KARLSTAD, SWEDEN (August 20, 2023) – The Brooks Bandits have won the U20 Super Challenge following a 8-3 win over France on Sunday at Lofbergs Arena, ending a dominant five-game run at the tournament where they never trailed.
Brooks built a 4-0 lead in the 1st period, and despite France scoring three straight in the 2nd, the Bandits put the game away in the 3rd period. Goaltender Brendan Holahan (New Canaan, CT) made 21 saves for the win, and was named the Tournament’s Top Goaltender. Defenceman Quinn McCall (St. John, IN) was named the Tournament’s Top Defenceman.
Bandits defenceman Mathieu Taillefer (Richelieu, QC) opened the scoring at 8:33, scoring on a wrist shot from the right point to make it 1-0. The Bandits doubled their lead at 9:06, as forward Dylan Lariviere (Welland, ON) gained the French zone and zipped a forehand shot that handcuffed France starter Antoine Keller and trickled past the goal line to make it 2-0. Forward Caelan Fitzpatrick (Moose Jaw, SK) tipped a Mirko Buttazzoni shot at 11:31 to make it 3-0, forcing France to call a timeout. The Bandits added more damage late in the period, as defenceman Quinn McCall (St. John, IN) dangled two defenders and fired in a forehand shot to make it 4-0 at 18:43.
Brooks came out firing in the 2nd, but were unable to solve Keller. France were sparked by a powerplay, as Mattis Chapuis, Emil Tavernier and Mathis Defour scored three consecutive goals to make it a 4-3 heading to intermission.
The Bandits would not be denied in the 3rd, as Buttazzoni (Langley, BC) fired in a shot just 1:55 into the frame to give Brooks some insurance. Less than a minute later, forward Nathan Free (Calgary, AB) zipped a top shelf shot from the right circle to make it 6-3. The floodgates opened from there, as forward Nic DeGraves (Edmonton, AB) deked out the goaltender and slid a forehand shot in to make it 7-3. The final nail came from defenceman Dylan Compton (Victoria, BC), who went top shelf to make it 8-3, the final.
Brooks outshot France 48-24.
The Bandits went 5-0 at the U20 Super Challenge, outscoring their opponents 32-9.
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KARLSTAD, SWEDEN (August 17, 2023) – Hunter Wallace and Parker Lalonde each scored twice, while the penalty kill went for 6/6 as the Brooks Bandits defeated Team Hungary 4-1 on Thursday at Lofbergs Ice Arena at the U20 Super Challenge.
Brooks finished first in Group B and will play Farjestad BK on Saturday in the Semifinal.
Brooks began the game successfully killing three straight penalties, including a five-on-three man disadvantage. They were rewarded immediately after the third kill, as Davide Patella (Laval, QC) fed a pass off the rush to Hunter Wallace (Oak Lake, MB), who tapped in the puck to make it 1-0 Brooks, the only goal allowed by Hungarian starter Botond Szucs.
Brooks doubled the lead at 1:16 of the 2nd period, as forward Parker Lalonde (Aberdeen, SK) was fed a stretch pass from defenceman Luke Marshall (Saskatoon, SK), and finished a chance off the rush to make it 2-0. But Hungary would get one back at 4:30, as Barnabas Dezsi scored on a forehand shot off a turnover to cut the lead to 2-1.
Wallace one-timed his second of the game at 3:48 of the 3rd period to give Brooks a 3-1 lead. Then with under eight minutes remaining Lalonde found the back of the net for his second to make it 4-1, the final.
Shots favoured Brooks 38-25, while Brendan Holahan (New Canaan, CT) made 24 saves for the win.
France beat the host Farjestad BK (Sweden) team 4-2, meaning the Bandits will face Farjestad BK on Saturday, August 19 at 4:30 pm CET, 8:30 am MST in the Tournament Semifinal. The other Semi-final sees France, who finished 1st in Group A, play Hungary.
Group B Standings (goal differential)
- Brooks 3-0 (+15)
- Hungary 1-2 (-1)
- Norway 1-2 (-5)
- Denmark 1-2 (-9)
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KARLSTAD, SWEDEN (August 16, 2023) – The Brooks Bandits are 2-0 at the 2023 U20 Super Challenge thanks to a 10-2 blowout win over Denmark at Lofbergs Arena on Wednesday.
