
The Score – Red Deer 4 – Kootenay 3 (OT)
What Happened – A see-saw battle ended with the Rebels scoring in OT. The Ice capitalized on almost all of their opportunities, they just didn’t have enough of them.
The Rookie – For Kootenay fans it was their first chance to have a good look at rookie phenom Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The former first overall pick in the 2008 Bantam Draft didn’t disappoint with an assist and more chances that I could count. The kid who many expect to go first overall in the 2011 NHL Draft sees the ice better than some that play there right now.
The Goals – Eager to capitalize on some momentum found 24 hours early in Red Deer, Kootenay captain Dustin Sylvester wired his 7th of the season past Rebel starter Kraymer Barnstable 4:01 into the game with Rebel blueliner Alex Petrovic in the box for cross-checking… Just over two minutes later Rebel import forward Andrej Kudrna thread the needle with a beautiful pass that sent Willie Coetzee in alone on Todd Mathews. He went shelf and tied it at one… In the second with the Ice buzzing Dustin Sylvester benefitted from a Rebel neutral zone turnover and went in alone on Barnstable. Sylvester went five-hole and gave the Ice a 2-1 lead… The Rebels tied it on a shot by Nathan Green coming down the left wing that Mathews took off his shoulder. The puck went straight up and straight down his back, sitting on the goal-line for the easy tap in for Coetzee… The Rebels took the lead on another rush in which Josh Cowen centred a pass that Brett Ferguson somehow tapped past Mathews at 16:16… While killing a penalty late in the game and generating next to nothing in terms of offence a two-on-two started by Dustin Sylvester sends the puck to the Rebel corner. A scrum ensued and Rebel D Cullen Morin dropped his stick, steps on it and falls while Kevin Kings walks out of the corner and out-waits Barnstable to tie the game with his sixth of the season, shorthanded, forcing overtime… The Rebels would get the last laugh however when Colin Archer banged into the game-winner in the extra period after Willie Coetzee got in on a great scoring chance in which Mathews kicked out; right to Archer however who buried the winner.
Disgusted with his stick - After being stripped of the puck for the second Sylvester goal Rebel forward Landon Ferraro threw his stick away in disgust. Referee Devin Klein didn't share the same views of his stick and nailed Ferraro with a ten minute misconduct.
The Turning Point – Tough to find a particular point in this one that saw three leads by both clubs evaporate but besides the OT winner the fight following the Sylvester goal between Alex Petrovic and Drew Czerwonka seemed to spur the Rebels after a poor start to the second period.
The Fight – Sophomore blueliner Alex Petrovic dropped the mitts with Ice forward Drew Czerwonka for a tilt that was even and rather uneventful, except it lit a fire under the Rebels and they scored two goals to take the lead not long after.
The Crowd – 2713 – Rather lively for a change with lots of energy. Especially from a kid with a painted face and home-made sign made out of cardboard cheering on the home-side, until he was asked to refrain from waving his sign while the play was on by a rather grumpy usher.
The Skinny – The overtime loss breaks the club’s modest three-game winning streak but still produces a point – with seven of a possible eight points over the last four games – with the Ice sitting at 8-11-1 and 17 points, one shy of the Rebels and two back of the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Daily Townsman Three Stars
1. Willie Coetzee – You now see what the Detroit Red Wings saw when they signed him as a free agent out of training camp.
2. Dustin Sylvester – Captain’s got his groove back. A six point weekend over two games including two goals Saturday
3. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Two assists; a 16-year-old playing like he’s 19.
Game Summary:
Rebels 4 @ Ice 3 (OT)
CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Red Deer Rebels and the Kootenay Ice. November 7, 2009.
Colin Archer streaked in on a rebound and buried his second of the season in overtime as the Red Deer Rebels edged the Kootenay Ice 4-3 in WHL action Saturday night. Dustin Sylvester, with two goals, and Kevin King with a late short-handed marker to send it to overtime scored for the Ice while Willie Coetzee notched two goals and added an assist with Brett Ferguson getting the other Rebel marker.
Kraymer Barnstable stopped 27 of 30 shots to get the win while Todd Mathews turned aside 28 of 32 in taking the loss.
First Period
1. Kootenay, Sylvester 7 (Boomer, Rintoul) 4:01 (pp)
2. Red Deer, Coetzee 10 (Kudrna, Archer) 6:33
Penalties -- Petrovic RD (roughing) 2:19, Borejko RD (roughing) 6:46, Weller RD (elbowing) Morenko RD (roughing) Montgomery Ktn (roughing, slashing) 6:46, Machacek Ktn (roughing) 10:32, Deagle RD (slashing) 13:47,
Second Period
3. Kootenay, Sylvester 8 6:25
4. Red Deer, Coetzee 11 (Green, Kudrna) 11:34,
5. Red Deer, Ferguson 6, (Cowen, Nugent-Hopkins) 16:16
Penalties -- Ferraro RD (misconduct) 6:25, Petrovic RD Czerwonka Ktn (fighting) 6:51, Molle Ktn (holding) 7:31,
Third Period
6. Kootenay, King 6 (Leach, Sylvester) 16:41 (sh)
Penalties -- Weller RD (slashing) 2:24, 'Reinhart Ktn (hooking) 15:07, Green RD Machacek Ktn (unsportsmanlike conduct) 16:11.
Overtime
7. Red Deer, Archer 2 (Coetzee, Nugent-Hopkins) 2:54
Penalties -- None.
Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 10 13 6 1 - 30
Red Deer: 6 13 10 3 - 32
Goal -- Kootenay: Todd Mathews (L, 4-4-1) Red Deer: Kraymer Barnstable (W, 7-4)
Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 1-4
Red Deer: 0-3
Referee -- Devin Klein. Linesman -- Sean Donnelly, Scott Sharun.
Attendance -- 2713 (4264)
Scratches --
Kootenay: Brayden McNabb (knee - 4-6 weeks), Luke Paulsen (ankle - 2-4 weeks), Christian Magnus (finger - day-to-day), Matt Fraser (knee - 1-2 weeks), Simon Skrudland (flu).
Red Deer: Nick Bell (ankle - indefinite), Turner Elson (healthy), Colten Mayor (healthy)