ESTEVAN, SK (May 19, 2022) – The Brooks Bandits are off and running at the 2022 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, thanks to a 5-2 triumph over College Francais de Longueuil in the opening game of the Preliminary Round Thursday at Affinity Place in Estevan, SK.
The Bandits built a 4-0 lead in the 2nd period, TJ Hughes had three points (1g, 2a) and Ethan Barwick made 18 saves as the Bandits (1-0) are tied for 1st in Group with Pickering.
Brooks’ next test will be Saturday, May 21, when they face the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) Champion Red Lake Miners at Noon (MST). The game will be streamed for free on hockeycanada.com/centennialcup, and is also available on Real Country 105.7 FM.
The Bandits opened up the scoring at 4:10 on the powerplay Dario Beljo (AIC) took a left circle pass from Devin Phillips (Holy Cross) and slid a forehand shot beating Longueuil starter Simom Berube to make it 1-0. Brooks added another powerplay goal at 8:40, as forward Hunter Wallace (RPI) scored on the backhand on a setup from Nic DeGraves to double the lead to 2-0. Shots were 13-5 Brooks in the period.
Phillips tipped in a TJ Hughes (Michigan) shot to triple the lead to 3-0 at 7:08 of the 2nd. Hughes picked up his third point at 8:40, after he cleaned up a loose puck in the crease on the powerplay to increase the lead to 4-0. Longueuil got one back at 10:02 on the powerplay, as forward Maxime Gagne finished a chance to cut the lead to 4-1. But with 47 seconds left in the frame, Berube turned over the puck behind his net to Bandits forward Ryan McAllister (Western Michigan), who skated in front and slid the puck into the open net to make it 5-1. Shots in the 2nd were 13-6 Brooks.
Longueuil got another back at 4:45 as Chris Roy scored on the powerplay, but that would be as close as they would get. Shots in the 3rd were 9-8 College Francais, but 34-20 Brooks.
Hughes was named the Player of the Game.
Bandits upcoming schedule:
Sat, May 21 vs Red Lake Miners @ Noon
Tue, May 24 vs Pickering Panthers @ Noon
Wed, May 25 vs Estevan Bruins @ 7:30 pm
Postgame comments from #BrooksBandits forward TJ Hughes following the 5-2 win over Longueuil to open the 2022 #CentennialCup in Estevan!@nathandcrosby @TheAJHL pic.twitter.com/YkIHnUiZ4h
– Brooks Bandits (@BrooksBandits) May 20, 2022
Postgame comments from #BrooksBandits defenceman Boston Buckberger following the 5-2 win over Longueuil at the 2022 #CentennialCup in Estevan!@TheAJHL pic.twitter.com/p3TVVkKTfD
– Brooks Bandits (@BrooksBandits) May 20, 2022
