KARLSTAD, SWEDEN (August 16, 2023) – The Brooks Bandits are 2-0 at the 2023 U20 Super Challenge thanks to a 10-2 blowout win over Denmark at Lofbergs Arena on Wednesday.
Dakota MacIntosh scored twice, while nine other Bandits scored in a game that saw the penalty kill in 5-on-3 situations twice.
MacIntosh (Winnipeg, MB) opened the scoring just 21 seconds into the game, scoring off the rush on a pass from Nic DeGraves (Edmonton, AB) to make it 1-0 Brooks. The Bandits doubled their lead at 2:57, as Jordan Hughesman (Winnipeg, MB), was fed a stretch pass from Nathan Free (Calgary, AB) and finished off the breakaway backhander to make it 2-0. After a successful penalty kill, the Bandits tripled the lead to 3-0 at 13:45, as Hunter Wallace (Oak Lake, MB) backhanded his first of the tournament. With less than 90 seconds in the period, forward Caelen Fitzpatrick (Moose Jaw, SK) tipped an Aaron Brown (Belleville, ON) point shot to make it 4-0.
Brooks surrendered their first goal of the tournament at 3:40 of the 2nd period, as Denmark’s Oliver Marklund scored top shelf on the Bandits net to cut the lead to 4-1. Two minutes later, the Bandits responded as defenceman Quinn McCall (St. John, IN) scored on a shot from the blueline that tipped in the top corner to make it 5-1. Brooks got into penalty trouble and had a 5-on-3 disadvantage, which Denmark was able to score on a Thomas Mondrop one-timer at 12:16 to cut the lead to 5-2, the closest they’d get. At 15:33, Bandits forward Mirko Buttazzoni escaped pressure on the wall and step into a forehand shot that found the back of the net to make it 6-2. Just over two minutes later, MacIntosh scored his second of the game to make it 7-2 heading to intermission.
2:43 into the 3rd period, forward Nathan Free (Calgary, AB) fired in a left circle shot to make it 8-2. Just two minutes later, forward Danylo Korzhyletskyi (Kyiv, Ukraine) one-timed a Parker Lalonde (Aberdeen, SK) pass to make it 9-2, and the final goal came at 9:34 from Fitzpatrick.
Shots 39-17 Brooks, with the Bandits not getting a powerplay.
In the other Group B game, Hungary beat Norway 7-3 on Wednesday. The Bandits face Hungary on Thursday at 7:15 pm CET, 11:15 am MST.
Group B Standings:
- Brooks 2-0
- Hungary 1-1
- Denmark 1-1
- Norway 0-2
The U20 Super Challenge runs from August 15-20, hosted by Farjestad BK at Lofbergs Arena. It features eight teams in two Groups, with team’s travelling from around Europe to participate.
All tournament games will be streamed on https://www.svenskhockey.tv/sv/home
Located 300km west of Stockholm, and 220km east of Oslo, Karlstad is a city of 65,000 residents. The Lofbergs Arena seats 8,645 for hockey, and is the home of Farjestad BK, who’s professional team compete in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Karlstad is located in the Central European Timezone, which is eight hours ahead of Mountain Time.