Audio Blog (x2): Bill Ranford / Shane Bendera

Cam Moon can rest easy knowing he's paid his dues for his lifetime membership in the 'Goalie Guild'.

The former WHL netminder did a bang up job of snagging two other prominent former WHL goalies to be our intermission guest for Friday's Rebels/Rockets broadcast on 106.7 The Drive.

Our 1st intermission guest, Bill Ranford.  The former Conn Smythe winner with the Oilers is a goaltending consultant with the Los Angeles Kings nowadays.  Yup, he's a Stanley Cup champion again.  Bill and I chatted about a few things ranging from his thoughts on current Rebels goalies Patrik Bartosak and Bolton Pouliot.  We also talked about his rare chance to spend some time back in Red Deer and check out some of his favorite locales.  LISTEN HERE

On any normal night, having one great guest in a broadcast would be fun enough.  Not this time around.  Mooner dipped into the goalie pool a second time to arrange a visit from Shane Bendera, the man who backstopped the Red Deer Rebels to their Memorial Cup title in 2001.  Friday marked the first time Bendera had been in the Enmax Centrium for a game since his playing days ended.  The game just happened to feature the two teams he used to play for (he was traded from Red Deer to Kelowna midway through the 2001-02 season).  Shane was a fun guy to chat with and definitely enjoyed his night at the rink with his family.  LISTEN HERE

COMING UP ON THE BLOG... Last Saturday, I chatted with Jamie Hislop who is a scout with the Minnesota Wild.  Of course, we talked about Mathew Dumba. Hislop also gave us an update on former Rebels netminder Darcy Kuemper.  Sounds like things are going pretty well for Kemps.  I'll try to get Jamie's comments posted in the next day or so.

ALSO... be sure to check out today's brand new episode of REBELS THIS WEEK featuring Brady Gaudet's "goal from the parking lot"

TG

Generals Briefing With Brandin Cote

Despite being the host team this time around, the road to the Allan Cup remains a long and eventful journey for the Bentley Generals.

The Generals, under the guidance of new Head Coach Brandin Cote, split their first two games to open the Chinook Hockey League season last weekend.

They have two more league games this weekend before heading to Saskatchewan for a two game trip next weekend.

Following that, they welcome their long time rivals, the Fort St. John Flyers, for a pair of exhibition games on the Remembrance Day long weekend.

On Thursday, I chatted with Cote about a number of topics concerning his club... including opening weekend, new faces on the Generals roster, and how he's settling into his new gig...

Audio Blog: Chatting With Brandon Sutter

(Trying to get back in the swing of things after taking a rare sick day yesterday...)

Just thought I'd share with you my recent interview with Brandon Sutter.  The Pittsburgh Penguins forward, and former Rebels captain, joined me on-air on 106.7 The Drive during the 1st intermission of Tuesday's Rebels/Pats game.

He's been spending quite a bit of time, both on and off the ice, at the Enmax Centrium as he toils through the NHL lockout.  Brandon says he has received interest from clubs in Europe but is still holding off when it comes to possibly making the jump overseas.

Anyhoo... I'll let you listen to his comments for yourselves (LISTEN HERE). 

TG

(Thanks to Brandon for being a last second addition to our broadcast on Tuesday and for doing a great job of hitting my softball questions out of the park!)

Rebels - Special Teams... Special Indeed

'The killers' have definitely been 'Mr. Brightside' for the Red Deer Rebels.

Despite their penchant for taking some inopportune penalties, the Rebels penalty killing unit has been nothing short of superb in recent games.

Heading into tonight's game at the Enmax Centrium versus the Regina Pats, the Rebels have killed off 66 of their 79 shorthanded situations.  A success rate of 83.5% (one tenth of a percentage point behind fourth place Kelowna.).  Even more more impressive is the fact that the Rebels are 29/30 on the PK over their past 7 games (thanks to Mooner for pointing that out to me).  The team's record over those games... 4-2-1-0, 9 points out a possible 14.

Down In A Blaze of Glory... err... Gory

To steal from a line from beloved former NFL Head Coach Dennis Green... "The Rebels are who we thought they were."

So too, for that matter, are the Kamloops Blazers.

In a dominating 4-0 win last night at the Enmax Centrium, the WHL's top team showed the Rebels just how far they have to go in order to reach the league's upper echelon... and, yes, there is a long way to go.

Blazers Blank Rebels

A Tuesday night tilt at the Enmax Centrium versus the league’s hottest team.  The Rebels faced quite a challenge in taking on the Kamloops Blazers.



FIRST PERIOD



Not much in terms of scoring chances for either team in the opening few shifts of the game.  Neither Bolton Pouliot for the Rebels or Taran Kozun for the Blazers was overly busy in the first ten minutes or so.  For the most part, the Rebels did a good job of keeping Blazers forwards at bay.  Turner Elson created the best scoring chances for the Rebels, catching a piece of the goal post with a shot of his own while narrowly setting up Brooks Maxwell with a wide open net not long after.  There was a lot of ‘stop and start’ play in the first period, which probably worked out in favour of the home side.  No score after twenty minutes of play.  Neither side getting a powerplay.  Shots 11-9 favouring Kamloops.



The New Look Rebels - So Far, So Good

There is a long, long way to go before we're able to pass final judgement on Brent Sutter's work as Red Deer Rebels General Manager this season.

That being said, the early returns for his wheeling and dealing are looking good.  Very good.  And the possibility for long term benefits from these moves should have Rebels fans feeling pretty darn good about what the boss has been up to.