Drumheller, AB (November 29, 2019) ? Forward Marc-Antoine Benoit (Drummondville, QC) scored twice as the Brooks Bandits (27-1-1) picked up their third straight win, doubling up the Dragons 4-2 Friday night at the Drumheller Memorial Arena.
Goaltender Pierce Charleson (Aurora, ON) made 27 saves on 29 Dragon shots for his league-leading 22nd win of the season.
Benoit got the Bandits on the scoreboard quickly, needing only 1:55 into the game to score from the right circle, beating Drumheller goaltender Colin Ahern. After a slew of penalties took up most of the middle part of the period, the Bandits made it 2-0 at the 18:13 mark as forward Randy Hernández finished off a Brayden Krieger (Elora, ON) pass from behind the net.
Despite Brooks outshooting the Dragons 11-9 in the second period, the only goal of the frame came at the 11:17 mark from Drumheller?s Eric Martin. The goal was scored on the powerplay after Charleson was called for delay of game when his net came off making a save.
The Bandits offence would go to work in the 3rd period. Benoit fired in his 2nd of the game at the 3:40 mark on the powerplay to make it 3-1 Brooks, followed by a Krieger goal at the 11:09 mark on a backdoor tap-in set up by Hernández.
The Dragons got one back on another powerplay goal from Martin at the 14:03 mark, but that?s as close as they would get as Charleson would not allow anything more.
Final shots were 29-27 Dragons, as the Bandits are now 4-0 versus their rivals from Drumheller this season.
The Bandits next game is Tuesday (Dec 3) when they visit the Olds Grizzlys. Listen to the game live on Real Country 105.7, with the pre-game show starting at 6:45 PM.
Next home game is Wednesday (Dec 4), as the Bandits host the Dragons in a rematch. Buy your seat online by visiting tickets.brooksbandits.ca. Game time is 6:30 PM.