CALGARY, AB (October 3, 2017) — It was a tough night for the Brooks Bandits (4-4) in Calgary as the team opened the month of October with a road loss, snapping the team’s two game win streak.
The Calgary Mustangs (4-5) got their revenge on the Bandits, scoring two powerplay goals 44 seconds apart in the first period and not looking back as they skated to a 4-1 win on Tuesday night at Father David Bauer Arena. Brooks had hammered Calgary 9-2 back on September 22 at the Centennial Regional Arena.
Bandits goaltender Mitchel Benson (Windsor, ON) made 33 saves on 37 shots, but the Mustangs kept a lid on the Brooks' offence for their fourth win in their last five games, with goaltender Ashton Abel saving 37 of 38 Bandit shots.
Calgary forward Joe Karpyshyn opened the scoring on a breakaway 13:36 into the first period, his third of the season against the Bandits. Brooks got into penalty trouble late in the period, and the Mustangs made them pay. Daniel Rybarik fired in a powerplay goal from the left hash marks with 2:33 left in the frame, and 44 seconds later, Brad Forrest scored from the point on the powerplay to make it 3-0.
The second period saw no goals, but lots of penalties. Mustangs forward Ayden Roche-Setoguchi was given a five-minute major for a blow to the head penalty, but Brooks’ powerplay was unable to generate any goals, taking a minor penalty to reduce the power play time to only three total minutes.
Early in the third period, Karpyshyn added another goal from the left circle to make it 4-0 for the home side. Brooks would break Calgary goaltender Ashton Abel's shutout bid with a Ryan Mahshie (Stoney Creek, ON) goal with under five minutes to play, but that would be all the Bandits would get in their second road loss to a division opponent in a row.
The Bandits will continue on the road this weekend with two inter-divisional games against Drayton Valley and Sherwood Park. It begins Friday in D.V. against the Thunder, with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 PM and pre-game coverage starting at 7:15 on Real Country 105.7.