News

Bandits Clinch Spot in Centennial Cup Championship Game

ESTEVAN, SK (May 28, 2022) – The Brooks Bandits will play for a National Championship following an 11-2 blowout of College Francais de Longueuil on Semi-Final Saturday the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, Saturday at Affinity Place.

Brooks will play the winner of the second semi-final, which features the Pickering Panthers (OJHL) and Dauphin Kings (MJHL).

The game will be televised on TSN, with the Bandits radio broadcast available on Real Country 105.7 FM.

It will be the fourth time Brooks has played in the championship game (2013, 2017, 2019), as the team is one win away from claiming its 3rd National title.

Photo credit: Matt Murnaghan/Hockey Canada

Brooks opened the scoring 3:30 into the contest, as Ryan McAllister (Western Michigan) scored on a forehand shot from the left circle to make it 1-0. McAllister, who was named Top Forward at the 2022 Centennial Cup, doubled the lead to 2-0 at 16:04, shelving off a behind-the-net pass from TJ Hughes (Michigan). 25 seconds later, Hughes scored from the same spot McAllister opened the scoring from to make it 3-0. Bandits forward Nic DeGraves cleaned up a loose puck off a Hunter Wallace (RPI) drive to the net at 16:44 to increase the lead to 4-0 Brooks. Shots in the period were 17-6 Brooks.

Bandits defenceman Zach Bookman (Merrimack) sniped a shot from the slot at 7:39 to increase the lead to 5-0, followed by an Ethan Lund (Niagara) goal at 10:29 to make it 6-0 after tapping in a loose puck off an Aiden Fink (Wisconsin) drive to the net. Forward Dario Beljo (AIC) one-timed a shot on the powerplay at 14:03 to make it 7-0. Shots in the period were 15-5 Brooks.

Longueuil got on the board 25 seconds into the 3rd on the powerplay as defenceman Zachary Racicot scored from the slot to cut the lead to 7-1. But 18 seconds later, Bandits defenceman Brendan Kennette (Sacred Heart) sniped a right circle, top shelf shot to reclaim the Bandits seven goal lead. Forward Anthony Cipollone (Quinnipiac) redirected a Brendan Poshak (Northern Michigan) pass at 2:42 to make it 9-1 Brooks. Longueuil forward Owen Stammer clawed one back at 8:37 to the lead to 9-2, but Fink on the powerplay (14:49) and Brendan Mairs (17:34) added goals to give Brooks the 11-2 advantage. Shots in the 3rd were 9-8 Brooks, and 41-19 overall.