BROOKS, AB (October 20, 2018) – The Brooks Bandits (13-1) got hat tricks from Simon Gravel (Boucherville, QC) and Simon Boyko (Mississauga, ON), and Josh Graziano (Williamsville, NY) pitched a 13-save shutout in his Bandits debut, as they downed the Olds Grizzlys 12-0 on Saturday night for their 13th consecutive win.
The Bandits outshot the Grizzlys 73-13 in the game, falling just 3 shots shy of becoming the first AJHL team since 1985 to notch at least 76 shots on goal in a game.
Jake Theis (Chanhassen, MN) opened the scoring on a backdoor tap in at 1:21 before Gravel recorded his first of the game on a similar play at 5:27. At 11:33, Gravel scored his second of the game, roofing a breakaway shot to make it 3-0 as the first ended with a 15-4 Brooks shot lead.
But the Bandits poured the pressure on in the second, outshooting Olds 32-6 and adding 5 more goals. The first was Boyko’s first from the left side of the net at 9:29, before Gravel expertly batted a puck out of mid air and into the back of the Grizzly net at 11:23 to make it 5-0 and complete his three-goal night. William Lemay (Marieville, QC) scored on a power play point shot through a screen at 15:53, and on the next shift Andranik Armstrong (Alexandria, VA) set up Bobby Harrison (Waterdown, ON) for a net front one-timer at 16:17 to make it 7-0. The Grizzlys pulled goalie Duncan Hughes in favor of Jay Thomson, but on the next shift, Boyko scored again off the rush to make it 8-0, just 11 seconds after Harrison’s goal.
In the third, Arnaud Vachon (Ajax, ON) had a centering pass go off a skate and in to make it 9-0. Boyko scored again on an Armstrong setup at 4:04 to send the team to double digits and get his hat trick goal, while just 40 seconds later Mack Hancock (Kingston, ON) won a faceoff and immediately put the puck to Theis in front of the net for a tap in goal for his second of the game. Arnaud Vachon capped off the scoring at the 13:42 mark to notch the 12-0 final score.
The Bandits will hit the road next weekend, taking on the Drayton Valley Thunder on Friday night aiming to extend the win streak to 14. Pre-game coverage starts at 7:15 PM on Real Country 105.7.