PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, MB (May 16, 2023) – The Brooks Bandits are one win away from clinching 1st overall in Group A, as they get set to take on the Quebec Junior Hockey League Champions on Day 6 at the 2023 Centennial Cup.
The Bandits face the Terrebonne Cobras at 3:30 pm (CST) on Real Country 105.7 FM and realcountrybrooks.ca. The game will also be streamed at hockeycanada.ca.
Brooks (3-0-0-0) have outscored their opponents 21-3 so far at the tournament, beating the Yarmouth Mariners 7-2 on May 11th, the Ottawa Jr Senators 5-1 on May 13th and blanking the Timmins Rock 9-0 on May 15th. The Bandits are the only team at the 2023 Centennial Cup who have three regulation wins so far.
Forward Aiden Fink (Calgary, AB) leads the team in scoring with 7 points (3G, 4A) through 3 games, while Ethan Barwick (St. Albert, AB) carries a .941 save percentage, only surrendering 3 goals against in the tournament.
Defenceman Dominick Campione:
“Our mindset is we must keep working hard, no matter what the score is. With only a handful of games left, there’s work to do and we can’t let our foot off the gas.”
Bandits forward Brendan Poshak:
“It was a good win over Timmins, good for our confidence. I think the biggest thing for us was to get a good rest and get our bodies ready for Tuesday.”
With a regulation win, the Bandits will clinch first overall in the tournament group stage and get to select which Semifinal time they want to play in on May 20th.
The Cobras (1-0-0-1) began their tournament with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Jr Senators on May 12th. They followed that with a 2-1 win over the Rock on May 14th. They finish their round robin on Wednesday vs Yarmouth.
This is the third all-time meeting between Brooks and Terrebonne, they met twice at the 2017 RBC Cup in Cobourg, ON. The Bandits defeated the Cobras 6-3 in the Group Stage, and blanked them 4-0 in the National Semifinal.