In a strong display at the Peavey Mart Centrium, the Red Deer Rebels rallied from a slow start to defeat the Calgary Hitmen 5-2, marking their fourth consecutive victory. This win propelled the Rebels to the top of the WHL Central Division standings, with the highest points percentage in the Eastern Conference. The team’s composure and leadership were pivotal in overcoming any potential emotional slump, leading to a dominant performance in the latter stages of the game.
Steven Steranka scored his first WHL goal at 2:30 of the first period unassisted. Just 3 days after his 17th birthday.
Reese Hamilton tied the game up for the Hitmen at 11:20 of the first period with the assists going to Oliver Tulk and former Swift Current Bronco Connor Hvidston.
Shots in the first period of play were 11-4 for the Hitmen.
Cohen Poulin scored his second goal of the season to make it a 2-1 Rebels game at 3:04 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Matteo Fabrizi and Steven Steranka.
Ollie Josephson gave the Rebels a 3-1 lead on the Power Play at 10:47 of the second period. The goal was assisted by Talon Brigley and Jhett Larson.
Shots in the second period were 8 each.
Matteo Fabrizi made it a 4-1 game when he scored at 4:17 of the third period with the assist going to Ollie Josephson. I don’t know what Fabrizi has been eating lately but his point total the last few games has been sick. He already has 6 points this season. He had 10 all season last season. He is on pace to get over 80 points if he keeps it up. He has been scoring against good teams too.
Kamloops, BC native Hunter Aura scored his first WHL goal at 17:56 of the third period with the assists on the goal going to Connor Hvidston and Oliver Tulk. That made the game 4-2.
Carson Birnie scored for the Rebels on an empty net to seal the win at 19:12 of the third period to make it a 5-2 game. Assists on the goal went to Talon Brigley and Ollie Josephson
Shots in the third period were 14-9 for the Hitmen with the Hitmen outshooting the Rebels outshooting the Hitmen 33-21 in the game
Rhett Stoesser made 31 saves on the 33 shots that he faced for the win for the Rebels. For the Hitmen Surrey, BC native Eric Tu who doesn’t turn 16 until October 26th made 16 saves on the 20 shots that he faced.
Three Stars of the game were 1) Ollie Josephson 2) Matteo Fabrizi 3) Steven Steranka
Attendance in Red Deer was 3, 710
Rebels next game is Tuesday October 8th against the Vancouver Giants in Red Deer
Mynhldraft.com has Calgary Hitmen dman Reese Hamilton ranked #32 for the 2025 NHL Draft in their latest edition. I should go back and see if on all the Yakemchuk ones from last year if any of them had him going to Ottawa. 🤔
I don’t know what is going on in Medicine Hat. I would like to think the Rebels beat them all 3 games because the Rebels are that good. After losing to the Rebels the Tigers went out and traded for pretty much the best goalie in the league next to the Rebels guys. Giving up Shane Smith for most teams would be a lot of fire power but for a stacked house like the Tigers its is at least liveable. It is still early to tell but after the trade the Tigers played the Moose Jaw Warriors and lost 6-3.
