The Red Deer Rebels have clinched a spot in the 2026 WHL playoffs, securing their return to postseason action despite dropping an 8-3 decision to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday night at Co-op Place. The Tigers jumped out to a big lead by scoring the first four goals of the game in the opening period, but the loss didn’t matter in the end—the Rebels punched their ticket when the Swift Current Broncos beat the Moose Jaw Warriors 4-1, eliminating the ninth-place Warriors’ chances of overtaking them. Red Deer hangs on to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 26-36-4-2 record (likely around 58 points), marking their first playoff appearance since the 2023-24 season, when they fell in the second round to the Saskatoon Blades. Up next, they’ll face the top-seeded Prince Albert Raiders in the first round of a best-of-seven series. The full schedule drops Sunday, but fans know the Rebels will host Games 3 and 4 at the Centrium on Tuesday, March 31, and Wednesday, April 1. On the bright side, dodging a first-round matchup with the powerhouse Tigers probably feels like a small win in itself.
20 year old assistant captain Andrew Basha made it a 1-0 game for the Tigers firing a shot from the top of the circles at 3:34 of the first period. The assist on the goal went to former Bonneyville Pontiac Dayton Reschny.
Kade Stengrin makes it a 2-0 game for the Tigers when he snapped one from the high circles at 4:30 of the first period. The assist on the goal went to Former Fargo Force and Rochester, Minnesota native Gavin Kor.
Veeti Vaisainen rips one from the high slot and scores his 6th goal of the season at 13:29 of the first period. The assists on the goal went to Liam Ruck and Markus Ruck.
Liam Ruck made it a 4-0 game at 15:41 of the first period when he tapped in the puck finishing off a rush. The assists on the goal went to Noah Davidson and Markus Ruck.
Poul Andersen got the Rebels on the board at 16:36 of the first period while on the Power Play. The assists on the goal went to Beckett Hamilton and Talon Brigley.–However, Red Deer finally got on the board with 3:24 to go in the first period with a power play marker from Poul Andersen.
Shots on goal in the first period were 12-11 for the Tigers.
Andrew Basha gets his second goal of the game and 18th of the season 37 seconds into the second period. The assists on the goal went to Yaroslav Bryzgalov and Luke Cozens
Noah Davidson makes it a 6-1 game at 5:11 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Liam and Markus Ruck.
Talon Brigley gets one for the Rebels on the Power Play at 7:29 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Patrick Sopiarz and Kalder Varga.–Red Deer made up some ground with a goal from their captain, Talon Brigley, who knocked in the rebound on the power play near the midway point of the middle frame.
Markus Ruck makes it a 7-2 game for the Tigers on the Power Play at 17:42 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Liam Ruck and Andrew Basha.
Dayton Reschny scores for the Tigers on the Power Play at 19:17 of the second period to rack the score up to 8-2. The assist on the goal went to Riley Steen and former Spokane Chief Cam Parr.
Shots on goal in the second period were 18-9 for the Tigers.
Kalder Varga got his 21st goal of the season at 2:08 of the third period while the Rebels were on the Power Play. The assists on the goal went to Poul Andersen and Nate Yellowaga.–In the third period, the Rebels notched their third power play goal of the game, scored by forward Kalder Varga.
Shots on goal in the third period were 10-8 for the Tigers. The Tigers outshot the Rebels 40-28 in the game.
Jordan Switzer stopped 25 of the 28 shots that he faced for the win for the Tigers. For the Rebels Matthew Kondro stopped 7 of the 11 shots that he faced until being replaced after the Liam Ruck goal in the first period. He was replaced by Peyton Shore who stopped 25 of the 29 shots that he faced.
Three Stars of the game were 1) Josh Van Mulligan 2) Ethan Neutens 3) Andrew Basha (The Tigers 3 20 year olds)
Attendance in Medicine Hat was 6084
Rebels next game is Tuesday March 31st which will be game 3 of the playoffs against the Prince Albert Raiders.
