BROOKS, AB (January 1, 2023) – Caelan Fitzpatrick scored a hat trick, Ethan Barwick made 39 saves as the Brooks Bandits opened 2023 with a 6-1 victory over the Camrose Kodiaks Sunday at the Centennial Regional Arena.
Nearly 1,600 took in the game that saw Brooks score two goals each period, winning their 20th straight game at home over the Kodiaks.
Fitzpatrick (Moose Jaw, SK) opened the scoring at 7:34, backhanding the puck underneath Kodiaks starter Robert Andreakos to make it 1-0 Brooks. The Bandits doubled their lead to 2-0 at 14:56, as Elliot Dutil (Montreal, QC) found an open Nathan Free (Calgary, AB), who scored on a forehand shot to make it 2-0.
The Bandits tripled their lead to 3-0 at 3:41 of the 2nd period, as Dutil tapped in a Danylo Korzhyletskyi pass. Fitzpatrick redirected a point at 16:34 on the powerplay to increase the lead to 4-0.
Camrose snapped Barwick’s (St. Albert, AB) shutout bid at 1:32, as Ryan Sullivan scored from the right circle on the powerplay to cut the lead to 4-1. But Captain Dario Beljo (Sudbury, ON) cleaned up a loose puck off a Brendan Poshak (Green Bay, WI) shot to make it 5-1. Fitzpatrick completed the hat trick at 12:53, cleaning up a point shot to make it 6-1, the final.
Brooks heads on the road for three straight games, starting Tuesday, January 3, in Drumheller. Game time is 7:00 pm, with live play by play on Real Country 105.7 FM.