BROOKS, AB (October 10, 2022) – Wilson Maxfield picked up his 1st win of the regular season, and the Bandits converted three times on the powerplay in a 6-2 victory over the Grande Prairie Storm on Thanksgiving Monday at the Centennial Regional Arena.
Maxfield, 18, made 20 saves in his 2nd start of the year, and the Bandits (9-1-1) winning streak is now at six games.
Hudson Malinoski (Providence) opened the scoring at 8:44, as he finished off a behind-the-net pass from Ellito Dutil (Lindenwood) to make it 1-0. With just over six minutes left in the period, forward Nathan Free (Penn State) burned behind the Storm defence and tuck in a forehand shot to double the lead to 2-0 on the powerplay. Then at 15:06, forward Dario Beljo (AIC) redirected a Sam Court short on the powerplay to triple the lead to 3-0. Forward Aiden Fink (Wisconsin) scored from the net front on a pass from Beljo to increase the Bandits lead to 4-0. Shots in the 1st were 17-4 Brooks.
Brooks defenceman Ethan Beyer (Arizona State) gave Brooks a 5-0 lead at 4:26 of the 2nd period, one-timing a Free pass. Grande Prairie got one back at 12:10 on the powerplay, as Ayden Peters scored on a wrist shot. Shots in the 2nd were 13-7 Brooks.
Bandits forward Brendan Mairs reclaimed the 5-goal lead, winning a puck battle in front of the Storm net and knocking the 6-1 goal at 12:10. The Storm got one back on the powerplay at 14:50 on a wrist shot from Nathan Rickey, but that’s as close as they would get. Shots in the 3rd were 13-11 Brooks, and 43-22 overall.
The Bandits home stand continues this week as the Spruce Grove Saints visit on Friday, October 14th in a rematch of the 2022 AJHL Final. Then, on Saturday, October 15th, Brooks hosts the Whitecourt Wolverines, both games are at 7:00 pm.