BROOKS, AB (February 20, 2023) – Hunter Wallace broke a 1-1 tie in the 3rd period on the powerplay, which held up as the game winner, as the Brooks Bandits won a 2-1 thriller over the Drumheller Dragons on Monday at the Centennial Regional Arena in front of 2,008 fans.
Ethan Barwick (St. Albert, AB) made 20 saves for the Bandits (49-5-2) eighth straight win, and fifth straight victory at home.
The 1st Period was scoreless, with the goaltenders putting on a show. Dragons starter Garrett Fuller robbed Hunter Wallace (Oak Lak, MB) with a glove save on the one-timer, while Barwick (St. Albert, AB) denied Kai Matthew on a two-on-one tap-in.
Connor Poffenroth opened the scoring at 13:14, scoring from the right circle on a forehand shot for the game’s first goal. Danylo Korzhyeltskyi (Kyiv, UK) hit a post on a backhander, the closest the Bandits got to scoring in the frame.
Brooks tied the game at 1:16 on a delayed Drumheller penalty, as defenceman Sam Court (Winnipeg, MB) shot from the half wall and snuck through Fuller to make it 1-1. Then, at 11:21 and on the powerplay, Wallace banged in a loose puck from a Hudson Malinoski (Saskatoon, SK) shot to give Brooks the 2-1 lead. The Dragons emptied the net late in the 3rd, but couldn’t tie the game or get a whistle for a timeout. Final shots were 22-21 Brooks.
The Bandits are back in action on Friday, February 24th, when they visit the Okotoks Oilers. Game time is 7:00 pm on Real Country 105.7 FM. The next home game is Saturday, February 25th, when they host the Oilers at 7:00 pm. There will be a pregame awards ceremony, and the Cash Raffle $35,000 Grand Prize draw.