CANMORE, AB (January 21, 2023) – Elliot Dutil scored twice, Ethan Barwick made 31 saves, the penalty kill went 7/7 and the Brooks Bandits bounced back with a 5-1 win over the Eagles at the Recreation Centre on Saturday.
It was the Bandits (40-4-2) 40th win of the season, and sixth straight victory on the road. It was also Barwick’s 100th regular season game.
Dutil (Montreal, QC) opened the scoring at 3:25 of the 1st period, redirecting a Hughie Hooker (Brandon, MB) shot to make it 1-0. The Bandits doubled the lead to 2-0 at 13:01 as Jordan Hughesman (Winnipeg, MB) tipped in an Aiden Fink (Calgary, AB) net front pass. Dutil’s second of the game came at 16:04, after Mikhail Simchuk (Kyiv, UK) won an offensive zone draw and led to a loose puck for Dutil, who scored from the left circle to make it 3-0. Brooks outshot Canmore 21-6 in the period.
The Eagles got one back at 12:48 of the 2nd period, as Riley Dekowny cleaned up a loose puck on a rebound to cut the Bandits lead to 3-1. But not long after, Bandits forward Davide Patella (Laval, QC) beat an Eagle defender one-on-one, and scored forehand on Matthew Malin with a highlight reel goal to make it 4-1 at 15:17. Canmore’s Hunter Burgeson was awarded a penalty shot late in the period, but couldn’t’ beat Barwick.
The 3rd period saw Brooks on the kill three times, but they wouldn’t surrender any more goals. At 14:43, forward Heath Armstrong (Calgary, AB) drove to the Eagles net, with Malin stopping his initial shot, but the loose puck was cleaned up by forward Caelan Fitzpatrick (Moose Jaw, SK) to make it 5-1, the final. Shots were 49-32 Brooks. Fitzpatrick is now riding a nine-game point streak.
The Bandits return home on Wednesday, January 25, as they host the Fort McMurray Oil Barons at 6:30 pm.