DRUMHELLER, AB (September 8, 2017) – Tempers flared late as the Brooks Bandits (1-4) fell 3-2 to the host Drumheller Dragons (5-0) in pre-season action on Friday night.
A shorthanded breakaway goal by Tyler Kreklewich just 1:25 into the game gave the home side an early lead, though it was equalized at the 6:28 mark when Tyler Vanuden fired home his third of the pre-season from the slot. Drumheller scored twice consecutively in the second, with Gage Misskey shooting in a slapshot from the faceoff circle at 5:16 for the second goal allowed by Bandit starter Ryan Baker, and Joren Patenaude tipping home a backdoor feed at 15:33 for the only goal Andrew Farrier would allow.
Seconds after the Patenaude goal, Nolan Thompson roofed a backhander for Brooks to pull the Bandits to within one, but it was as close as the visitors would get. In the dying seconds, Arnaud Vachon rocketed a wrister off the post on a breakaway, but the play was blown dead immediately thereafter. The faceoff was taken to centre ice, where a ten-man scrum soon ensued, with two fights being called before things calmed down enough for the final seconds to run off the clock.
The two teams reconvene for a pre-season finale on Sunday afternoon at the Centennial Regional Arena in Brooks, with puck drop scheduled for 4:00 PM.