Brooks Bandits players celebrating their victory at the 2022 Centennial Cup in Estevan, Saskatchewan on Sunday (Photo courtesy of Hockey Canada / TSN)

By Scott Roblin

Canadian Champs

Bandits go back-to-back at Centennial Cup, winning third national title

May 29, 2022 | 6:55 PM

ESTEVAN, SK – Heading to the locker room at the second intermission of the Centennial Cup final on Sunday, the Brooks Bandits found themselves at a point that has been foreign to them all tournament.

Despite utter dominance all afternoon long, the Bandits trailed by a single goal to the OJHL’s Pickering Panthers.

Aiden Fink and Devin Phillips were able to step up as heroes for Brooks in the third period however, netting a pair of goals in just 14 seconds to help the Bandits their third national championship in franchise history over the OJHL’s Pickering Panthers.

It’s back-to-back Canadian Junior ‘A’ championships for Brooks, albeit spread three years apart due to the pandemic.

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Along with Fink and Phillips stepping up in the third, CJHL Most Valuable Player and Centennial Cup Top Forward Ryan McAllister netted two late goals to give Brooks a 4-1 win in the championship game.

Pickering jumped out to a 1-0 lead midway through the first period with Ethan Doyle beating Bandits netminder Ethan Barwick.

That lead held until the third for the Panthers, as goaltender Zachary Roy stood on his head being outshot 28-4 through two periods of play.

Brooks finally broke through courtesy of a nifty passing play finished off by Fink seven minutes into the third.

Just seconds after the officials dropped the puck at centre ice, Brooks’ Phillips was sprung on a breakaway and converted for what would eventually stand as the game-winner.

McAllister converted on a give-and-go with TJ Hughes for the insurance marker with 6:50 remaining, before sniping his second of the game on the power play late to secure the championship for the Bandits.

This trophy joins national championship wins in 2013 and 2019 for Brooks, capping off a dominant decade for the program.

Head coach and general manager Ryan Papaioannou now has three national titles to his name in 13 years in those positions, while captain Ethan Lund is now a two-time Canadian Junior ‘A’ champion after winning it all as a rookie in 2019.

More to come…