BROOKS, AB (March 18, 2017) – Rookie forward Arnaud Vachon (Ajax, ON) had two goals, including the game-winner, as the Brooks Bandits took a 2-0 series lead in their AJHL South Division Semi-Final series with the Olds Grizzlys with a 7-2 home win on Saturday night.
The Bandits outshot Olds 49-21 in the game, as the series next shifts to Olds for Games 3 and 4 on Monday night.
Brooks scored the first three goals of the game before it was thirteen minutes old, the first coming on a rebound goal by Parker Foo (Edmonton, AB) at the 2:01 mark. Vachon’s first came at 5:43 after a rebound shot from the slot rang the left, then right post behind Olds goalie Ben Giesbrecht and popped back to the slot, where Vachon fired a second shot into the open net.
On a power play just over seven minutes later, Ty Mappin (Big Valley, AB) fed a pass from the left side of the net to Vachon at the right circle for a quick wrist shot and a 3-0 Brooks lead.
But Olds responded with 5:06 left in the first, beating Bandit goalie Mitch Benson (Windsor, ON) for the first time in the series when a Tyr Thompson pass from the end wall found Brad Girard in the slot for a one-timer goal to make it 3-1 after 1.
The second period saw the Bandits begin on the penalty kill, but a shorthanded breakaway goal by captain Nick Prkusic (Medicine Hat, AB) just 41 seconds in reclaimed the three-goal advantage for Brooks. Olds drew closer at 8:50 on a power play goal by Quentin Greenwood on a net front scramble, but Foo scored with less than three minutes left on a penalty shot after being tripped on a breakaway to make it 5-2 Brooks heading to the third.
The Bandits added two more goals in that third; a Conner Jean (Oakland, MI) power play rebound goal 39 seconds in, and a Josh McKechney (Calgary, AB) backhand goal from the slot at 4:23 to notch the 7-2 final score.
Puck drop for Game 3 in Olds is scheduled for 7:00 PM on Monday night, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:45 PM on Real Country 105.7.