PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, MB (May 13, 2023) – The Brooks Bandits continue their 2023 Centennial Cup journey on Saturday in a key Group A showdown with the Ottawa Jr Senators.
Brooks is coming off a 7-2 win over the Yarmouth Mariners on opening day, in a game that saw them build a 4-1 lead in the 1st and never look back. Elliot Dutil (Montreal, QC) and Ethan Beyer (Centennial, CO) each had two goal games, while Aiden Fink (Calgary, AB), Hunter Wallace (Oak Lake, MB) and Tyler Blocha (Bonnyville, AB) also scored. The Bandits powerplay went 2/6, penalty kill 1/1, and Ethan Barwick (St. Albert, AB) made 10 saves for the win.
Champions of the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) for a fourth straight year, the Jr Senators are competing at their fourth consecutive National Junior A Championship. They opened their tournament on Friday with a 2-1 overtime win over the Terrebonne Cobras. Forward Massimo Gentile scored the winner 1:12 into the extra period.
The Bandits (1-0-0-0) lead Group A with 3 points, Ottawa (0-1-0-0) is second with 2 points.
This is the third all-time meeting between the Bandits and Jr Senators, previously facing each other twice at the 2019 National Junior A Championship in Brooks. The Bandits defeated the Jr Senators 2-1 in the Preliminary round, and edged the Senators 4-3 in the Semifinal.
Brooks continues their Group A Preliminary Round on Monday, May 15 vs the Timmins Rock and Tuesday, May 16 vs the Terrebonne Cobras. Both games are at 3:30 pm (Central).
Puck drop at Stride Place in Portage is 3:30 pm (Central), with live coverage on Real Country 105.7 FM and realcountrybrooks.ca. The online stream is available at hockeycanada.ca.