The Red Deer Rebels picked up a big point on Saturday night against the Calgary Hitmen, but honestly, they probably should have walked away with two. They came out flying at the Marchant Crane Centrium, piling up a quick 3-0 lead just 5:43 into the game, only to watch Calgary claw back and stun them with a 6-5 overtime win. The Hitmen scored the last three goals of the night, including two in the third period and the dagger with under a minute left in the extra frame. Rebels coach Marc Habscheid summed it up pretty bluntly afterward: his team got up early, started playing a bit too cute thinking they might rack up 10 goals, and drifted away from what was working. They survived a rough push from Calgary early in the second, built a two-goal cushion heading into the third, but then gave up a five-on-five tally, nearly killed a penalty only to allow a strong power-play goal that tied it, and finally lost on a somewhat flukey play in OT. Still, Habscheid pointed out that with a key defenceman sidelined by injury and facing a tough opponent, grabbing three out of four points over the weekend isn’t the end of the world—they’ll take it and move on. Kalder Varga had himself a night with his first career hat trick in his 123rd game, while Cameron Kuzma notched a career-high four points (1 goal, 3 assists). That keeps the Rebels three points clear of the Moose Jaw Warriors for the final playoff spot in the WHL Eastern Conference, with just three games left to lock it down.
Cameron Kuzma makes it a 1-0 game with his 12th goal of the season at 2:25 of the first period. Unassisted.-Cameron Kuzma got things going for the Rebels right away—skated over the blue line and ripped a absolute laser past Aidan Hesse from way out on Red Deer’s first shot, just 2:25 in.
Kalder Varga makes it 2-0 seconds later at 2:43 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Cameron Kuzma and Noah Chadi.–Boom—18 seconds later Varga doubles it! Fires from the faceoff circle, the puck bounces sky-high… and flutters right past Hesse into the net.
Kalder Varga makes it 3-0 Rebels at 5:43 of the first period with his second goal of the game and 18th of the season. The assist on the goal went to Matus Lisy. That goal spelt the end of the night for Hitmen goalie Aidan Hesse after only seeing 4 shots on goal, who was replaced by Eric Tu.–Varga wasn’t done—he lit Hesse up again just three minutes later, and that was lights out for the Hitmen goalie. Rebels had scored on three of their first four shots already. Eric Tu came in to take over for Calgary.
The Hitmen get on the board at 7:34 of the first period when Wyatt Pisarcyzk scores. The assists on the goal went to former Salmon Arm Silverback Ben MacBeath and Julien Maze.– At 7:34 in the period, Calgary finally got on the board—Wyatt Pisarczyk one-timed a beauty from the high slot to cut it to 3-1.
Hitmen get within one at 19:00 of the first period when West Fargo, North Dakota native Keaton Jundt scores his 12th goal of the season. The assist on the goal went to Harrison Loedwyk.–With just a minute left in the period, the Hitmen closed it to 3-2—Keaton Jundt banged home a one-timer of his own to give Calgary some life.
Shots on goal in the first period were 9-7 for the Rebels
Landon MacSwain makes it a 4-2 game for the Rebels at 5:05 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Cameron Kuzma and Kohen Lodge.-Early in the second, Landon MacSwain makes it 4-2 for Red Deer—he buries a shot from the low slot for his 12th goal of the season at 5:05.
Harrison Loedwyk got the Hitmen back within one at 5:34 of the second period while on the Power Play. The assists on the goal went to Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta native Kale Dach and Hunter Aura.–Harrison Lodewyk brought Calgary back within a goal just 29 seconds later with a power play marker.
Kalder Varga gets a hat trick to make it 5-3 at 13:08 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Cameron Kuzma and Matus Lisy.–Varga seals the hat trick! He flies down the right wing, picks his spot, and beats Tu five-hole to make it 5-3 Rebels with 6:52 left in the second. Right after, Hitmen D Hunter Aura gets nailed with a 10-minute misconduct for blasting the puck at the ref and catching him in the neck—yikes.
Shots on goal in the second period are 12-10 for the HItmen
The Hitmen made it a 5-4 game at 7:05 of the third period when Harrison Loedwyk got his 15th goal of the season. The assist on the goal went to Ben MacBeath.–Calgary claws back within one with 12:55 left in the third—Lodewyk tips one home for his second of the night, making it a one-goal game again.
Hitmen tie the game at 5 while on the Power Play when Kale Dach gets his 35th goal of the season at 15:10 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Harrison Loedwyk and Calder Hamilton.–Late in the third, the Rebels take a double-minor and it bites them—Kale Dach ties it up with 4:50 left overall and just 30 seconds remaining on Calgary’s power play. Game’s knotted now!
Shots on goal in the third period were 12-5 for the Hitmen
Hunter Aura scored the winner in overtime at 4:27. The assist on the goal went to Andrei Molgachev.–Final minute of OT—pure chaos. Aura fires one, it deflects off a diving Rebels D, pops over Kondro’s pad, and trickles in for the 6-5 winner. What a way to end it!
Shots in overtime were 6-3 for the Hitmen. The Hitmen outshot the Rebels 37-27 in the game.
For the Calgary Hitmen Aidan Hesse stopped 1 shot on the 4 he faced in the first 6 minutes of the game. He was then replaced by Eric Tu who stopped 21 of the 23 shots that he faced. For the Rebels Matthew Kondro stopped 31 of the 37 shots that he faced.
Three Stars of the game were 1) Harrison Loedwyk 2) Kalder Varga 3) Cameron Kuzma
Attendance in Red Deer was 4518
Rebels next game is Wednesday March 18th in Lethbridge against the Hurricanes.
