Hurricanes advance to second round with historic win over Rebels

Having come that far, they did not disappoint in front of a deafening home crowd, cruising to a 6-2 win over the Rebels to take the series.

Things got going 7:21 into the first period, as Red Deer took two penalties in short order, giving the home club 46-seconds of 5-on-3 action. Brennan Menell then opened the scoring, as he leaned into a deft pass from Zak Zborosky, firing home his second of the playoffs.

Just over a minute later while still on the power play, Giorgio Estephan picked the corner over Rebels’ goalie Riley Lamb’s blocker, extending the lead to 2-0.

The Rebels would appear to grab some of the momentum – scoring with 52-seconds left in the first, off a poor turnover in front of the Lethbridge net – but Hurricanes forward and Red Deer native, Ryan Vandervlis, wouldn’t let that stand for long, as he buried a loose puck only 22-second later, restoring the two-goal advantage.

Hurricanes’ netminder Stuart Skinner would then be called upon to protect the lead, weathering an absolute storm in the second period, as the Rebels outshot their hosts 19-8. During the onslaught, Red Deer forwards made an effort to get under the goaltender’s skin, crashing the net and even taking a shot well after a whistle. In response, he would coolly turn to his net, grab his water bottle and take a drink as if nothing had happened.

“I like to bring kind of a calm mindset into the game, especially in a game like this,” Skinner said after the win. “A lot of emotions, a lot of ups and downs and it’s a big rollercoaster in playoffs, so I think I need to be the calm guy around the room and kind of keep things relaxed and let the guys know they can trust me in any situation.”

The nail in the coffin for the Rebels would come during the second, as Vandervlis rushed the puck up the ice shorthanded and found Jordy Bellerive for a tap-in on the door-step, making it 4-1.

While the Rebels would add another in the third, Vandervlis and Menell would again find the twine on two more power plays to put the game out of reach.

As euphoric fans started to make their way home, Hurricanes Head Coach Brent Kisio made a point of acknowledging their contribution to the win.

“It’s the loudest I’ve heard, it was absolutely rocking,” he said of the home crowd. “Talking to some of the guys walking out [to the bench] just before the game, it was giving them chills, we could hear underneath how loud it was. These fans are crazy here and they gave us a huge boost.”

Captain Tyler Wong echoed those comments, saying the steady cheers gave them an extra jump in their step all night.

He also discussed the mindset of the team as they faced the up-hill climb of getting back into the series.

“Were we worried a little bit when we went down three-one, sure, but I think that we were confident as well. I just knew going into Saturday night (Apr. 1), I knew we weren’t done. I just had that feeling, I knew I wasn’t packing my bags, I knew that we were going to come back and we were going to battle, and I knew that we were going to bring it back here and we were going to win tonight.”

Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, they won’t have much time to enjoy the victory and rest, as they will now open the second round against the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Friday (Apr. 7).

by Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Hurricanes advance to second round with historic win over Rebels

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