BROOKS, AB (November 2, 2018) – William Lemay (Marieville, QC) led the way with a hat trick, as the Brooks Bandits (16-2) rode a four-goal first period to a 6-2 win over the visiting Canmore Eagles on Friday night in front of 1,398 fans at the Centennial Regional Arena.
Lemay opened the scoring at the 4:02 mark when Ethan Lund (Calgary, AB) flung a backhand pass from the right side of the net to the crease, which Lemay chopped home to make it 1-0.
Max Giangualano scored shortly thereafter to tie the game up on a breakaway. But then a point shot from Luke Bast (Red Deer, AB) on a Brooks power play tipped off a stick and slid to Ryan Mahshie (Stoney Creek, ON) at the right side of the Canmore net; he flicked the puck through the crease for a backdoor tap in by Arnaud Vachon (Ajax, ON) to make it 2-1 Brooks.
Off a neutral zone faceoff, Jakob Lee (Owen Sound, ON) carried in and dropped a pass back to Jordan Di Cicco (London, ON), who cut to the slot and fired a wrist shot past Canmore goalie Thomas Davis to extend the Brooks lead. Simon Gravel (Boucherville, QC) then dropped the puck off to Lemay off the rush, who fired in his second of the game from the right circle to make it 4-1. Owen Reith pulled the Eagles to within 2 on a shorthanded breakaway goal late in the period.
The only goal of the second period came just over 11 minutes in when Bobby Harrison fired a shot that bounced off Davis and in. In the third, Lemay completed his hat trick on a slap shot from the right circle that also ricocheted off the goalie, in the air, and into the net.
The Bandits outshot Canmore 37-24 in the game, as Pierce Charleson (Aurora, ON) made 22 saves to run his record to 14-1. The win, coupled with Drumheller’s loss to Fort McMurray, extended Brooks’ lead for 1st in the South to 6 points with a game in hand on the Dragons. Bonnyville’s loss to Drayton Valley also gave Brooks a 2 point lead for first overall with a game in hand on the Pontiacs.
The large crowd also participated in one of the largest regular season 50/50 giveaways in franchise history, with a carry-over unclaimed pot growing to more than $15,000 by the end of the first period, and a second 50/50 pot growing to nearly $4,000 before the night was out.
The Bandits return to action Saturday night to take on the Calgary Canucks at 7 PM at home. Tickets are available online at tickets.brooksbandits.ca.