BROOKS, AB (October 21, 2023) – Mirko Buttazzoni broke a 3rd period 1-1 tie, the penalty kill went 7/7 and the Brooks Bandits defeated the Drumheller Dragons 4-1 on Saturday at the Centennial Regional Arena.
Goaltender Johnny Hicks (Kamloops, BC) allowed just one goal all weekend following the Bandits 5-0 shutout win on Friday over Drumheller, making 22 saves on Saturday.
The Bandits (13-2) are tied for 1st place in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and remain undefeated at home this season.
Dragons forward Adam Raesler opened the scoring just 18 seconds into the game, cleaning up a loose puck to make it 1-0. DeGraves (Edmonton, AB) tied the game at 3:43, one-timing a Quinn McCall (St. John, IN) pass off the rush to make it 1-1. Shots were 7-3 Brooks in the frame.
The 2nd period was scoreless. Brooks broke the tie 6:57 into the 3rd period, after the Dragons failed to clear the defensive zone, forward Mirko Buttazzoni (Langley, BC) sniped a top left corner shot to make it 2-1 Brooks. Forward Ty Mason (Weyburn, SK) scored on a backhander at 10:05 to make it 3-1, and then defenceman Ethan Beyer (Centennial, CO) one-timed a behind-the-net pass to make it 4-1. Final shots were even 23-23.
The Bandits head on the road for a pair of games, starting Friday, October 27th in Whitecourt and Saturday, October 28th in Spruce Grove. Both games are at 7:00 pm.