The Red Deer Rebels capped their challenging six-game B.C. road trip with a gritty 3-2 win over the Prince George Cougars on Tuesday night, earning a much-needed second straight victory to close out the trek. Red Deer struck first when Cameron Kuzma scored late in the opening period to make it 1-0, but the Cougars answered with two goals in the second to take a brief lead—only for Poul Andersen to knot things up at 2-2 before the frame ended. The game-winner came late in the third from Patrick Sopiarz, who potted the decisive goal against his former team. Sopiarz, who suited up for 79 games with Prince George and tallied just 6 points there, has already racked up 8 points in only 20 games since joining the Rebels. Aleksey Chichkin also has ties to the Cougars organization. The victory was extra special for head coach Marc Habscheid, who reached his 600th regular-season WHL win, joining just a handful of coaches in league history to hit that milestone. Beckett Hamilton chipped in with an assist to reach his team-leading 40th point of the season. The Rebels wrapped the road swing at 2-4, improving their overall record to 18-27-2-2 with 19 games left. They’re now two points clear of the idle Regina Pats for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, though Regina holds three games in hand. Prince George, meanwhile, entered the matchup strong at 29-17-2-0 and third in the Western Conference, making this the only meeting between the two clubs this season—and a surprising upset for the visitors.
Cameron Kuzma gets his 7th goal of the season to make it a 1-0 game for the Rebels at 16:40 of the first period. The assists on the goal going to Talon Brigley and Kalder Varga.-Red Deer opened the scoring at 16:40 when Cameron Kuzma dragged the puck into the left circle and lifted a shot over Levshyn to give the Rebels a 1–0 lead, which they carried into the first intermission.
Shots on goal in the first period were 12-7 for the Rebels
Cougars tie the game up at 7:34 of the second period while on the Power Play. Former Sherwood Park Crusader Brock Souch got his 17th goal of the season. The assists on the goal went to 20 year old former Lethbridge Hurricane Kooper Gizowski and Canadian World Junior Bronze Medalist Carson Carels.
Carson Carels gives the Cougars the lead at 9:35 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to 20 year old Captain Bauer Dumanski and Brock Souch.-During four-on-four play, Carson Carels gave the Cougars their first lead of the night, walking into the left circle and snapping home his 15th goal of the season.
Poul Andersen deflects a shot at 15:29 of the second period to tie the game up at 2. The assists on the goal went to Aleksey Chichkin and Beckett Hamilton.-Red Deer answered back at 15:25 when a point shot from former Cougar Aleksey Chichkin was tipped past Levshyn by Poul Andersen to make it 2–2.
Shots on goal in the second period were 15-4 for the Cougars.
Patrick Sopiarz makes it 3-2 for the Rebels against his old team on the Power Play at 16:57 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Nate Yellowaga and Matus Lisy.-Former Cougar Patrick Sopiarz fired a shot from the right circle that deflected off a Cougars skate and into the net at 16:57, giving Red Deer the lead.
Shots on goal in the third period were 10-7 for the Rebels. The Cougars outshot the Rebels 29-26 in the game.
Matthew Kondro made 27 saves on the 29 shots that he faced for the win for the Rebels. For the Cougars Alexander Levshyn made 23 saves on the 26 shots that he faced.
Three Stars of the game were 1) Matthew Kondro 2) Carson Carels 3) Tyson Yaremko
Attendance In Prince George was 2954
Rebels next game is Saturday February 7th at home against the Moose Jaw Warriors
Carels is like a security blanket: you feel safe and comfortable when he’s out on the ice. He battled through the adversity of not playing in two of Canada’s preliminary round games at the world juniors, to accepting a third/fourth pairing role when the games mattered most. That is not easy for someone who basically plays half the game with his club team in Prince George. Carels never deviated from his identity despite his limited role and that adaptability will carry him a long way in the scouting community.
