On Friday night the Nelson Leafs would make the trek to Castlegar to take on the 2nd place Rebels for the sixth time this season. The Leafs would come into the game riding a 3 game win streak after making a couple of moves at the December 1st Roster Cut Off Deadline, while the Rebels won 10 of their previous 11 games heading into this one. The Leafs would strike first at 10:13 of the 1st period on the Power Play to make it 1-0 after 1 for the Leafs. The Rebels power play would prove why it is one of the top in the league in the 2nd with Daniel Petten wiring a hard shot from the blue line past newly acquired goalie Billy Gorn, and Everett Hicks capitalizing on a feed from Chance Szott. But the Leafs would score 3 in the second period to make it 4-2 Leafs after 40 minutes. Less then 5 minutes into the 3rd, the Rebels would cut the lead to just 1 thanks to a great shot by speedy winger John Moeller. But just over a minute later, the Leafs would answer back on the power play to make it 5-3. Kirkland Spencer would score on a point shot mid way through the frame to again make it a 1 goal game, but that is as close as the Rebels would come as they would fall 5-4 to the Leafs. Final shots for the game would end up being 34-25 in favour of Castlegar. Ed Lindsey had 3 assists in the game, and Logan Styler added two helpers as well. Game Star for the Rebels was John Moeller
Saturday night the Rebels would look to bounce back with a win as the Fernie Ghostriders would travel to Castlegar to take on the Rebels for the second time this season. The first contest between the two was back on October 1st in Fernie, with the Ghostriders taking the game by a convincing score of 7-3. The Rebels would be looking for revenge heading into this one, and after giving up the first goal to the Ghostriders 7 minutes in, John Moeller would answer back just 22 seconds later to knot things up at 1. Ed Lindsey would score half way through the 1st on a hard one-timer short side on the power play to make it 2-1 Rebels, and then in the dying seconds of the first, Jacob Boston would let a shot go from the point and would beat goaltender Brandon Butler with just 1 second left on the clock to make it 3-1 Rebels after the first period. Fernie would come out very strong in the middle frame, outshooting the Rebels 17-8 and putting 3 on the board, putting them ahead 4-3 heading into the 3rd. The final period would prove to be an exciting one, as Daneel Lategan tied things up at 13:52 of the 3rd on the power play. Following that, Daniel Petten would bury a pass from Logan Styler on the power play, and Austen McKean would score also on a gorgeous shot off the rush to put the Rebels up 6-4 with 5 minutes left. The Ghostriders were not going down without a fight, as captain Alex Cheveldave would make it a 1 goal game with 2 minutes left in the 3rd. The Ghostriders would push hard looking for the equalizer, but the Rebels strong defensive game and goaltender Jason Mailhiot would prove to be too much and Vince Bitonti confirmed the win for the Rebels with an empty netter, to make it a final score of 7-5 for Castlegar. Final shots were 41-37 for Fernie, and game star was given to affiliate forward Ellis Junker, who had a strong weekend overall for the Rebels and provided great depth for a lineup that is currently suffering with injuries. With 3 more Power Play goals in the game, the Rebels continue to show their dominance with the man advantage, improving to 23% on the year.
Stay connected to the Rebels online by following @RebelsCastlegar on twitter and by liking the Castlegar Rebels page and the Castlegar Rebels Fan Club on facebook. The Rebels have one more game before the break on Friday night in Beaver Valley. The team has been hot going into the break going 10-2 over the last 12 games. Thank you for all the support and have a safe, fun holiday season!
Head Coach Bill Rotheisler had this to say about his Captain and this weeks Player of The Week, Daniel Petten! We put alot of stock into the Leaders Eat Last’s idea. Everyone gets distracted by simply making the most alpha player Captain, instead of using that as simply one criteria and combining all qualitites of a leader. Dan provides that quality, but in a calculated way. He works hard everyday, is consistent, is strong on both sides of the ice but also contributes with duties around the dressing room, setting the example instead of just directing it.
REBEL OF THE WEEK: Daniel Petten
Daniel had a great weekend scoring in both games, while also adding an assist. His big one timer from the point has proven to be deadly, scoring 7 goals in 20 games, and totaling 18 points.
WIN GAME TICKETS HERE! TRIVIA!
The Rebels Powerplay has shown great depth this season, with 10 different goalscorers. Who leads them all with 8 PP goals?
- #3 Logan Styler
- #27 Daniel Petten
- #13 John Moeller
- #15 Ed Lindsey
Text the correct answer to 250.304.8527. The first three right answers will receive two free Rebels game tickets!!
