BROOKS, AB (November 2, 2019) ? The Brooks Bandits (19-0) kept their undefeated season alive with a narrow 4-3 win over the Drumheller Dragons at the Centennial Regional Arena on Saturday night.
With the win, the team stands alone with the second-longest season-opening win streak in AJHL history, passing the 18-0 start from the 1993-94 Olds Grizzlys, and sitting just one win back of the 2012-13 Bandits, who went 20-0.
The win also extended the team?s season-overlapping regular season win streak to an incredible 52 games.
Ethan Lund (Calgary, AB) opened the scoring just 3:58 into the game when his long point shot from the right side beat goaltender Ryley Osland through traffic for his first of the year.
But Brady Risk tied it on the very next shift, sniping a puck from the right circle past Pierce Charleson (Aurora, ON). Less than 7 minutes later, Devin Phillips (Raleigh, NC) tipped home a Chris Pappas (Toronto, ON) point shot to reclaim a one-goal lead, but again the Dragons responded on a Myles Hilman backhand goal from the slot at 14:22.
With time dwindling in the first, Trey Thomas (Williams Lake, BC) sped into the right circle and perfectly placed a wrister into the top left corner to make it 3-2 Bandits after the first.
A scoreless second gave way to a tumultuous third in which Drumheller outshot the Bandits 13-5, becoming the first team all season to outshot Brooks in a game with a 35-26 advantage on the night.
But Tim Rego scored what turned out to be a pivotal goal at 9:38, tapping home a backdoor feed from Sean Chisholm (Caledonia, ON). Kaden Hanas made it close with a rebound tap in at 19:12, but the Bandits held on for the dramatic 4-3 win.
The team heads on the road Sunday afternoon for a 2 PM matchup with the Calgary Canucks. Pre-game coverage starts at 1:45 PM on Real Country 105.7.