The Red Deer Rebels and Saskatoon Blades keep their rivalry alive, with no game ever truly decided until the final buzzer sounds.
This season, all five clashes between these two teams have been nail-biters, each settled by a single goal. The latest showdown on Friday night in Red Deer was no exception, as the Blades snatched a dramatic 3-2 victory in the last moments of overtime, narrowly escaping the Rebels’ grasp.
The Rebels mounted a fierce late charge, with Ollie Josephson and Beckett Hamilton striking in the closing two minutes of regulation to wipe out a 2-0 deficit and force extra time, securing at least one point for their efforts.
20 year old Bowling Green commit Tanner Scott got the Blades on the board at 15:38 of the first period with the assists going to Abbotsford native Jordan Martin and Ben Saunderson.–At the 4:22 mark of the first period, the Blades opened the scoring as Tanner Scott netted the rebound of Jordan Martin’s shot from the blue line.
Shots on goal in the first period were 11-8 for Saskatoon
Shots on goal in the second period were 15-5 for the Rebels
20 year old Captain and Quinnipiac commit Ben Saunderson made it 2-0 for the Blades at 12:43 of the third period. The helpers on the goal went to William James and Tanner Scott.–Saskatoon’s next tally didn’t come until 12:43 through the third period as Saunderson made it 2-0 with his fourth goal of the year. Scott assisted on the goal, giving him six goals and 11 assists in a Blades uniform this season.
Captain Ollie Josephson nets his 10th goal of the season at 18:14 of the third period to get the Rebels on the board. The assists on the goal went to Ty Coupland and Beckett Hamilton.–With just 1:46 left on the clock, Ollie Josephson unleashed a shot that rocketed into the net, marking the captain’s 10th goal of the season and breathing new life into the Rebels. (At first, it looked like Kalan Lind might’ve deflected it in, but the credit stayed with Josephson.)
Beckett Hamilton got the game tying goal with only 27 seconds left in the game to make it 2-2. The assist on the goal went to Derek Thurston.–Then, Beckett Hamilton brought 3,537 fans to their feet as he stepped into a loose puck to tie the game with 26.2 seconds left.
Shots on goal in the third period were 17-9 for the Rebels
David Lewandowski scored the overtime winner for the Blades at 4:41 of OT. The assists on the goal went to Ben Saunderson and Calgary native Cooper Williams.
Shots on goal in overtime were 4-2 for the Blades. The Rebels outshot the Blades 42-29 in the game.
Former Medicine Hat Tiger goalie Ethan McCallum made 40 saves on the 42 shots that he faced for the win for the Blades. For the Rebels Chase Wutzke stopped 26 of the 29 shots that he faced.
Three Stars of the game were 1) David Lewandowski 2) Ethan McCallum 3) Beckett Hamilton
Out of the line-up for the Rebels were Jaxon Fuder (upper), Brett Calhoon, Dmitri Toporowski and Jack Bousquet … Jace Weir returned to the line-up after being out of the line-up since January 25 with an upper body injury … Jhett Larson and Talon Brigley each played their 250th regular season game for the Rebels
Attendance in Red Deer was 3537
Rebels next game is Friday February 28th at home against the Calgary Hitmen
