By Tyler King - Brooks Bandits

Benson posts shutout as Bandits down Thunder 2-0

Oct 7, 2017 | 12:41 PM

DRAYTON VALLEY, AB – Mitch Benson (Windsor, ON) stopped all 21 shots he faced, and Tyler Carangelo (Hamden, CT) had his second period goal stand up as the game-winner, as the Brooks Bandits (5-4) moved over the .500 mark with a 2-0 road win over the Drayton Valley Thunder (1-8) on Friday night.

Carangelo’s goal at 11:22 of the 2nd period came when he jammed home a rebound from a Dennis Cesana (Providence, RI) point shot for his second marker of the season.

That followed up a scoreless first period which saw Brooks outshoot the Thunder 18-11 but fail to beat goaltender Joseph McLeod.

In the third, the Bandits thought they had doubled the lead when an Orca Wiesblatt (Calgary, AB) shot from the right corner snuck through McLeod and into the net. But the referee ruled that he had blown his whistle before the puck crossed the line, negating the goal.

Drayton Valley then nearly tied the game on a shorthanded 2-on-1 rush, but Josh Borynec’s shot loudly rang the right post, preserving the Benson shutout.

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The Thunder pulled their goalie with just over a minute left, and the final was sealed when Nathan Plessis (Salmon Arm, BC) chased down a loose puck at the right half-wall of the Thunder zone and flipped a wrister into the empty net to notch the 2-0 score.

Three new Bandits made their debut in the game, with defencemen Jakob LaPointe (Leduc, AB) and Cale List (Petawawa, ON) and forward Matt Cassidy (Medford, NJ) getting significant playing time with the absences of veterans Conner Jean (Oakland, MI), Arnaud Vachon (Ajax, ON), and Nolan Thompson (Calgary, AB).

The Bandits went 0 for 7 on the power play but a perfect 5 for 5 on the penalty kill.

Brooks continues its northern road swing on Saturday night in Sherwood Park against the Crusaders, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 PM. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:45 PM on Real Country 105.7.