CALGARY, AB (September 27, 2023) – Hunter Wallace scored twice, while the Bandits penalty kill was perfect, and the Brooks Bandits skated to a 4-1 win over the Whitecourt Wolverines on Wednesday at the Max Bell Centre on the opening day of the 2023 AJHL Showcase.
Wallace (Oak Lake, MB) scored goals 29 seconds apart, while Jordan Hughesman (Winnipeg, MB) and Nathan Free (Calgary, AB) added a goal each in a 4-1 Bandits win, their third straight. Goaltender Brendan Holahan (New Canaan, CT) Made 12 saves in the win.
The 1st period was scoreless, Brooks outshot Whitecourt 16-1. Defenceman Ethan Beyer (Centennial, CO) made the defensive play of the period, breaking up a Wolverines two-on-one rush.
Wallace opened the scoring 1:17, after pressuring a Wolverines defenceman in the defensive zone and taking the puck away, scoring on a breakaway to make it 1-0. Just 29 second later at 1:46, Wallace tapped in a Danylo Korzhyletskyi (Kyiv, UA) pass to make it 2-0. Hughesman extended the lead 12:16, one-timing a pass from the wall from Mathieu Taillefer (Lake Newell, AB) to make it 3-0. It was also forward Allen Sherpa’s first AJHL point.
Brooks scored again at 12:29 of the 3rd period on a five-on-three powerplay. Free one-timed a Hughie Hooker (Brandon, MB) pass to make it 4-0. Holahan’s shutout bid ended at 14:33, as Whitecourt’s Jonah Bevington scored off rebound to cut the lead to 4-1, the final score. Shots were 43-12 Brooks.
Captain Nic DeGraves (Edmonton, AB) finished the night with three assists, and was in on three of the four goals.
The Bandits are back in action on Saturday, September 30th when they face the Okotoks Oilers at the Max Bell Centre on the final day of the 2023 AJHL Showcase. Game time is 5:00 pm.