PHOTO COURTESY LEE LACHANCE/RED DEER REBELS
Red Deer Rebels forward Carson Birnie celebrates one of his two goals in a 6-3 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday at Peavy Mart Centrium.
The Medicine Hat Tigers’ early troubles with the Red Deer Rebels continue.
The Tigers lost 6-3 Friday night at Red Deer’s Peavy Mart Centrium, a third-straight loss to the Central division rival.
Medicine Hat dropped a pair of games to Red Deer last weekend, falling 4-2 on Sept. 20 and 4-3 on Sept. 21.
Red Deer opened the scoring with a pair of goals in the first period.
Matthew Gard scored 4:36 into the game, capitalizing on a two-on-one rush. The Rebels made it 2-0 with a power play goal from Carson Birnie a little over 10 minutes after opening the scoring. Medicine Hat killed off the first penalty of a five-on-3 but Red Deer eventually capitalized on the extended man advantage for the 2-0 lead.
Red Deer extended the lead with a goal from Gard 1:53 into the middle frame, scoring on a puck he batted off a defender and in the net. The Tigers answered back a little under two minutes later.
Off a face-off, Nate Corbet got the puck to Gavin McKenna who sent it to Bryce Pickford, with the defenceman scoring his first goal as a Tigers.
The Rebels chased Medicine Hat starter Jordan Switzer with a power ply goal at 6:50 in the second. Birnie scored his second of the game, capitalizing on a second power play, making it a 4-1 lead. Ethan McCallum took over for Switzer, who allowed four goals on 20 shots. McCallum worked 33:10 in the game, making six saves.
The Tigers answered back in the frame, with a point shot goal from Jonas Woo that found twine past starter Chase Wutzke. Pickford and McKenna had the helpers.
Red Deer capped off the frame with a pair of goals, with Jhett Larson and Trae Wilkie scoring to make it a 6-2 lead after 40 minutes.
The Tigers scored the final goal of the game, with Pickford finding twine on a power play late in the frame for the 6-3 final. Woo and Shane Smith had the assists on the marker.
Red Deer was two-for-seven on the power play, Medicine Hat went one-for-five. The Rebels won the face-off battle, outdrawing the Tigers 45-30.
The Tigers (1-3) host the defending WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday at Co-op Place.
