RedDeer Rebels at Victoria Royals 12 Nov 11

[CdnSailor]

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/RedDeerRebels.gif at http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VictoriaRoyals.gif
Red Deer and Victoria meet only twice this season and they are both in the Royals Barn.

The Rebels are currently on a 5 game win streak, winning 8 of their past 10 games.
Red Deer is currently in 2nd place in the Central Division 1pt behind Medicine Hat.

Victoria is currently on a 2 game losing skid both at their own barn losing their last game 8 – 2 to Edmonton.
The Royals are currently in 3rd place, 2 pts behind the Giants.

Victoria Royals 20 10 9 0 1 = 21 Pts 0-2-0-0 STK 5-4-0-1 P10 381 PIM

Red Deer Rebels 18 13 4 0 1 = 27 Pts 5-0-0-1 STK 8-1-0-1 P10 254 PIM

[pontcanna]

Royals wary of red-hot Rebels
Sundher likely to miss weekend with injury

The Red Deer Rebels are having a strong season in the Western Hockey League, but how much better would they have been had Burnaby-product Ryan Nugent-hopkins not been kept up in the NHL by the Edmonton Oilers?

Nobody will ever know the answer to that question. Maybe it’s better that way — because the rest of the league probably doesn’t even want to know.
But inside the marketing departments of opposing WHL teams it’s a different equation as they contemplate the gates that might have been with the Rebels visiting with NugentHopkins in tow.

Red Deer continues its B.C. swing at Save-onFoods Memorial Centre with games today at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. against the Victoria Royals (10-9-1).

Red Deer (13-4-1) is coming off a 5-3 victory Friday in a marquee matchup against the B.C. Division-leading Kamloops Blazers (12-6) in which the Rebels got goals from five different players.

“This is not going to be easy. Red Deer has a good record,” said Royals GM and head coach Marc Habscheid.
“They play a simple, deliberate game and beat you with hard work. They have done a good job of building. They have been patient and built through the [bantam] draft and now are reaping the benefits of it.”

Meanwhile, Habscheid listed injured Royals standout forward Kevin Sundher as “doubtful” for this weekend.
“It’s upper body and day-to-day,” said the Royals boss.
“We’ll wait and see and prepare without him. If we get him [for the weekend games], it’s a bonus.”

Sundher was hurt in the first period of Tuesday night’s 8-2 loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings at the Memorial Centre and did not return for the second or third periods.

Heading into Friday night’s WHL action, Sundher was third in league scoring with 13 goals and 23 assists for 36 points, behind Emerson Etem of the Medicine Hat Tigers with 43 points and Mark Stone of the Brandon Wheat Kings with 40 points.

WHL director of communications Corey Flett said the league will wait until Monday before making a decision about Sundher’s status for the Subway Super Series game Wednesday in Regina between the WHL team and Russian junior selects.

Albertan Jamie Crooks, who has eight goals and nine assists in 20 games, will replace the Surrey native Sundher on Victoria’s top line this weekend against Red Deer and join Brandon Magee and Robin Soudek.

“Jamie is a veteran and a heady player,” said Habscheid.
“You can move him around and it doesn’t faze him.”

The Royals are looking to end a two-game home losing streak, while Red Deer is 9-1-1 in its last 11 games and 5-0-1 in its last six.

ICE CHIPS: In a fitting touch, the Royals attended Remembrance Day ceremonies Friday . . . Red Deer GM and head coach Jesse Wallin has come full circle since playing junior for the Rebels and being the 26th player selected in the 1996 NHL draft. He got in 49 games with the Red Wings but mostly kicked around the AHL with Adirondack and Cincinnati.

[pontcanna]

No Sundher by the sounds of it, unless they want to keep the Rebels guessing until the last minute...this doesn't bode well...hope to be proved wrong.

