BONNYVILLE, AB (January 7, 2023) – Hughie Hooker scored twice, Ethan Barwick stopped all shots he faced and the Brooks Bandits won their fifth straight game, blanking the Bonnyville Pontiacs 5-0 at the RJ Lalond2e Arena on Saturday.
The Bandits (37-3-2) built a 4-0 lead in the 2nd period on thanks to goals from Caelan Fitzpatrick (Moose Jaw, SK), Hooker twice (Brandon, MB), Aiden Fink (Calgary, AB), and Luke Marshall (Saskatoon, SK) scored his first career AJHL goal late in the contest to give Brooks the 5-0 edge. The Bandits have also won five straight on the road.
Fitzpatrick opened the scoring at 9:42 of the 1st period, shooting from the right circle a top shelf wrist shot for his 7th goal in his last four games.
The Bandits doubled the lead at 8:06 of the 2nd period, as Hooker scored on a forehand shot from the right circle to make it 2-0. Not long after at 11:07, and on the powerplay, Fink pivoted on the goal line and roofed a pass from Dario Beljo (Sudbury, ON) to increase the lead to 3-0. Hooker, who had a three-point game, made it 4-0 at 15:36, jumping on a loose puck and scoring backhand.
Marshall’s first career goal came at 18:44 of the 3 period, as the defenceman scored from the right circle in a similar spot to where Fitzpatrick opened the scoring to make it 5-0, the final. Shots were 29-11 Brooks.
The Bandits return home for a pair of games at the Centennial Regional Arena against South Division rivals, starting Friday, January 13 vs the Drumheller Dragons. They also host the Okotoks Oilers on Saturday, January 14, both games are at 7:00 pm.