CALGARY, AB (December 11, 2018) – The Brooks Bandits (30-3) saw three separate two-goal leads evaporate, but buoyed by a hat trick performance from Ryan Mahshie (Stoney Creek, ON), the team notched it 30th win of the year courtesy of a Simon Gravel (Boucherville, QC) overtime winner set up by Mahshie for a four-point performance.
Brooks’ lead began on a Mahshie wrist shot off the rush 7:48 into the game that beat goalie Ashton Abel and went bar-down for a 1-0 advantage. Jordan Di Cicco (London, ON) doubled that advantage on a power play point shot at the 12 minute mark, but Calgary got one back on a Tanner Klassen power play goal at 17:18.
The second was a penalty-filled stanza for the visiting Bandits, with the team sent to four consecutive penalty kills; but each was successfully killed, until an upcoming fifth was rendered unnecessary when Josh Kroon scored on a point shot on the delayed call with 30 seconds left in the period to send the game into the third period tied 2-2.
But Brooks was granted a power play just 27 seconds into the final frame and converted when Mahshie kept in a puck at the blue line, spun and fired home a point shot goal for his second of the game and a 3-2 scoreline. William Lemay (Marieville, QC) scored at 6:19 on a sharp angle wrist shot from the left side of the net to make it 4-2, before Calgary chipped away when a blocker save by goalie Pierce Charleson (Aurora, ON) led to the puck bouncing off the body of Calgary defenceman Scott Nicholson in front and into the net to make it a one goal game again.
Rookie defenceman Ethan Lund (Calgary, AB) extended his point streak to five games when he dropped a pass back off the rush that Mahshie fired home from the slot to complete his hat trick and make it 5-3 Bandits at the 14:16 mark.
But Riley Bodnarchuk scored on a point shot with 1:54 left, and Tyler Lentz fired home a one-timer from the left circle with 16 seconds left to force overtime.
Shortly after Charleson made a save with his mask on a Calgary shot off the rush in the extra frame, Mahshie charged into the Calgary zone along the left side. Gravel beat his defender to make it a 2-on-1 rush, and Mahshie’s perfect pass across found Gravel’s stick, with the Bandit forward deking from his forehand to his backhand and tucking the puck by a sprawling Abel to give the Bandits the extra point and send the team streaming off the bench.
The Bandits will return home for their final two games before the Christmas break; a home date with the Drumheller Dragons on Friday night, followed by Ugly Christmas Sweater Night on Saturday against the Calgary Canucks. Puck drop for both games is at 7 PM, with tickets available online at tickets.brooksbandits.ca.