CAMROSE, AB (September 29, 2017) – Ryan Mahshie (Stoney Creek, ON) had his first career hat-trick, as the Brooks Bandits (4-3) swept their AJHL Showcase schedule for the first time since 2013, downing the Grande Prairie Storm (2-4-1) by a 4-2 final score on Friday afternoon at the Max McLean Arena.
The Bandits outshot the Storm 31-27 on the game, as Mitch Benson (Windsor, ON) made 25 saves for his second consecutive win.
Mahshie’s first opened the scoring at 5:35 when Ocean Wiesblatt (Calgary, AB) won a faceoff to the rookie power forward, who drove to the front of the net and flipped a backhand shot past Storm goalie Charles-Olivier Levesque. Mahshie doubled the lead just 4:01 later when his shot from the high slot deflected by Levesque to make it 2-0.
In the 2nd, the Bandits began to pull away when an early 5-on-3 power play led to a rebound tap-in goal for Simon Boyko (Mississauga, ON). But Grande Prairie pulled closer on a screen shot by Edoard Michaud that trickled through Benson to make it a 3-1 game, just minutes after he had rang the post.
Mahshie then completed his hat trick at the end of a Bandit power play when Nathan Plessis (Salmon Arm, B.C.) centered a pass from behind the net that he hammered in on a one-time shot to extend the lead to 4-1.
The Storm eked closer when Michaud scored his second of the game on a wrist shot from the left circle off the rush, but it was as close as the Storm would get, as the Bandits held on for the 4-2 win.
The Bandits remain on the road for their next three games, beginning Tuesday night in Calgary against the Mustangs at Father David Bauer Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM with pre-game coverage starting at 7:15 on Real Country 105.7.