Rebels 3 Broncos 0

The Red Deer Rebels continue to liquidate opposing power plays at the Centrium.

Accordingly, they're a perfect 5-0 at home this season.

The Rebels killed seven penalties Wednesday while running their overall record to 10-2 with a 3-0 Western Hockey League victory over the Swift Current Broncos before 3,563 fans.

Call it perfection by aggression. Instead of sitting back on the penalty kill, the Rebels are constantly in motion and paying special attention to the point men.

"Last year we started off that way, but Pete (former assistant coach Anholt) and I talked about it and when we decided to go to a more passive p.k. it was because we were using kids," said Red Deer GM/coach Brent Sutter.

"They didn't understand the force, and our back end at the start of the season wasn't as mobile as we would have liked.

"Now we have six or seven guys up front who can really skate and a back end that moves. It all comes down to supporting each other and reacting, getting on the puck and reading the passes when they’re being made. We also make sure we always have someone that's down in front of the net."

The Rebels not only threw a blanket over the Broncos' man-advantage units, they got short-handed and power-play goals from captain Jim Vandermeer, to go with Kyle Wanvig’s even-strength marker.

Red Deer entered the game with the league's second-best penalty-killing record on home ice, an impressive 89.7 per cent.

Wednesday's success bumped it up to 91.3 per cent.

"We have a lot of guys who can really wheel and we can pressure guys pretty effectively," said winger Justin Wallin, one of the club's more effective penalty killers. "It's working well for us."

The fact that the special-teams players are a year older and stronger has also made a major difference.

"That's true, plus we're a little more familiar with our system now and we're able to handle something more aggressive. And if we get caught out of position we're able to recover with our speed," said Wallin.

New addition B.J. Boxma stood tall in the Broncos' net, stopping all 23 shots he faced in the first two periods. Red Deer finally broke through in the final frame, but the former Kootenay Ice goaltender was still Swift Current's best player.

The Rebels were clearly frustrated after 40 minutes, but stayed on the attack and emerged with the win.

"You just have to keep going," said Sutter. "Sometimes games like that scare you, but the kids dug in and played well in the third."

Coming off Saturday's 4-1 loss in Medicine Hat in which they gave up 32 shots, the Rebels limited Swift Current to 19, most of which were from  the perimeter.

"Defensively, we were very good tonight. We kept the middle of the ice clean," said Sutter.

"It was a big win for our hockey club. Again, we responded well after a loss and that's exactly what you want to do."

Michael Garnett posted his first WHL shutout while lowering his goals-against average to 2.27 and raising his save percentage to .904.

It felt like everything was just coming right at me tonight. It doesn't happen all the time so I'm enjoying this," said the 18-year-old netminder, who faced only two shots in the opening period.

"It makes it tougher to stay focused when you’re not getting a lot of work," he added. "You have to stay mentally tough."

Boxma was in the same frame of mind at the other end, although he was forced to stay on his toes. The 19-year-old, acquired from Kootenay Tuesday, finished with 34 saves.

"He certainly had a good game tonight," said Broncos GM/coach Brad McEwen. "He gave us every opportunity to stay in the game. Unfortunately the rest of our guys didn't give him an opportunity to get the win.

The Broncos played without leading scorer Layne Ulmer, who missed a fourth consecutive game with a charleyhorse. As a result, the visitors were intent on playing it close to the vest.

"We were trying to keep it reasonably simple and get a little bit of a forecheck," said McEwen. "I just thought we had some individuals on our team who didn't play at the level they needed to."