In a nail-biting clash against the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday evening, the Red Deer Rebels seemed to even the score at 6-6 with just 1:35 remaining on the clock. Pinpointing the exact hero who jammed the puck home was tricky amid the chaos, but the Rebels had no doubt it had fully crossed the line, erupting in a wild on-ice celebration. The WHL officials, though, took a different view after a drawn-out video review at the Centrium, ultimately waving off the goal.The call drew a chorus of jeers from the 4,736-strong crowd, who made their displeasure with the refs crystal clear. Despite a furious rally to the final buzzer, the Rebels couldn’t snag that elusive equalizer, dropping a heartbreaking 6-5 decision to the Blades.
Cooper Williams opened up the scoring for the Blades making it a 1-0 game when he stripped the puck from a Rebel defender who couldn’t control the bouncing puck.–
Samuel Drancak tied the game up at 10:44 of the first period with the assists on the goal going to Jaxon Fuder and Grayden Peterson. –Drancak found the equalizer nearly five minutes later, which extended his goal streak to seven games. He notched his ninth tally of the 2025-26 campaign when he fired a shot on net shortly after entering the offensive zone with speed.
Calgary native and University of North Dakota commit Cooper Williams deflects a shot from the point to get his 2nd goal of the game and 9th goal of the season on the Power Play at 12:41 of the first period. The assists on the goal went to former Lethbridge Hurricane Tristen Doyle and German David Lewandowski.
Jaxon Fuder makes it a 2-2 game on the Power Play at 17:29 of the first period. The assists on the goal going to Samuel Drancak and Ty Coupland.–The Rebels tied the game again with 2:32 left in the first. Fuder scored his fifth of the season from the right side of the net on the power play following a setup pass from Drancak.
Shots on goal in the first period was 15-6 for the Blades
20 year old Moose Jaw native and University of Maine commit Rowan Calvert gave the Blades a 3-2 lead at 6:14 of the second period while on the Power Play. The helpers on the goal went to Calgary native and Colorado College commit Zach Olsen and Union commit Tyler Parr.
Shots on goal in the second period were 10-6 for the Blades
20 year old Czech native Dominik Petr made it a 4-2 game at 4:43 of the third period. The assist on the goal went to former Rebel Derek Thurston. Petr was left alone sitting on the door step for quite awhile.
Beckett Hamilton gets the Rebels within one at 6:43 of the third period. The goal was unassisted.-Red Deer didn’t go away quietly, though, as forward Beckett Hamilton brought his team within one of tying it two minutes after Saskatoon’s goal. Hamilton carried the puck into the offensive zone and toward the net before he stopped, spun around and fired a backhand shot past the goalie.
Jaxon Fuder scores his second goal of the game on the Power Play at 9:56 of the third period to tie the game up at 4.
Calgary Flames draft pick Hunter Laing gave the Blades a 5-4 lead at 12:52 of the third period while on the Power Play. The assists on the goal went to Cooper Williams and Calgary native Brayden Klimpke.
Former Seattle Thunderbird Kazden Mathies gave the Blades a 6-4 lead at 15:26 of the third period unassisted.
Jaxon Fuder got the Rebels back within one after Matus Lisy fed him a perfect pass to complete his hat trick at the 16:00 mark of the third period. The other assist on the goal went to Luke Vlooswyk.
Shots on goal in the third period were tied at 8 each. The Blades outshot the Rebels in the game 33-23.
Evan Gardner made 18 saves for the 23 shots he faced for the Blades for the win. For the Rebels Matthew Kondro made 27 saves on 33 shots.
Three Stars of the game were 1) Cooper Williams 2) Jaxon Fuder 3) Dominik Petr 4) Tristan Doyle (dislodged net at the end of the game🤣) 5) Ref Mason Stewart
Attendance in Red Deer was 4736
Rebels next game is Friday November 21st against the Medicine Hat Tigers
