Sports stats



WHL Red Deer Rebels

Third Period Outburst Gives Rebels Huge Win over Broncos

February 25, 2018 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Red Deer Rebels News Release


The Red Deer Rebels snapped a two-game Western Hockey League losing streak in style Saturday night at the Centrium.

The Rebels spit in the face of adversity, erupting for four goals in the third period and securing a 5-3 victory over the Swift Current Broncos before 4,735 fans.

"That's definitely a big win for us, it's huge for the standings too," said Rebels captain Grayson Pawlenchuk, deservedly named the first star of the thrilling contest after notching two of the late goals.

"It was huge especially (after) the last two games we played and not getting the points there that we needed. It was a big win for us and two huge points at this time of the year."

The visitors led 2-1 after two periods of the highly entertaining track meet, and the situation looked grim for the hosts when Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin staked his club to a two-goal lead with a wrap-around goal at 7:03 of the final frame.

But the Rebels captain cued the comeback two minutes later. Just seconds after running over Beck Malenstyn in the opposition end, Pawlenchuk was the recipient of a turnover and stuffed the puck between the pads of Broncos netminder Joel Hofer.

The overage forward then drew the Rebels even at 15:53 on a rapid wrap-around, and Chris Douglas knocked in the winner 57 seconds later when Hofer lost control and sight of the puck in the crease.

Kristian Reichel, from the corner of the Red Deer end, sealed the deal with an empty-net tally with 42 seconds remaining.

"It certainly was an exciting win, to come back like that and score four goals in the third to win," said Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter, whose club had fallen 3-2 to visiting Prince Albert 24 hours earlier.

"But moreso than anything, I just liked our overall game tonight. We were just much better in a lot of areas. We played more tonight like we had seen on the road trip (a 4-0 jaunt through the B.C. Division last week).

"When we play that way we'll find ways to get points and find ways to win hockey games."

The contest was a thrilling, back-and-forth affair in which the Rebels were able to match the speed of the highly skilled Broncos.

"There was a lot of pace, it was quick," said Sutter. "I thought we had a lot more jump here tonight than last night. I thought we got to our positions quicker, we got on pucks quicker and our forecheck was better."

The Rebels also got a quality outing from netminder Riley Lamb, who made excellent back-to-back saves on Malenstyn to keep the score at 3-2 and finished with 28 stops.

"Lamber was very solid for us," said Sutter. "That's not taking anything away from their team. Their team is a very good hockey team, they got a lot in all areas.

"What's encouraging with it is when we do things right and play the right way, we can play with those teams. Even with our youth we can do things right and have success."

The Rebels opened the scoring early in the second period when Brandon Hagel grabbed a pass from Alex Alexeyev and beat Hofer from the left faceoff circle.

The lead lasted all of 71 seconds, however, as Tyler Steenbergen back-handed a cross-ice feed to Giorgio Estephan and the former Buffalo Sabres prospect buried a shot low to Lamb's blocker side.

Matteo Gennaro made it 2-1 for the Broncos late in the period, keeping his balance during a goalmouth scramble and scoring with a backhand that trickled over the line.

Gawdin's third-period tally could have been the deciding dagger, but Red Deer responded, carried the play down the stretch and posted an all-important victory that boosted their lead over the Kootenay Ice to four points.

The Ice, who just a few weeks ago were 12 points up on the Rebels for third place in the Central Division and a playoff berth, fell 5-3 to the host Spokane Chiefs Saturday.

"I thought we deserved this tonight," said Sutter. "In the last 12 minutes we kept pushing, kept the heat on. Obviously you're playing a very good hockey team, but if we play the right way and do things the right way we can play with anybody.

"You'll get rewarded more often than not and tonight we got rewarded for doing a lot of good things."

Pawlenchuk led the way with his 17th and 18th goals of the season, snapping a lengthy scoring drought in the process.

"It was definitely nice," he stated. "I haven't had the best of luck lately, but I kind of put that aside for the team's success, so it's still been good.

"But it was nice to have some personal success here."

Coupled with the manner in which his club responded late, the goals were particularly satisfying.

"Just the fact that we didn't quit tonight," said Pawlenchuk, in reference to the most impressive part of the Rebels performance. "We were down 3-1 and we just still kept on fighting. We didn't get out of game at all, we all stayed positive and stayed in the game. We just kept working and eventually we broke them."

Sutter was happy for and doubly impressed with the fifth-year Red Deer winger.

"He's been fighting it a bit recently, maybe from a lack of confidence because the puck hasn't been going in for him," said the Rebels boss. "But both of the goals he scored tonight were power moves.

"He makes a big hit in the corner and stays on it and stays on it, then he makes a power move behind the net (on his second goal) to put it in. I was proud of Pawly tonight. That's the leadership that he's capable of giving us and when he plays like that he's tough to contain."

Notable: Hofer finished with 23 saves . . . Selected as the second and third stars were Gawdin and Alexeyev . . . The Rebels return to action Wednesday when the Calgary Hitmen visit the Centrium, then host Kootenay in a proverbial four-pointer two nights later.

Check out the Red Deer Rebels Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from February 25, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Red Deer Rebels Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central