BROOKS, AB (November 25, 2016) – The Brooks Bandits (18-3-3) registered their third shutout in the last four games on Friday night, as Mitch Benson (Windsor, ON) stopped all 20 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over the visiting Canmore Eagles.
The win keeps the Bandits in first place in the AJHL South, tied with the Calgary Canucks in points but with four games in hand, and in first overall in the AJHL in terms of points percentage.
Captain Nick Prkusic (Medicine Hat, AB) opened the scoring just over a minute into the game after Cale Makar (Calgary, AB) circled around nearly the entire Canmore zone with possession before firing a pass to Prkusic at the right side of the net; the captain’s quick shot beat goalie Ryan Bontorin on the blocker side, ringing off the left post and in.
Only a few minutes later, a Dennis Cesana (Providence, RI) point shot deflected off of Prkusic’s stick and in, giving the Bandits a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
Prkusic’s night ended early, just over 12 minutes in, when he was jumped by Coy Prevost after a clean hit at the Bandit blue line. The Bandit captain scored the majority of punches before the linesmen jumped in between the two. Despite Prkusic having been attacked in retaliation for the clean hit, no instigator penalty was assessed, and both players received game misconducts.
The Bandits didn’t let their momentum slow, though, as on their first power play of the game Ty Mappin (Big Valley, AB) fed a cross-crease pass to Oliver Chau (Oakville, ON), who one-timed in his league-leading 13th power play goal of the season to give Brooks the 3-0 lead they would carry to the game’s completion.
The Bandits remain home for a Saturday night tilt with the Okotoks Oilers next; puck drop is at 7:00 PM at the Centennial Regional Arena with tickets available online at tickets.brooksbandits.ca.