Ice 4 Rebels 2

The Red Deer Rebels couldn’t have done much more Friday to nail down a victory, outside of scoring an extra goal or two.

The Rebels directed 40 shots at Kootenay Ice goaltender Todd Mathews, but came out on the short end of a 4-2 Western Hockey League count in their final regular-season home game before a recorded gathering of 4,987 at the Centrium.

“I thought we were the better team tonight. I thought we deserved a better fate,” said Rebels head coach Jesse Wallin. “Our compete level was pretty good and we played a physical game. We had a number of (scoring) opportunities but we also gave up a couple of weak goals.”

Jesse Ismond staked the visitors to a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 12:15 into the contest, taking a drop pass from Matt Fraser and beating netminder Darcy Kuemper on a one-timer from the high slot. A little over two minutes later, the Ice doubled the margin with a fluke goal, as Fraser, from along the boards outside of the faceoff circle, directed a shot at the net that glanced off the skate of Max Reinhart and past Kuemper.

The clubs battled through a scoreless middle frame before Rebels defenceman Alex Petrovic jumped up into the play and buried the rebound of a Willie Coetzee shot behind Mathews at 11:44 of the third period.

But just 39 seconds later, Kootenay rearguard James Martin beat Kuemper on the short side with a wrist shot from the point that found its way through a crowd.

“We had the momentum and were making a push at that point,” said Wallin.

“But we didn’t quit, fought through adversity and scored short-handed to get back into the game.”

The Rebels bench boss was referring to Turner Elson’s highlight reel goal at 15:41 with Petrovic serving a minor penalty.

The Rebels, who had the visitors on their heels nearly the entire final frame while enjoying a 15-5 advantage in shots, pushed hard for the equalizer. But Ice defenceman Ryan Molle, with Fraser in the penalty box for cross checking, lifted a desperation clearing attempt out of the Kootenay zone and the puck trickled the length of the ice and into an empty Red Deer net with 56 seconds remaining.

It was that kind of night for the Rebels, who have one game remaining — Sunday afternoon against the Hitmen in Calgary — and will finish sixth in the Eastern Conference, setting up a best-of-seven quarter-final with the Saskatoon Blades that will start next Saturday in Saskatoon.

“There was lot of good things I liked about our game tonight. I thought we showed some good signs,” said Wallin, whose club suffered its fourth consecutive loss and fifth in the last six games.

“It’s difficult when you’re not winning. We haven’t gone through a period like this since early in the season,” he added. “It’s frustrating that way, but we just have to fight through it. It is what it is and we just have to continue to work at it.

“If we play like that most nights we’re going to come out on top. We just have to stay with it.”

The Ice remained in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, one point up on the Medicine Hat Tigers, who overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat the Hurricanes 5-4 at Lethbridge. Kootenay can clinch fourth spot and home-ice advantage in a first-round playoff series with the Tigers with a home-ice win over the last-place Edmonton Oil Kings tonight.

“Prior to Wednesday’s game (a 5-1 win over the visiting Rebels) our previous 10 weren’t great,” said Ice head coach Mark Holick. “We struggled in every department during that stretch, but we found a way to win today in what resembled a playoff game.

“I thought we did what we wanted to for the first 40 minutes. We kind of bent a little in the third but we found a way to get the win.”

Rebels forward Nathan Green suited up for the first time since undergoing surgery for a broken leg in late November, and got a passing grade from Wallin.

“Greener played pretty well, especially with it being his first game back,” said Wallin. “He kept up to the pace and handled the physical play well. He made some good plays and had a couple of opportunities around the net. He was getting his nose in there.

“It was great to have him back out there. Considering this was his first game in three and a half months, I thought he played very well.”

gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com