By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Rebels lose season finale 5-4 as Ice Age ends in Cranbrook

Mar 17, 2019 | 7:25 PM

The Red Deer Rebels closed the books on their regular season on Sunday while also helping close the Western Hockey League’s time in Cranbrook, B.C.

The Ice defeated the Rebels 5-4 in their final game in Cranbrook before the team moves to Winnipeg for the 2019-20 season.

Kootenay got on the board first on Sunday 6:48 into period one with Jaeger White scoring his team-leading 28th goal of the season. Red Deer’s Cameron Hausinger, acquired earlier this season from the Ice, returned the favour with his 20th at the 12:20 mark while on the power play.

Just 2:26 later, Brett Davis, another former Ice forward, put Red Deer ahead with his 20th, also with the man advantage.

Hausinger extended the lead with his second of the game 19 seconds into period two, once again with an Ice player in the box. But Kootenay turned the tide quickly with a trio of goals in a span of just 1:45. Nolan Orzeck scored his 4th of the year at 3:01, Holden Kodak notched his 3rd at 3:56, and Connor McClennon potted his 14th at 4:46. In the blink of an eye, the home side was in front 4-3.

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The Rebels tied it up late in the period with Jordan Borysiuk getting his first career WHL goal in his first game of the season. He played six contests with the Rebels in 2017-18.

In the final frame, Michael Milne was the hero for Kootenay, getting the game-winning goal and his third of the year with 5:46 left in regulation.

Byron Fancy made 26 saves for Red Deer, while Curtis Meger stopped 25 pucks at the other end to earn the Ice their 13th win of the year.

The Rebels closed out their regular season with four straight losses and an overall record of 33-29-4-2 to finish fifth in the WHL Central Division and earn the second wildcard playoff spot.

Brandon Hagel, who was a healthy scratch on Sunday, notched 41 goals and 61 assists for 102 points to lead the Rebels in scoring. He is the first Rebel to score 100 points since Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in 2010-11 and finishes tied for fourth in WHL scoring with Edmonton’s Trey Fix-Wolansky.

A crowd of nearly 2,700 gave the Ice a hero’s salute as the team celebrated the win, and waved goodbye to the fans, putting an end to 21 years of Kootenay Ice hockey in Cranbrook.

Head coach James Patrick says the team wanted to leave their mark in their final game in Cranbrook.

“We wanted to give our best effort for the community, just for everything that they’ve done for this team and the success over the past 20 year, the Memorial Cup team and the history of this franchise here in Cranbrook.”

Ice forward Jaeger White says it was great to end his junior hockey career with a victory.

“It was an emotional game and the crowd was pretty wild, it was awesome to see,” said White, post-game. “To get the two-points for them was a fitting ending.”

Kootenay’s Rookie of the Year Connor McClennon ended the season with a bang, scoring the team’s fourth goal.

McClennon says he’ll use the next few months to prepare for next season in Winnipeg.

“I want to have a good offseason, I want to come back ready to play in the next season,” McClennon says. “I’m going to work hard this summer, I want to be a top player on this team and I want to try to prove to them that I can do that.”

Kootenay goaltender Curtis Meger had a great performance to end his junior hockey career, stopping 25 of 29 shots.

“It’s been an awesome experience,” said Meger, reflecting on his time with the Ice. “I came in here as a Junior A call-up, didn’t know a sole on the team, and they welcomed me with open arms.”

For captain Peyton Krebs, it wasn’t the ending he had envisioned after taking a game-misconduct for hitting-from-behind early in the first period. But, he was happy to see the game end with a victory.

“It’s definitely disappointing getting that call, wasn’t what I wanted for the last game playing in Cranbrook,” Krebs said. “I wanted to play for my teammates and the fans tonight.”

The Rebels now turn their attention to the playoffs where they will take on the top-ranked Prince Albert Raiders (54-10-2-2) in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Red Deer was 1-2-0-1 versus Prince Albert in the regular season with each loss being by just one goal, including a shootout loss.

Series schedule:

Game 1 Friday, March 22, 2019 @ Prince Albert 7:00 p.m.

Game 2 Saturday, March 23, 2019 @Prince Albert 7:00 p.m.

Game 3 Tuesday, March 26, 2019 @Red Deer 7:00 p.m.

Game 4 Wednesday, March 27, 2019 @Red Deer 7:00pm

*Game 5 Friday, March 29, 2019 @Prince Albert 7:00 p.m.

*Game 6 Sunday, March 31, 2019 @Red Deer 2:00 p.m.

*Game 7 Tuesday, April 2, 2019 @Prince Albert 7:00 p.m.

*if necessary

Tickets for games three and four at the Westerner Park Centrium go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, March 18 at ticketsalberta.com.

(With file from Wylie Henderson in Cranbrook)