Max Reinhart scored the lone shootout goal as Nathan Lieuwen made the necessary three stops to lift the Kootenay Ice 2-1 over the Rebels on Wednesday night in Red Deer.

In yet another close battle with their Albertan rivals, the Ice dug themselves out of an early deficit by tying the score in the second period, riding a tight defensive game through the third and overtime periods.

Lieuwen was arguably the best player for his team, turning away 29 shots and making some key saves to keep the Rebels at bay.

"He makes it look easy when he's on top of his game," said Ice assistant coach Todd Johnson. "That's how he plays and he made a lot of very good and very key saves. But I thought as a team, we played very well defensively."

The Ice, in turn, put 36 shots on Rebels stopper Deven Dubyk, beating him only once in regulation.

The Ice were given an early powerplay but couldn't convert, as they struggled all game to gel on the man-advantage.

Lieuwen was sharp early, denying Brooks Maxwell with a glorious glove save, who couldn't stuff in the puck when traffic buzzed around the crease.

Mike Simpson and Marc McCoy dropped the gloves for a short and sweet bout after the two escalated their roughhousing in the defensive corner.

The Rebels had the better start, and were rewarded with a goal when Alex Petrovic broke into the zone on an odd-man rush. He tried to pass off the puck, but it hit an Ice defenceman's skate and rebounded back to his stick, which he then wired past Lieuwen.

The Ice were gifted with two powerplay chances in the second, but no goals resulted, and the team also killed off an undisciplined cross-checking minor from Max Reinhart.

Dylen McKinlay evened up the score when his stick tipped a shot from Jagger Dirk on the point, redirecting the puck past an exposed Dubyk.

Lieuwen made some unreal saves in his own end near the halfway mark of the frame, when a big scramble kicked up in front of him.

The puck bounced past him in the crease, but he managed to twist and reach around his back to prevent it from crossing the goal line.

Ice defenceman John Neibrandt had the best chance to put the Ice ahead off a line change, when he skated into the offensive zone and received a pass from the wing, but Dubyk picked off his shot.

The third period was tight both ways, each team playing defensive hockey, but everyone picked up the pace near the end.

Muth scrapped with Charles Inglis; the latter unhappy with a hit the former laid on him behind Lieuwen's net in the defensive zone.

The Ice dodged a bullet near the end of the game when Petrovic rang a shot off the post as he cut into the slot after breaking into the zone.

"It was probably one of the hardest-fought battles of the year and I was really happy with the way that we battled tonight and we came out on top," said Lieuwen.

Max Reinhart had the best chance of the overtime frame, putting a backhand on Dubyk a few feet outside of the crease, but the shot was turned away.

Lieuwen stymied Charles Inglis, John Persson and Petrovic in the shootout, while Max Reinhart drew out Dubyk to the side of the net before pulling the puck across the crease with one hand on his backhand to tuck the biscuit inside the goal.

"I just got a little bit lucky on him biting on the first move and the rest was kind of easy," said Reinhart.

Elgin Pearce put his shot into Dubyk's glove, while Jesse Ismond fired the puck high on the shoulder.

The Ice have pulled ahead and solidified third place in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Next action for Kootenay will be another road game on Saturday, hosted by the Oil Kings in Edmonton.