Rebels fall 3-2 in shootout to Hitmen in season opener
Red Deer rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period before dropping the WHL season opener in Calgary via shootout.
The Red Deer Rebels opened their WHL season with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Calgary Hitmen at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday. Calgary's Artem Katsuro scored the lone shootout goal, while Rebels shooters Patrick Sopiarz, Kalder Varga and Paxson Madill were unable to convert.
Calgary took an early lead when rookie Charlie Kresl fired a rebound into an open net less than five minutes into the game, then extended it on the power play when Brennan Brown knocked in a rebound in front of the net.
Red Deer answered in the third period, with Cameron Kuzma scoring from a sharp angle just over a minute in, before Kohen Lodge tied the game on the power play three minutes later with a top-shelf finish off a backhand pass from Madill. Neither team scored in overtime, sending the game to a shootout.
Hitmen goaltender Eric Tu stopped 35 shots, while Rebels netminder Matthew Kondro made 24 saves on 26 shots. Red Deer will play its home opener against the Edmonton Oil Kings at the Centrium on Saturday.
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