Look, folks, it was a downright brutal way for the Red Deer Rebels to wrap up 2025 – getting absolutely blanked 8-0 by those red-hot Medicine Hat Tigers on Tuesday night at the Peavey Mart Centrium. The boys in red just couldn’t catch a break against a Tigers squad that’s now riding a monster 13-game win streak, their longest since ’07. Seven different Tigers lit the lamp, with the Ruck twins – Liam and Markus – each racking up four points, including a couple shorthanded markers that really twisted the knife. Jordan Switzer stonewalled all 23 shots for his first shutout of the year, while poor Matthew Kondro faced a barrage of 41 and let in eight.Things stayed chippy early, but the third period turned into a full-on gong show with line brawls erupting and the teams piling up around 178-210 penalty minutes – take your pick on the exact count, it was a mess either way. Coach Marc Habscheid didn’t mince words after, pointing out how shorthanded the Rebels are with guys like Matus Lisy and Samuel Drancak off at World Juniors, Kohen Lodge hurt, and Matthew Gard sitting out for whatever reason. He said the lads battled hard and stuck together despite being undermanned, but yeah, he wasn’t thrilled about some of the “antics” from the other side and those soft calls that fueled the chaos. Outshot bad, powerless on the man advantage (0-for-5 while Medicine Hat went 3-for-5), and now on a nine-game skid – it’s tough sledding right now for Red Deer. The Tigers, fresh off dominating the two-game set 15-4, capped a helluva calendar year where they grabbed another WHL title. Rebels gotta shake this off quick with Edmonton coming up, then Seattle at home. Here’s hoping 2026 brings better luck.
