SHERWOOD PARK, AB (April 16, 2021) – The Brooks Bandits broke a 2nd period 2-2 tie with 4 unanswered goals, routing the Sherwood Park Crusaders 9-3 on Friday night at Randy Rosen Rink.
The win improves the Bandits record to 10-1, and is their 4th straight win. Goaltender Ethan Barwick made 18 saves for the win.
Highlights presented by Days Inn & Suites Brooks:
Brooks scored first, as forward Owen Cole (UMass-Lowell) scored on a net front forehand shot 2:31 into the game. But Sherwood Park tied it 1-1 a minute later on a Ty Mueller breakaway goal. Shots were 9-6 Brooks in the 1st.
The 2nd period saw Bandits forward TJ Hughes (Robert Morris) also score on a breakaway, deking out Crusaders starter Carson Cherepak, making it 2-1 Brooks 5:37 into the frame. But the Crusaders would tie, thanks to a powerplay goal from Blake Sydlowski near the halfway point of the period after he knocked in a rebound.
In the final three minutes of the 2nd, the Bandits pulled away. Forward Sean Chisholm (Dartmouth) knocked in a board rebound off an Ethan Lund (Niagara) shot to make it 3-2. That was followed by a Brendan Mairs top-shelf goal after the Bandits forced a Sherwood Park turnover in the neutral zone. Then with one minute remaining in the period, Cole fired in a forehand shot from the left circle set up by Ryan McAllister (Western Michigan) to make it 5-2 Bandits. Shots were 14-11 Brooks.
The 3rd period saw Mairs score again, this time tucking a forehand shot from the right circle over the shoulder of Cherepak on the powerplay to make it 6-2 Bandits, 3:29 into the frame. The Crusaders got one at 10:03, again from Sydlowski, but that’s as close as they’d get.
The Bandits added three more goals. Defenceman Brendan Kennette fired in a Krieger pass from the left circle to make it 7-3, his 1st AJHL goal at 16:23, followed by a Hughes goal at 18:45, as he cleared up a loose puck in the slot to make it 8-3. Forward Chris Pappas (St. Lawrence added salt in the wound with a goal with 26 seconds left in regulation, blocking a point shot and then scoring five-hole in the other end on his own carry-in, final score 9-3 and final shots were 40-21.
The Bandits wrap up their weekend in Sherwood Park on Sat, April 17th for the rematch with the Crusaders.
Follow along on Real Country 105.7 FM or watch on Hockeytv.com at 7:00 pm.