BROOKS, AB (January 1, 2022) – Anthony Cipollone scored a hat trick, Max Beckford picked up the shutout and the Brooks Bandits began 2022 with a 13-0 win over the Calgary Canucks on New Year’s Day at the Centennial Regional Arena in front of 923 fans.
The win was the Bandits (35-1-1) 15th straight victory , and the team hasn’t lost in regulation in 35 consecutive games.
Photo: Em Duncan
Highlights:
The game was scoreless until 95 seconds left in the 1st, when defenceman Zach Bookman (Merrimack) intercepted a pass at centre ice and dropped the pass to forward Anthony Cipollone (Quinnipiac), who scored from the slot shorthanded to make it 1-0. Shots were 16-6 Bandits in the period.
Brooks captain Ethan Lund (Niagara) made it 2-0 after firing in a left circle shot at 3:20 into the 2nd period. Then on a powerplay opportunity, forward TJ Hughes (Mercyhurst) found a puck bounce of the end boards and scored shortside to increase the lead to 3-0 at 5:43.
Bookman scored shorthanded at 8:15 on a two-on-one rush setup by Hughes to make it 4-0. Then at 11:23, forward Noah Hackett (Niagara) scored on his own rebound off the rush to increase the lead to 5-0. At 14:37, defenceman Wes Turner (Holy Cross) scored his first as a Bandit, firing a top shelf shot from the left circle to make it 6-0. With four minutes remaining in the period, forward Ryan McAllister (Western Michigan) scored from the right circle to make it 7-0. Shots in the 2nd were 19-6 Brooks.
Cipollone scored his second of the night 4:41 into the 3rd, as McAllister fed him the puck from behind the net on the powerplay which he one-timed to make it 8-0. Four minutes later, forward Nicholas DeGraves found a rebound off a Hackett point shot and scored to increase the lead to 9-0. 30 seconds later, Cipollone completed the hat trick on a pass from defenceman Josh Zinger (Northern Michigan), shelf the puck to give Brooks a 10-0 lead. Halfway through the 3rd, forward Brendan Poshak (Northern Michigan) stripped the Canucks of the puck in their own end and scored on a breakaway top shelf to make it 11-0. With under three minutes to go in the game, defenceman Boston Buckberger (Wisconsin) scored a highlight-reel goal, moving through four defenders and shooting between the legs to make it 12-0. The game was capped off by a Hunter Wallace (RPI) one-timer from the right circle to make it 13-0, the final. Shots were 17-3 Brooks in the period, and 51-14 overall.
The Bandits homestand continues on Wednesday, January 5 when they host the Grande Prairie Storm at 6:30 pm at the CRA.