By Derek Kaye,
Castlegar News contributor
It was a slow start for the Rebels on Saturday night January 18 at the Castlegar Complex, but a really fast one for the Beaver Valley Nitehawks. The Rebels seemed stuck in their defensive zone while Beaver Valley piled on the goals with four in the first 10 minutes. With two Rebels in the penalty box the Nitehawks took full advantage and Dallas Calvin (Braeden Fuller, Ryan Edwards) started the onslaught at 16:57 and then, at even strength, scored with Taylor Stafford (Braeden Fuller, Dallas Calvin) at 13:21. Less than a minute later Braeden Fuller (Dallas Calvin, Taylor Stafford) scored and then Keanan Patershuk (Hayden Chase, Ryan Edwards) at 10:01.
The Rebels got on the scoreboard at 3:56 with a power play marker by Chase Reddin (Derek Georgopoulos,
Evan Kite). But Braeden Fuller (Dallas Calvin, Walker Sidoni) with his fourth point in the first period scored with two and half minutes left to play. The Rebels ended the first period behind 5-1, and so the start of the second period saw backup Rebels goalie Patrick Zubick replace Nate Rabbit, who was struggling against the Nitehawks’ attack. Rabbit though should not take full responsibility as the Beaver Valley line of Dallas Calvin and Braden Fuller who had scored four goals in the first period, was skating circles around the Rebels’ defence controlling the puck in the Castlegar zone for most of the period.
The second period saw the Rebels get off the bench and into the game as they held the Nitehawks to only one goal by Dallas Calvin (Walter Sidoni). Zubick was shining in the Rebels net, limiting the Nitehawks performance.
Period three was ruled by the Rebels charge more often than that of the tiring Nitehawks, who started to falter in flight. The Rebels laid three goals down in the first six minutes, by Aaron Petten (Kody Disher) at 19:09, Darren Medeiros (Chase Reddin, Connor Beauchemin) at 15:35 and Diego Bartlett (Matt Reed, Hunter Jenerou). The Nitehawks did put one more in the net, by the Fuller, Calvin, Stafford line, the goal credited to Braden Fuller. The play in the third period was excellent hockey entertainment as the Rebels surged in their comeback attack. But it was not enough to pin down the Nitehawks who won by an eventual score of 7-4 .
The Castlegar News spoke to Rebels defenceman Hunter Jenerou and goalie Patrick Zubick after the game. Zubick who only allowed three shots out of 38 to count for the Nitehawks and had to enter the game after the first period with his team behind by four goals, was quick to credit the Rebels’ defensive and forward lines for making his workout count. With relentless screening and variety of attacks by the Nitehawks, Patrick Zubick was almost gymnastic as he rotated between arms up catching flying pucks and down on the ice scooping the puck out of play. Asked if there was luck involved, he said, “For sure, but its more about positioning and angles; you gotta stop the hard ones and the easy ones too.”
Hunter Jenerou commented, “Pattie was great tonight he really kept us in the game.”
Asked about the slow start in the night’s game and the Leafs game the week before, he replied, “Its getting to be a bad habit, but the team’s coming together especially in the second and third period. It’s kinda of a mental thing.” How are they going to start playing hard from the starting puck drop? He replied, “Come better prepared.”
The Rebels’ next home game is Saturday, January 25 against the Creston Valley Thunder Cats at the Castlegar Complex. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
