Rebels win fourth consecutive game 6-4 against Tigers

resilience and determination.

Those were the words to describe the efforts of the Red Deer Rebels after winning their fourth straight game at Medicine Hat 6-4.

It was a classic offensive thriller and the Rebels were ruthless in the offensive zone, shooting out the Tigers 50-24 every period.

There were five separate lead changes but after some third-half heroics, including a goal late in the frame by Jace Isley, Red Deer prevailed despite Medicine Hat’s excellent goalkeepers.

Head coach Steve Konowalchuk said his team put in a solid game.

“They had to fight a lot of the game to eventually win, but I figured we’d skate, jump on loose pucks and check ahead pretty well,” he said.

“They kept going and did a really good job of finding a way to win.”

The Rebels struck first after eight minutes when defender Hunter Mayo ripped a wrist shot from the top of the circle on the power play after a cross-ice pass from Jace Weir.

Medicine Hat equalized with two and a half minutes remaining in the opening period through Cayden Lindstrom’s bat.

However, the Rebels took the lead 2-1 after just over two minutes in midframe while undermanned. Forward Jace Isley capitalized on a golden opportunity while in a two-on-one breakaway.

About 40 seconds later, Medicine Hat leveled the game again with Oasiz Wiesblatt’s power play. The Tigers weren’t done there as forward Tyler MacKenzie brought Medicine Hat back up 3-2 at halftime in the period.

Before the end of the third, Kai Uchacz dropped his gloves with Pavel Bocharov as tempers between Central Division rivals reached a fever pitch.

Minutes from time Tigers Brett Calhoon met Rebels forward Kalan Lind. The Tigers forward was accused of game misconduct and Lind did not return to the game.

The action didn’t stop early in the final period when the Rebels scored, but after a lengthy review the high stick call remained a no-goal. It didn’t take Red Deer long to put another goal into the net, however, as Kai Uchacz scored his 23rd team scoring goal of the year and extended his points streak to 10 games the very next shift.

The Tigers took the lead again with six minutes remaining, scored by Brayden Boehm. Thirty seconds later, Rebels striker Frantisek Formanek hammered in a shot to make it 4-4.

At the 16:39 mark, Isley got on the clutch with his second of the evening and blasted a rebound into the net to take a 5-4 lead in a frantic third period. Craig Armstrong sealed the deal for the Rebels with 20 seconds remaining with an empty goal in a 6-4 win.

Rebels goaltender Rhett Stoesser made some big saves late in the game and walked away with 20 saves and the win.

“There were some frustrating moments. Of course it’s tough when a goal is disallowed, but they did it on the next shift. The other team came down and scored again, so it was just one of those games where I thought a lot about us playing well,” he added.

“There were some mistakes that you want to fix towards the end that might have made our life a little bit easier but overall I thought our guys were resilient and kept going.”

Next up for the Rebels is a Saturday night matchup against the Swift Current Broncos at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Peavey Mart Centtrium.

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