BROOKS, AB (September 7, 2022) – Aiden Fink had a seven point game, and the Brooks Bandits scored five goals on the powerplay, winning their 5th straight game 8-5 over the Drumheller Dragons in Pre-season action Wednesday night at the Centennial Regional Arena.
Bandits goaltender Wilson Maxfield made 33 saves in his second straight start, as the Bandits improved to 5-0 in the 2022 Pre-Season.
Just 40 seconds in, Bandits defenceman Aiden Celebrini (Boston University) sniped the top left corner on a corner feed from Fink to make it 1-0 Brooks. But at 8:02, Drumheller tied the game 1-1 on the powerplay, as forward Adam Raesler cleaned up on a net front scramble. Afterwards, the Bandits killed off a penalty and were rewarded on the powerplay, as Fink scored on a forehand shot from the slot to make it 2-1 Brooks. Shots in the 1st were 17-9 Dragons.
The Bandits powerplay scored again at 2:13 of the 2nd period, as forward Hunter Wallace (RPI) one-timed a Fink pass to increase the Brooks lead to 3-1. But the Dragons got two back, with goals from forward Hayden Prosofsky at 8:24 and Kai Matthew on a forehand shot from the left circle at 9:20 to make it a 3-3 game. Seconds after Matthew scored however, Fink finished off an odd-man rush with Wallace to reclaim a 4-3 Bandits lead. Shots in the 2nd were 12-10 Brooks.
The Bandits capitalized just 22 seconds into the 3rd period, with forward Dario Beljo (AIC) one-timing a Fink pass to make it 5-3. But 28 seconds later, Prosofsky scored again, on a backhand shot to cut the lead to 5-4. Wallace give Brooks a 6-4 lead at 5:50 on another one-timer on the powerplay. Drumheller got one back at 13:07 as forward Will Christian scored from the right circle to make it 6-5 Brooks. But the Bandits pulled away, as Beljo backhanded his second of the night at 14:51 on the powerplay, and forward Luke Biddy finished the game off with 14 seconds remaining with an empty net goal to make it 8-5, the final. Shots in the 3rd were 13-11 Brooks, and 38-34 Dragons overall.
The Bandits continue their Pre-season on Friday, September 9, when they travel to Okotoks to face the Oilers. Game time is 7:00 pm, and can be watched on HockeyTV or listened to on the Bandits Mixlr channel for free.
Brooks concludes their Pre-season on Saturday, September 10, when they host the Cranbrook Bucks of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). Game time is 7:00 pm at the CRA.
Photo credit: Matt Vossepoel