OKOTOKS, AB (March 28, 2023) – The Brooks Bandits charged out of the gates with a three-goal 1st period, bouncing back with a 5-2 win over the Oilers in Okotoks in Game 3.
Caelan Fitzpatrick, Ethan Beyer, Hughie Hooker, Aaron Brown and Aiden Fink scored the Bandits goals, while Ethan Barwick made 20 saves. Brooks leads the best-of-seven South Division Semi-Final, 2-2.
Fitzpatrick (Moose Jaw, SK) opened the scoring at 5:16, finishing a Brendan Poshak (Green Bay, WI) pass from behind the goal line and scoring from the left circle. The Bandits doubled the lead to 2-0 at 9:26, as Beyer (Centennial, CO) finished off a bounce off the end-boards from a Poshak shot, and scored shortside. Then at 13:02, Hooker (Brandon, MB) carried the puck into the Okotoks zone, dropped it for forward Heath Armstrong (Calgary, AB) who shot, and then had the rebound swept in by Hooker to make it 3-0.
Brown (Belleville, ON) scored on a wrist shot through traffic at 7:28 of the 2nd period to extend the lead to 4-0. The Oilers got one back at 15:26, as Zeth Kindrachuk scored on a breakaway to cut the lead to 4-1.
Fink (Calgary, AB) made it 5-1 at 4:46, after linemate Hunter Wallace (Oak Lake, MB) forced a turnover behind the Oilers net, setting up a one-timer for Fink. The Oilers made it 5-2 at 11:15 as Brett Huxley cleaned up a rebound. Final shots were 24-22 Brooks.
Game 4 of the series goes Wednesday, March 29th, in Okotoks. Game time is 7:00 pm, listen to live coverage on Real Country 105.7 FM.