Brooks, AB (February 1, 2020) – For the first time since November of 2017, the Brooks Bandits (40-8-1) have dropped back to back regular season home games, suffering a 7-6 defeat at the hands of the Canmore Eagles on Saturday at the Centennial Regional Arena.
The game saw 6 different lead changes, with Eagles forward Michael Spafford breaking the 6-6 tie with under 4 minutes to go to give Canmore the win.
Brooks scored first, as defenceman Tim Rego (Mansfield, MA) as he finished off a Krieger tapped puck to beat a sprawled out Eagle goaltender Devin Chapman at 6:24 of the 1st period.
But a minute later, Canmore’s Tristan Zandee answer back at the 7:31 mark to tie the game. The Eagles then took a 3-1 lead on goals from Tayler Miller and Mitchell Watson at 10:11 and 12:56 respectively.
The Bandits offence sparked thanks to a Corson Ceulemans’ (Beaumont, AB) wraparound goal at 14:19 to cut the lead to 3-2. Then, on the powerplay, forward Randy Hernandez (Miami, FL) scored on a wrist shot from the left circle to make it 3-3. With 3:08 left in the frame, forward Sean Chisholm (Caledonia, ON) beat Chapman on a breakaway to give Brooks a 4-3 advantage after 20 minutes.
The Eagles held the Bandits scoreless in the 2nd period, getting goals from Spafford and Dylan Witzke at 2:33 and 5:28 to give them a 5-4 lead after 2 periods.
The Bandits had life in the 3rd period, as forward Brayden Krieger (Elora, ON) scored twice. He finished off a loose puck off a point shot at 3:03, and cleaned up a loose puck at 3:27 to give Brooks a 6-5 lead.
Canmore got a powerplay goal from Zach Carlson at 11:14 on a back door tap-in to tie it 6-6. Then with under 4 minutes, Spafford scored on a turnover to make it 7-6.
Final shots were 33-17 Brooks.
The Bandits sit two points back of Okotoks for 1st in the South Division, each with 9 games remaining.
Brooks will face the Eagles on Tuesday in Canmore. Game time is 7:00 PM, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:45 PM on Martin Chrysler Bandits hockey on Real Country 105.7 FM.