[pontcanna]

Outmatched in every area (save goaltending) and doubled on shots = (almost) doubled in goals seems the right result. Certainly credit has to be given for a brave second period that raised hopes, but those were quickly extinguished. Can anybody remember a game (won or lost) in which the Royals took it to the opposition from the drop of the puck? That kind of forgetful malaise seems to happen at the opening faceoff of the second and third periods as well.

The Sundher power outage continues. A lot of this game was a continuation of what we saw against Edmonton, with more effort. Bag skating won't be necessary (not that there's any time for that) but I'm not sure I can see our way to a win tomorrow afternoon. Being selfish for the team, I hope Sundher doesn't end up flying out for the exhibition game against the Russians. If he needs to recover, he needs to recover and playing slightly hurt after travelling won't help him, us or his stock with the Canadian Junior selection folk.

All credit to the fans. I love the positive attitude even when we get whipped. The place filled up quite well (6300+) and the young 'uns seems to have a good time regardless.

[CdnSailor]

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/RedDeerRebels.gif 7 http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VictoriaRoyals.gif 4

To ashamed :o to show the Royals in leotards, as they forgot there uniform.
Two players benched this evening due to their lack of everything..........
They only good thing about it I guess is that we were able to put 4 goals past the Rebels goalie.

SHOTS 1 2 3 Total
Red Deer Rebels 15 16 10 41
Victoria Royals 4 11 5 20

Three Stars
1. R.D - 7 Alex Petrovic
2. R.D - 15 John Persson
3. VIC - 18 Brandon Magee

Attendance: 6373

Game Summary
http://www.whl.ca/schedule/show/game/59614

[pontcanna]

Rebels roll over defenceless Royals

BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMES COLONIST NOVEMBER 12, 2011 11:06 PM

No Nugent-Hopkins?

No problem.

The Red Deer Rebels are proving to have a potent punch even without No. 1 draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of Burnaby, who has been retained in the NHL by the Edmonton Oilers.

The Rebels haven’t missed a beat, rolling to 14-4-1 after Saturday night’s 7-4 victory over the Victoria Royals before 6,373 fans at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.

It’s almost scary to think how good the Rebels, who outshot Victoria 41-20, would have been had Nugent-Hopkins not made the NHL ahead of schedule. Their game, much like their clean and classic jersey design, is uncluttered and to the point.

The Royals, meanwhile, have the eighth-leading attendance among the three major-junior hockey leagues in North America but have now lost three consecutive games, all at home, while being outscored 20-9 in the process.

“It’s an embarrassment in our own building,” said Royals forward Brandon Magee, after scoring twice Saturday.

“It’s not acceptable.”

Victoria (10-10-1) will try to turn it around when it meets the Rebels again today at 5 p.m. in the Memorial Centre.

“We cheat in trying to get up ice offensively to the other end and I’m tired of it,” said Victoria GM and head coach Marc Habscheid.

“Defence is a five-man game. We need to be doing a better job than that. If the forwards don’t back-check, then you allow that many goals.”

All three Red Deer draft picks showed well. Alex Petrovic, a 2010 second-round selection of the Florida Panthers, led the Rebels with a goal and three assists while 2011 fifth-round New York Islanders pick John Persson had a goal and two assists.

Defensive-oriented blue-liner Justin Weller, a 2009 fourth-round selection of the Phoenix Coyotes, was the unlikely scorer of the game winner and gave Red Deer a 5-3 lead at 1:42 of the third period with his first goal of the season.

Habscheid said “soft play along the boards” allowed that goal to happen.

Steve Hodges and Jamie Crooks scored the other goals for Victoria, which was missing standout forward Kevin Sundher, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Red Deer ripped out of the gate and outshot Victoria 15-4 in taking a 2-0 first-period lead.

Victoria fought back to within one at 4-3 by the second break despite being outshot 31-15 to that point.

“We shut it down [in the third period] and we can’t have that happen,” said Magee.

And certainly not in what was then a one-shot game until Weller’s tally helped Red Deer pull away.

