Matthew Gard’s trio of goals powered the Red Deer Rebels to a 4-2 win against the Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday night at the Centrium.
In this mid-week showdown, all four of Red Deer’s goals came on the power play, with Gard and Ollie Josephson teaming up for a pair of scores, Talon Brigley dishing out three assists, and Jhett Larson finding the back of the net for the second game in a row.
The season series between Red Deer and Brandon ended in a deadlock, with the Rebels securing two victories at home and the Wheat Kings taking both matchups on their own turf.
Matthew Gard gets the Rebels on the board at 12:03 of the first period while on the Power Play when he buries a rebound to make it a 1-0 game. The assists on the goal went to Ollie Josephson and Jhett Larson.–With 7:57 remaining in the opening period, the Rebels notched their first powerplay tally of the evening. Jhett Larson and Ollie Josephson exchanged passes in a slick give-and-go sequence until Josephson fired the puck toward the goal. Matthew Gard was there to pounce on the rebound and bury it in the net.
Shots on goal in the first period was 14-5 for the Rebels
Jhett Larson scored his 9th goal of the season on the Power Play to make it a 2-0 Rebels game at 2:34 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Samuel Drancak and Talon Brigley.– Into the middle frame, Jhett Larson got his stick on a pass from Samuel Drancak then stuffed home a rebound past Wheat Kings goalie Ethan Eskit for his second man advantage tally in as many games.
Sylvan Lake, Alberta native Caleb Hadland got his 20th goal of the season for the Wheat Kings at 5:50 of the second period to cut the Rebels lead by 1. The assists on the goal went to Colleyville, Texas native Matteo Michels and netminder Ethan Eskit.–Brandon’s Caleb Hadland, from Sylvan Lake, took matters into his own hands as he skated the length of the ice to pop it past Rebels goalie Peyton Shore to make it a 2-1 contest.
Wilcox, Saskatchewan native Joby Baumuller tied the game up for the Wheat Kings at 18:33 of the second frame. The assist on the goal went to 16 year old rookie dman Giorgos Pantelas.- With 1:27 left in the period, Joby Baumuller tied the game at two a piece.
Shots on goal in the second period were 13-12 for the Rebels
Brandon found itself with a three-minute power play following a series of events in which Larson was given a major and game misconduct for boarding. But the Rebels penalty kill shut the door to keep the game tied. Then Red Deer, after Wheat Kings star Roger McQueen was ejected for boarding for a hit on Beckett Hamilton, went on a three-minute power play of their own. It would prove to be the deciding part of the game.
Matthew Gard scored his second goal of the game on the Power Play at 11:53 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Ollie Josephson and Talon Brigley.– Once again, Josephson put the puck on net where Gard tipped it from midair past Eskit for his second goal of the game.
Matthew Gard got his hat trick goal to make it a 4-2 game on the Power Play at 13:13 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Kalan Lind and Talon Brigley.– Gard sealed his first-ever WHL hat trick. From the corner, Kalan Lind zipped a pinpoint cross-crease pass right onto the stick of number 9, who deftly tucked it home for his third goal of the night.
Shots on goal in the third period were 9-7 for the Rebels. The Rebels outshot the Wheat Kings 36-24 in the game.
Peyton Shore made 22 saves on the 24 shots that he faced for the win for the Rebels. For the Wheat Kings Calgary native Ethan Eskit made 32 saves on the 26 shots that he faced.
Three Stars of the game are 1) Matthew Gard 2) Talon Brigley 3) Caleb Hadland
Attendance in Red Deer was 2933
Rebels next game is Friday March 7th in Red Deer against the Medicine Hat Tigers
Corey Pronman – The Athletic – January 28th: “He has game-breaking ability with the puck and can dominate a game. He’s extremely talented as a puckhandler, but he can also generate offense around the net and doesn’t shy from physical play.” Ryan Kennedy – The Hockey News – January 27th: “Consider this a holding pattern spot for McQueen, who has been sidelined by a suspected back injury most of the year. At the end of the day, when healthy, he’s a towering center who can produce in bunches.” Sam Cosentino – Sportsnet – January 22nd: “There is a cautionary tale here based on what we saw last year with Cayden Lindstrom going fourth to Columbus. With everyone else healthy and playing, it’s hard to use eight early-season games and a good draft minus-one season to project McQueen over the group ahead of him.” Hannah Stuart – Bleacher Report – January 20th: “His only real drawback for us is his skating mechanics; everything else, like his tenacity, hockey IQ, and puck skills, have us convinced that his offensive potential is the real deal. He feels very worth taking a swing on this high (No. 6), depending on who’s left on the board.” <SNIP> LINK