott turned aside 28 shots and was selected as the game's third star, while Fancy was impressive in relief of Anders, allowing just one goal on 18 shots.

"He was solid, strong, he made some big saves," said Sutter. "I thought he gave us what we needed.

"But I just thought that our defence, at certain points tonight . . . some of them didn't have a good night. Too many turnovers."

Notable: The win was the 17th in a row for the Raiders, who at 24-1-0-0 - with their lone loss a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Rebels on Oct. 6 at the Centrium - are off to one of the best starts in WHL history . . . The Rebels who are 1-2 versus Prince Albert this season with every game being decided by a single goal, slipped to 16-7-1-0 but remain atop the Central Division with a one-point lead over Edmonton . . . Red Deer is in Medicine Hat Wednesday for an engagement with the Tigers, then hosts Calgary and Moose Jaw Friday and Saturday before heading to Lethbridge for a Sunday game against the Hurricanes . . . Alexeyev is listed as day to day. He won't play Wednesday but should be back for the weekend games . . . The first and second stars Tuesday were Raiders forward Sergei Sapego and Rebels forward Chris Douglas.

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