[pontcanna]

Gotcha again. By two minutes :)

[CdnSailor]

Victoria drops 7-4 decision to Red Deer.

For Immediate Release

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Victoria, BC – The Victoria Royals welcomed the Red Deer Rebels in the first of back-to-back games Saturday at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. The Royals gave Keith Hamilton the start in net, while the Rebels countered with Patrik Bartosak.

The opening moments of the game saw both teams try to establish a physical presence with some strong fore-checking and several big hits. Red Deer would get on the scoreboard shortly after a power play had expired at the 10:53 mark. Defenseman Alex Petrovic took a feed from Adam Kambeitz and let go a shot from the right point that found its way past Hamilton. The Rebels would add to their lead at 15:11 this time on the man-advantage when a shot from Petrovic caused a rebound that Turner Elson managed to slide past Hamilton to make it 2-0. That would be the score through 20 minutes of play.

Victoria would cut Red Deer’s lead in half just 52 seconds into the middle frame. Robin Soudek took the puck hard to the net from the right face-off dot and tried to slide it between the legs of Bartosak, only to create a rebound opportunity that Brandon Magee finished off to pull the Royals to within one. The goal was Magee’s third of the season. The Rebels would restore their two goal lead at the 3:44 mark. Colton Mayor stepped out of the penalty box and centered the puck for Chad Robinson who found the back of the net. Red Deer would add another marker just past the halfway point of the game when John Persson managed to finish off a pass from Elson to make it 4-1. Victoria responded quickly at 11:38 after a strong offensive zone cycle by the line of Tim Traber, Mike Forsyth and Jamie Crooks that resulted in Crooks wiring a shot from the right face-off dot off the post and past Bartosak. The goal was Crooks’ ninth of the season and 50th of his WHL career. The Royals would pull to within one on the man-advantage in the final moments of the period. Captain Hayden Rintoul fired a shot from the right point that Magee managed to redirect past Bartosak for his second of the game and fourth of the season. The score stood at 4-3 after 40 minutes.

Red Deer regained a two goal cushion 1:43 into the final frame when Justin Weller one-timed a pass from Robinson past the glove of Hamilton for his first goal of the year. Daulton Siwak and Mathew Dumba would add goals at 9:38 and 14:02 respectively to make it 7-3 for the visitors. Victoria’s Steven Hodges scored at the 18:31 mark. Rebels 7 Royals 4.

Victoria went 1/4 = 25.0% on the power play, while Red Deer was 1/5 = 20.00%. The Rebels outshot the Royals 41-20.

Victoria and Red Deer conclude their two game series tomorrow night at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. The puck drops at 5:05 p.m. Fans are reminded to come celebrate Marty the Marmot’s sixth birthday, with the first 2500 receiving a Marty Bobblehead courtesy of Coca-Cola. Fans can also sign Marty’s birthday card at Gate 1, as well as join in a variety of other birthday activities. The Royals’ next home game is set for Saturday, November 19 when they host the defending WHL champion Kootenay Ice at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. The action begins at 7:05 p.m. For further details or to purchase your tickets today, visit the Victoria Royals Ticket Office, www.victoriaroyals.com, or call 250-220-7889.

[pontcanna]

Post-game interview, including commentary on the "benchings":

http://www.thezone.fm/whl/

[CdnSailor]

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/RedDeerRebels.gif 7 http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k29/cdnsailor/VictoriaRoyals.gif 4


TV Highlights of game from CHEK TV
http://youtu.be/G4BbAjUzq3M


SHOTS 1 2 3 Total
Red Deer Rebels 15 16 10 41
Victoria Royals 4 11 5 20

SCORING 1 2 3 Total
Red Deer Rebels 2 2 3 7
Victoria Royals 0 3 1 4


3 Stars
1. R.D - 7 Alex Petrovic
2. R.D - 15 John Persson
3. VIC - 18 Brandon Magee

Attendance
6373

Game Summary
http://www.whl.ca/schedule/show/game/59614