Bandits down Drayton Valley 7-4 at home
BROOKS, AB – Shane Bear (Calgary, AB) had three points, while Dennis Cesana (Providence, RI) became the first AJHL defenceman since the 1989-90 season to score 56 assists, as the Brooks Bandits got by the Drayton Valley Thunder 7-4 in an offensive showcase on Friday night at the Centennial Regional Arena.
The Bandits battled back from a 2-1 first period deficit, scoring four consecutive goals in the second period en route to the victory, the first AJHL win for rookie goaltender Ryan Baker (Calgary, AB).
A Luke Bast (Red Deer, AB) slap shot at 6:56 on a 5-on-3 power play opened the score for Brooks, before the Thunder scored twice in the span of just over a minute, with a spinning slot wrister by Michael Boutoussov and a tipped point shot by Jesse Pomeroy giving the visitors the 1-goal advantage after 20 despite being outshot 11-9 in the first.
But the second was utter domination Brooks with the Bandits outshooting the Thunder 32-3 in the frame. Nic Hamre (Ottawa, ON) stole a puck in front of the Thunder net and flipped a quick wrister by goalie Shawn Parkinson to re-tie the game, before Bear scored the go-ahead goal on the ensuing shift on a top-shelf wrister from the high slot. At 8:01, Jake Theis tapped in a rebound of a Bast point shot, while Ryan Mahshie (Stoney Creek, ON) tapped in the eventual game-winner at the 15:09 mark after Nolan Thompson (Calgary, AB) had been denied on a wide open chance in front.