On a night where fans at the Enmax Centre were ready to explode, the Red Deer Rebels quieted the home-crowd with an excellent road performance. The Rebels scored four unanswered goals in the second and third periods to win 4-2 and take a 1-0 series lead.
“We have a young team,” Rebels Head Coach Brent Sutter said. “It’s one game, but obviously to get the first win for us in the oppositions building is significant for our group.”
The Hurricanes started the game with plenty of energy and were buzzing throughout the opening frame. ‘Canes Captain Tyler Wong opened the scoring, when he banged in a rebound off a Brennan Menell point shot.
“We dominated the first period,” Hurricanes Captain Tyler Wong said. “They didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves. I think we really shot ourselves in the foot, with a few penalties and turnovers.”
‘Canes forward Ryan Vandervlis made it 2-0 Lethbridge in the second when he danced around a Rebels defender and beat Riley Lamb. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, the Rebels took over from there, controlling play, and scoring four straight times to seal the opening series win.
“When Vandy (Ryan Vandervlis) scored I thought we were going to keep rolling,” Wong said. “You know, we got away from our game tonight, and that’s something we have to learn from.”
It’s a Hurricanes team still learning how to win in the playoffs. They weren’t at their best Saturday night, and the ‘Canes are ready to move on to game two.
“That’s the way it goes in playoffs. You can’t get to high, or too low,” Wong said. “We have to regroup. It’s a quick turn around and we have to find a way to get the ‘W’ tomorrow.”
The Hurricanes host the Rebels for game two of the best of seven series Sunday at 6:00 p.m. at the Enmax Centre.
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