BROOKS, AB (October 22, 2021) – Devin Phillips broke a 2-2 tie in the 3rd period and the Brooks Bandits never looked back, beating the Drayton Valley Thunder 5-2 on Friday night at the Centennial Regional Arena, their 11th straight victory.
Ethan Barwick made 17 saves for his AJHL-leading 10th win as the Bandits improved to (12-1) and sit first in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
Highlights presented by Days Inn & Suites
Brooks defenceman Zach Bookman (Merrimack) opened the scoring after shooting in a mid-blueline shot set up by forward Ethan Mercer, who registered his first point as a Bandit since being traded from Vernon. It was 1-0 Brooks three minutes into the game, but Drayton Valley would tie with just over seven minutes left in the frame as forward Grayson Reid poked in a loose puck off a Barwick save to tie the game 1-1. Shots were 10-8 Brooks in the frame.
The Bandits retook the lead at 6:53 on the powerplay as forward Aiden Fink (Wisconsin) scored from the right circle after taking a pass from the point from Ryan McAllister (Western Michigan) to make it 2-1. Bandits defenceman Dominick Campione (Arizona State) was given a game misconduct for kneeing and on the ensuing powerplay, the Thunder tied the game with four minutes left in the period. Forward Moe Hakim backhanded the puck from the front of the net to make it 2-2. Shots were 14-7 Bandits in the period.
Devin Phillips (Holy Cross) broke the 2-2 tie in the 3rd period after being robbed by a big glove save by goaltender Byron Fancy, as Phillips scored from the right circle to make it 3-2 with just over 11 minutes to play. Forward TJ Hughes (Mercyhurst) scored from the top of the right circle at 15:20 to make it 4-2, followed by a Dario Beljo point shot 30 seconds later to make it a 5-2 final. Shots were 17-2 Brooks in the 3rd, and 39-19 overall.
Postgame comments from Zach Bookman:
Postgame comments from Devin Phillips:
The Bandits host the (10-3) Fort McMurray Oil Barons on Saturday, October 23 at the CRA. Game time is 7:00 pm and tickets are available at brooksbandits.ca.
Photo: Em Duncan