Rebels push Blades to brink of elimination

The WHL’s Saskatoon Blades are in a deep hole.

The host Red Deer Rebels beat the Blades 3-1 on Tuesday to take a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series. Game 4 of the series is slated for Wednesday in Red Deer.

The Rebels won the first two games of the series in Saskatoon, posting a 3-1 victory on Friday and prevailing 5-2 on Sunday. The Blades now must win four straight to advance.

Trevor Wong opened the scoring for Saskatoon in Tuesday’s game, but the Rebels responded with three straight goals — one each by Frantisek Formanek, Dwayne Jean Jr., and Kalan Lind (into an empty net).

Austin Elliott made 23 saves in the Blades’ goal. Kyle Kelsey stopped 22 shots for the Rebels.