BROOKS, AB (February 7, 2020) – The offence ignited for the Brooks Bandits (41-9-1), powering them back into the win column following an 8-4 victory over the Fort McMurray Oil Barons Friday night at the Centennial Regional Arena.
The win moves Brooks 3 points back of first place Okotoks, who fell 5-4 in a shootout to the Canmore Eagles.
Bandits goaltender Ethan Barwick (St. Albert, AB) made 17 saves for his 9th win of the season.
Despite 12 goals scored in the game, only one goal was in the 1st period. Forward Chris Pappas (Toronto, ON) beat Barons netminder Cameron Beson on a backhand at 16:39 to give Brooks the 1-0 lead.
Fort McMurray took a 2-1 lead early in the 2nd period, thanks to goals by Riley Bodnarchuk and Brendan Stafford at 1:28 and 4:15 respectively.
The Bandits would tie thanks to a blast from defenceman Ethan Lund (Calgary, AB), who scored on a slapshot from the point at 6:14. They then took a 3-2 lead thanks to a Sean Chisholm (Caledonia, ON) powerplay goal, set up by a Brayden Krieger pass from behind the net and one-timed in at 15:29.
However, the Barons would tie the game 3-3 at 17:43 as Ethan Jamernik would beat Barwickon a wrist shot from the right circle. Late in the 2nd period, Bandit forward Randy Hernandez scored off his own rebound to reclaim a 4-3 Bandit lead.
Brooks continued to pad their lead in the 3rd period. Forward Taylor Makar (Calgary, AB) one-timed a Hernandez pass to make it 5-3 at 3:34, followed by another Chisholm powerplay goal at 6:31 on a one-timer. Hernandez made it 7-3 at 10:58, followed by an Oil Baron redirect ny Konrad Belcourt that was thought to be hit by a high stick at 11:18. The goal stood.
Finally, Bandit forward Justin Ross (Calgary, AB) beat Beson at 14:41, en route to an 8-4 win.
Final shots were 44-21 Bandits.
The Bandits host the Whitecourt Wolverines on Saturday night, presented by DD2 Oilfield Rentals and Services. Game time is 7:00 PM, tickets are available at tickets.brooksbandits.ca.
Photo: Em Duncan