DRAYTON VALLEY, AB (October 26, 2018) – Pierce Charleson (Aurora, ON) ran his record to 13-0 with his league-leading third shutout, as the Brooks Bandits (14-1) got goals from five different scorers in a 5-0 road win over the Drayton Valley Thunder on Friday night.
The win extended the Bandits’ streak to 14 consecutive victories, four points up on Drumheller for first in the AJHL South with a game in hand, and two points back of Bonnyville for first overall with three games in hand.
Brooks got the game-winning goal on the opening shift, just 21 seconds in, when Taylor Makar (Calgary, AB) centered one off the rush to Mack Hancock (Kingston, ON) in the slot, who wristed home his seventh of the year and extended his point streak to six games.
Despite outshooting the Thunder 19-8 in the period, the Bandits didn’t convert again until the final two minutes of the frame. First, on the team’s first power play of the game, Hancock missed the net on a one-timer but banked the puck off the end wall to Ryan Mahshie (Stoney Creek, ON) at the left side of the net; he chipped it home from a sharp angle for his team-leading fourth power play goal and a 2-0 Brooks lead.
Less than a minute later, rookie defenceman Nick Hale (Raleigh, N.C.) spun from the right corner to the faceoff circle, and fired a mid-height wrister through goalie Rory Dumelie to make it 3-0 Bandits.
A scoreless second period gave way to two more Bandit goals in the third; the first coming when Jake Theis (Chanhassen, MN) won a battle down low and spun a puck in front for Bobby Harrison (Waterdown, ON) to one-time in from the slot for a 4-0 lead. Finally, Ray Christy (St. Paul, MN) stripped a defender of the puck at the right side of the net and scored on a wraparound at 13:18 to cap off the scoring.
The Bandits outshot the Thunder 44-19, going 1 for 3 on the power play and 7 for 7 on the penalty kill. They will go for their 15th consecutive win Saturday night, taking on the defending league champion Spruce Grove Saints on the road at 7 PM. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:45 PM on Real Country 105.7.