The Red Deer Rebels scored three first period goals Friday night as they went on to defeat the Portland Winterhawks 6-2 in Red Deer.

Portland opened the game strong, scoring just 12 seconds into the game when Spencer Bennett notched his fifth of the season with an assist from Luke Walker. Red Deer tied the game at the seven-minute mark, when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins beat Winterhawks goaltender Ian Curtis with a power play goal to tie the game at 1-1.

The Rebels then took a 2-1 lead on an Andrej Kudrna goal, and made it 3-1 with just 24 seconds left in the period on a goal from Josh Cowen. Red Deer outshot Portland 16-6 in the first period.

Red Deer took a three-goal lead in the second when Brett Ferguson notched his third of the season at 13:28. Portland got one back on the power play at the 17:32 mark when Brad Ross scored his sixth goal of the season. The goal extended his point streak to six games, and tied him for the team lead in goals along with Walker.

Kurtis Mucha took over in net for Portland following Red Deer's fourth goal in the second period, but the Rebels extended the lead to 5-2 on Kudrna’s second of the game at the 5:31 mark of the third period. They made it a 6-2 lead at 14:41 when Nugent-Hopkins tallied his second of the night, a score that ended as the final.

In addition to two goals apiece from Kudrna and Nugent-Hopkins, Red Deer got four assists from leading scorer Willie Coetzee.

The Winterhawks are now 1-1 on their season-high six-game road trip. They return to the ice Sunday afternoon against the Calgary Hitmen, now coached by former Winterhawks player and head coach Mike Williamson. The puck drops at 1 p.m. Sunday. Catch all the action live on Freedom 970 AM.