Rebels rally, have brooms on ready in series with Blades

Dwayne Jean Jr. (#22) celebrates a win with his Rebels teammates.

RED DEER, Alta. – The Saskatoon Blades scored first only to find another side to Red Deer Rebels’ grit.

On Tuesday at the Peavey Mart Centrium, Blades star centre Trevor Wong scored at the 5:04 mark of the second period to give the visitors a 1-0 edge over the host Rebels in Game 3 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. At the time of Wong’s goal, the Blades were in control of play in the contest.

The momentum didn’t last.

The gritty Rebels lived up to a team tradition of electing to not know the meaning of the work “quit.”

Dwayne Jean Jr. scored the winning goal Tuesday for the Rebels.

Before the second period ended, depth players in import right-winger Frantisek Formanek and centre Dwayne Jean Jr. netted singles for the Rebels to give them a 2-1 lead. Star left-winger Kalan Lind, who turned 18-years-old in January, scored into an empty net with 45.8 seconds remaining in the third to seal a 3-1 victory that came to the delight of almost all the 4,654 spectators in attendance.

The win allowed the Rebels to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven set. They will try to close out the series in Game 4 set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Peavey Mart Centrium.

Trevor Wong scored to give the Blades a 1-0 lead in the second.

If the Blades are able to survive elimination from the WHL Playoffs on Wednesday, the two clubs will go at it in Game 5 on Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

Jean Jr. said his Rebels are pleased to be up 3-0 in the series but expect getting the fourth win against the Blades will be the toughest test they’ve faced in the series.

“I wouldn’t say we are comfortable right now,” said Jean Jr., whose tally was his first career WHL post-season goal. “We still have another game.

“It is all about tomorrow. I know all the guys in there want to do it in four, but we just have to come in with the same mindset we have been the last three.”

Kyle Kelsey made 22 saves for the Rebels on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s game started with a bang with Blades right-winger Vaughn Watterodt hammering Rebels defenceman Matteo Fabrizi hard into the boards but getting a hitting from behind minor penalty in the process.

Red Deer had a huge chance to go ahead on the ensuing power play, when Lind had the puck in close at the left side of the Saskatoon net. Lind had two point blank chances to score, but he was stoned by Blades netminder Austin Elliott.

The Rebels thought they netted the game’s first goal at the 3:48 mark of the first. Jean Jr. drove a shot that banged quickly off the post creating the illusion the puck had gone into the net.

The goal judge turned on the red light, and the host side appeared to be up 1-0. The play went to a video review where it was determined the puck did not go into the Saskatoon net.

Austin Elliott makes one of his 23 saves for the Blades.

The opening 20 minutes was fairly evenly played with the Rebels holding a slim 8-7 edge in shots on goal.

Rebels head coach Steve Konowalchuk wasn’t surprised with how tightly contested things were. He said all three games in the series have been tough and his squad has had to earn the 3-0 series lead.

“They are hard fought games,” said Konowalchuk. “They’re battles.

“You have to fight for your scoring chances. You have to just keep playing hard every shift. They play hard every shift.”

At the start of the second, it appeared the Blades were set to go on a roll. At the 5:04 mark of the frame, Wong, who was positioned in front of the Red Deer net, collected a rebound of a shot taken by linemate Brandon Lisowsky and put a backhander past Rebels netminder Kyle Kelsey. The 1-0 lead marked the first time the Blades were ahead in the scoreboard all series.

Blades HC Brennan Sonne passes on directions to his players.

Saskatoon continued to apply pressure. By the 7:25 mark of the frame, they were outshooting the Rebels 5-0 in the period.

The first Rebels shot of the stanza came at the 8:30 mark. Just like that, the momentum switched. The Rebels in their traditional fashion battled back.

At the 9:46 mark of the second, Rebels star import offensive-defenceman Christoffer Sedoff blew into the offensive zone on a rush creating a two-on-one situation in tight on the Saskatoon net. Sedoff passed the puck across the face of the Saskatoon net to Formanek, who tapped home the equalizer at the right side of the Blades goal to create the 1-1 tie.

Frantisek Formanek scored the Rebels first goal on Tuesday.

With 3:35 remaining in the second, the Rebels jumped ahead 2-1, when Jean Jr. chipped home a puck from a bad angle at the right side of the Saskatoon net. Jean Jr. was pumped about netting his first career post-season goal and the winning tally.

Away from the rink, fate has been handing challenges to the forward’s family. Jean Jr., who is from the Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation located in northeast Alberta just south of Fort McMurray, started the season playing five games with the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash.

After deaths in his family, he approached Americans management with a wish that he would like to be closer to home. The Americans obliged and dealt him to the Rebels. The challenges due to fate on the family front continued, so netting the winner in Game 3 against the Blades had extra meaning for Jean Jr.

Christoffer Sedoff had a big assist on the Rebels first goal.

“I had my mom here,” said Jean Jr. “I haven’t got to see her much.

“My dad has been in the hospital. Just to have her here and score my first playoff goal with her here is unbelievable. I just have to say that I love her, and that was for her.”

By the end of the second, the Blades momentum faded as the Rebels held a 15-13 edge in shots on goal at the conclusion of 40 minutes of play.

In the third, both clubs had great scoring chances, but Kelsey and Elliott stood their ground. Lind proceeded to seal things with his empty-netter with 45.8 seconds to play.

Rebels LW Kalan Lind shields the puck on a rush.

Kelsey stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Rebels. Elliott turned away 23-of-25 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

Konowalchuk was pleased by the response of his players when they got behind.

“I thought our guys kept playing,” said Konowalchuk. “That is important.

“You just keep playing and try not to change your game. You try not to ride the emotional roller-coaster. I thought our guys kept playing after that.”

Going into the series, neither team was expected to get out to a 3-0 lead. 

Vaughn Watterodt (#18) looks to make a pass for the Blades.

The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

Like he did after his Rebels won Game 1 and 2 in Saskatoon, Konowalchuk was already talking about focusing on his team’s next game.

“We have to reset for tomorrow, but it is nice to get a win,” said Konowalchuk. “We just have to enjoy this for a real quick little bit here, but then, we have to be ready for tomorrow.”

NOTES – In the history of the WHL dating back to the circuit’s start in 1966-67, only two teams have rallied back to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0. The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3.

The Rebels celebrate their Game 3 win on Tuesday.

Saskatoon trailed the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-0 in a second round series in the 1990 WHL Playoffs before rallying back to tie the set at 3-3. In a series deciding Game 7 in Lethbridge, the Blades fell 4-3 in overtime with defenceman Neil Hawryluk netting the winning goal for the Hurricanes.

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