BROOKS, AB (December 6, 2018) – Tanner Marshall (Kelowna, B.C.) posted his second consecutive shutout and continued his so-far perfect career with his new team, as the Brooks Bandits (27-3) rode a hat trick performance from Simon Gravel (Boucherville, QC) to a 6-0 win over the visiting Calgary Canucks on Wednesday night.
The Bandits were again significantly shorthanded, with eight regular players out of the lineup due to injury, suspension, or Team Canada West tryouts.
The win pushed Brooks’ lead for first overall in the AJHL to six points, with a game in hand on second-place Bonnyville.
Brooks took only 62 seconds to open the scoring when Gravel got his first with a waist high tip of a point shot by Jordan Di Cicco (London, ON). But the opening frame was fairly even, with the Bandits holding just a 12-11 shot advantage and a one-goal lead.
In the second, however, the Bandits outshot Calgary 12-4 and added two more goals. The first was Gravel’s second of the night when a William Lemay (Marieville, QC) wrister went wide left of the Calgary net, but caromed off the end wall and out the other side for a quick one-timer goal from the right side of the net on the power play.
Just over a minute later, a scramble in front of the net allowed Ryan Mahshie (Stoney Creek, ON) to tap one past Calgary goalie Blake Pilon to extend the lead to 3-0.
Gravel completed his hat trick 12:55 into the third period when Andrew Lucas (Alexandria, VA) fired him a pass from the right point to the left side of the net. Gravel’s one timer was stopped by a sprawling Pilon, but he collected the rebound and flipped it home to send the hats flying onto the ice.
Less than a minute later, a point shot by affiliate defenceman Tyler Bates (Calgary, AB) was tipped in by Lemay for a 5-0 lead. Mahshie capped off the scoring with 42 seconds left as he drove from the right circle to the front of the net and swept in a forehand shot for his second of the game.
The Bandits outshot Calgary 39-22 in the game, going 2 for 5 on the power play and a perfect 2 for 2 on the penalty kill. They next host the Canmore Eagles on Friday night for the team’s annual Teddy Bear Toss night in support of Scotiabank Smiles for Christmas. Puck drop is at 7 PM with tickets available online at tickets.brooksbandits.ca.