CANMORE, AB (January 13, 2017) – The Brooks Bandits (32-3-4) continued their torrid scoring pace on Friday night, getting six goals from six different goal scorers en route to a 6-2 win over the host Canmore Eagles (22-15-4) on the road.
The win gives the Bandits 24 goals scored in their last three games, and extends the team’s South division lead to eleven points over second-place Okotoks with two games in hand, and the overall league lead to eight points with three games in hand on second-place Whitecourt.
Brooks struck on its first two power play opportunities in the first period; the opener a Parker Foo (Edmonton, AB) man-advantage marker from the left side of the Canmore net after a puck had banked off the end boards, and the second an Oliver Chau (Oakville, ON) shot from the high slot. Chau’s goal was his league-leading sixteenth power play goal, putting him one behind the franchise record of seventeen set by Curtis Glencross.
The Bandits added two more in the second; the first a right-circle slapshot goal from Tyler Carangelo (Hamden, CT), and the second a Nick Prkusic (Medicine Hat, AB) goal that came after a Parker Huebner (Leduc, AB) shot deflected off of an Eagle stick straight to the Bandit captain at the left side of the net for a tap-in goal.
In the third, Canmore got on the board on a Braden Saretsky power play screen shot from the high slot, but Brooks reclaimed the four-goal advantage when Cale Makar (Calgary, AB) slapped in the team’s third power play from the left circle at the 13:58 mark.
On the very next shift, newcomer Conner Jean (Oakland, MI) got his first goal as a Bandit, hammering a rebound shot past goalie Ryan Bontorin at 14:14 to make it 6-1, before Coy Prevost ended the scoring with a Canmore power play rebound goal with 1:27 left.
Bandit goalie Mitch Benson (Windsor, ON) made 30 saves on 32 shots for his fourth win in as many games against the Eagles this season. The two teams reconvene for a rematch Saturday night at the Canmore Recreation Centre to cap off the season series, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 PM and pre-game coverage starting at 6:45 PM on Real Country 105.7.