Photo from Rob Wallator / Red Deer Rebels

Article submitted by the Red Deer Rebels

REBELS THIS WEEK – FAMILY DAY LONG WEEKEND EDITION 

ABOUT LAST WEEK

The Rebels are back home from embarking on their first road trip through the U.S. Division in four years. It was a tightly contested trip with the Rebels earning a 3-2 record with all three victories coming via the shootout.

2-1 W @ Tri-City (Feb 11) Final SO

6-1 L @ Seattle (Feb 10) Final

5-4 W @ Portland (Feb 7) Final SO

4-2 L @ Everett (Feb 5) Final

1. W @ Spokane (Feb 4) Final SO

The Rebels are now 36-12-1-3 on the season, good for 76 points and a 14-point lead over the Lethbridge Hurricanes for first place in the WHL Central Division with 16 games remaining for both teams.

BACK TO SCHOOL

On Wednesday (Feb. 15) Rebels players make their final visit of the season to Annie L. Gaetz Elementary School. Since 1993, the Rebels have partnered with Annie L. Gaetz through the Partners in Progress initiative.  Every fall, the partnership begins with a kickoff assembly, complete with player introductions and the Annie L. Gaetz Official Rebels Cheer.  Each player is then assigned a class for the season, becoming a teacher’s assistant per say.  Crafts, multiplication tables, coloring, and reading headline the long list of items each player experience through the season with his respective class.

FAMILY DAY LONG WEEKEND

The Rebels are back in action this Friday, February 17 versus the Memorial Cup hosting Kamloops Blazers (7 p.m.) on Country and Western Night at the Peavey Mart Centrium. It will be the Blazers’ first time playing in Red Deer since December 11, 2018.

Saturday night, Feb. 18, the Rebels head south to take on the Medicine Hat Tigers at Co-op Place at 7 p.m. Red Deer is 3-0-0-1 versus Medicine Hat so far this season.

Then on Monday. Feb. 20, the Rebels host the Tigers for a special Family Day Matinee at 2 p.m. for the final game of the season between the two clubs. It’ll be “Sockey Day in Red Deer” where fans will receive a free pair of socks, provided by generous sponsors, or can bring their own to throw on the ice during the game. These socks will be gathered by United Way volunteers and distributed to people in need across Central Alberta via our partner agencies. Guests can also purchase raffle tickets for some exciting prize packages

UPCOMING GAMES

After Family Day, the Rebels wrap up February with two more home games at the Peavey Mart Centrium…

– Fri. Feb. 24 – The Winnipeg ICE visit for the second and final time this regular season

– Sat. Feb. 25 – The Kelowna Rockets come to town for the first time since November 2018. It will be ATB Financial Team Poster Night and postgame autograph session featuring the entire Rebels team.

Tickets for all Rebels home games are available at ticketsalberta.com. For details on family/group/corporate packages, call the Rebels office at 403-341-6000.

From Kacie Albert of PBR Canada

PBR CANADA’S ELITE CUP SERIES RETURNS TO RED DEER, ALBERTA, FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR WITH 2023 SEASON-LAUNCH EVENT FEBRUARY 4

For the second consecutive year, PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada’s elite Cup Series, presented by Wrangler, will buck into Red Deer, Alberta, launching the 2023 season for the nation’s premier series on February 4, with the PBR Cross Country Canada Classic, at the Peavey Mart Centrium at Westerner Park.

PBR Canada’s Cup Series regularly features Canada’s best riders alongside some of the league’s top international athletes, squaring off against the rankest bucking bulls from across the nation.

For one night only, fans will witness exhilarating 8-second rides and wrecks throughout the action-packed event as the PBR’s courageous bull-riding athletes face off against their 2,000-pound opponents bred to buck.

The PBR Cross Country Canada Classic will mark the 2023 season launch for the PBR Canada Cup Series, presented by Wrangler.

In June 2022, PBR Canada’s elite Cup Series debuted in Red Deer to launch the premier series’ seventh season. Compliments of a perfect 2-for-2 effort, Jake Gardner (Fort St. John, British Columbia) won the event, surging from unranked to then No. 2 in the race for the 2022 PBR Canada Championship and accompanying $50,000 bonus.

In Round 1, Gardner first went head-to-head against Tickety Boo (Chase Kesler Bucking Bulls) inside the Peavey Mart Centrium, reaching the requisite 8 for 83.5 points, and punching his ticket to the championship round.

As the penultimate man to leave the chutes, the “Prince of the Peace Country” was poised atop Alberta Springs (Vold Rodeo). In true cowboy fashion, Gardner gritted his way to the 8-second whistle, despite almost being upended seconds into the ride, earning an 86.5-point score to clinch the victory.

As the only other rider to go a perfect 2-for-2, Lonnie West (Cadogan, Alberta) was second, collecting 55 national points to overtake the No. 1 rank in the Canadian standings.

Fresh off his event win the night prior on the developmental Touring Pro Division in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, West kept his momentum rolling in Round 1 from Red Deer when he converted aboard Warning Shot (Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp.) for 81.5 points. West then remained flawless in the championship round when he covered Hanna Motors Winston Bruce (Skori Bucking Bulls) for 86 points.

Prior to the debut of the PBR Canada Cup Series in Red Deer, the city held two developmental Touring Pro Division events in 2015 and 2016, both won by Garrett Green (Meeting Creek, Alberta).

The bull riding action for PBR Canada Cup Series’ Cross Country Canada Classic, begins at 7:00 p.m. MT on Saturday, February 4, 2023.

Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, November 18 at 10:00 a.m. MT, and start at $20, plus fees, and can be purchased at the Peavey Mart Centrium Box Office, online at TicketsAlberta.com.  Charge by phone at (866) 340-4450.

Stay tuned to PBRCanada.com and follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Canada), Twitter (@PBRCanada), and Instagram (@PBRCanada) for the latest event and broadcast schedule, results, news, stats and more.