Dakota MacIntosh scored twice, while nine other Bandits scored in a game that saw the penalty kill in 5-on-3 situations twice.
MacIntosh (Winnipeg, MB) opened the scoring just 21 seconds into the game, scoring off the rush on a pass from Nic DeGraves (Edmonton, AB) to make it 1-0 Brooks. The Bandits doubled their lead at 2:57, as Jordan Hughesman (Winnipeg, MB), was fed a stretch pass from Nathan Free (Calgary, AB) and finished off the breakaway backhander to make it 2-0. After a successful penalty kill, the Bandits tripled the lead to 3-0 at 13:45, as Hunter Wallace (Oak Lake, MB) backhanded his first of the tournament. With less than 90 seconds in the period, forward Caelen Fitzpatrick (Moose Jaw, SK) tipped an Aaron Brown (Belleville, ON) point shot to make it 4-0.
Brooks surrendered their first goal of the tournament at 3:40 of the 2nd period, as Denmark’s Oliver Marklund scored top shelf on the Bandits net to cut the lead to 4-1. Two minutes later, the Bandits responded as defenceman Quinn McCall (St. John, IN) scored on a shot from the blueline that tipped in the top corner to make it 5-1. Brooks got into penalty trouble and had a 5-on-3 disadvantage, which Denmark was able to score on a Thomas Mondrop one-timer at 12:16 to cut the lead to 5-2, the closest they’d get. At 15:33, Bandits forward Mirko Buttazzoni escaped pressure on the wall and step into a forehand shot that found the back of the net to make it 6-2. Just over two minutes later, MacIntosh scored his second of the game to make it 7-2 heading to intermission.
2:43 into the 3rd period, forward Nathan Free (Calgary, AB) fired in a left circle shot to make it 8-2. Just two minutes later, forward Danylo Korzhyletskyi (Kyiv, Ukraine) one-timed a Parker Lalonde (Aberdeen, SK) pass to make it 9-2, and the final goal came at 9:34 from Fitzpatrick.
Shots 39-17 Brooks, with the Bandits not getting a powerplay.
In the other Group B game, Hungary beat Norway 7-3 on Wednesday. The Bandits face Hungary on Thursday at 7:15 pm CET, 11:15 am MST.
The U20 Super Challenge runs from August 15-20, hosted by Farjestad BK at Lofbergs Arena. It features eight teams in two Groups, with team’s travelling from around Europe to participate.
All tournament games will be streamed on https://www.svenskhockey.tv/sv/home
Located 300km west of Stockholm, and 220km east of Oslo, Karlstad is a city of 65,000 residents. The Lofbergs Arena seats 8,645 for hockey, and is the home of Farjestad BK, who’s professional team compete in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Karlstad is located in the Central European Timezone, which is eight hours ahead of Mountain Time.
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KARLSTAD, SWEDEN (August 15, 2023) – Brendan Holahan stopped every puck he faced, while Nic DeGraves scored twice as the Brooks Bandits blanked Norway’s Valerenga IF 4-0 at Lofbergs Ice Arena on Tuesday.
The Bandits (1-0) outshot Valerenga 44-15 on the opening day of the U20 Super Challenge, and went 5/5 on the penalty kill as Holahan (New Canaan, CT) earned his first shutout as a Bandit.
DeGraves (Edmonton, AB) opened the scoring on the powerplay, going end-to-end and shooting a forehand shot on the powerplay to make it 1-0 Brooks at 9:38. With 22 seconds remaining and tons of pressure, forward Dakota MacIntosh (Winnipeg, MB) sniped a top right corner shot to make it 2-0. Shots were 20-3 Brooks in the period.
The 2nd period was scoreless. Danylo Korzhyletskyi (Kyiv, Ukraine) one-timed a left circle shot that blasted off the right post, and Davide Patella (Laval, QC) was robbed by a glovehand save from Marcus Dehn of Valerenga.
Brooks tripled the lead in the 3rd at 5:46, as Logan Sawyer (Orangeville, ON) finished off a two-on-one rush pass from Liam Fitzpatrick (Moose Jaw, SK) to make it 3-0. With just over five minutes remaining, DeGraves scored his second of the game, going top shelf to make it 4-0.
Schedule
*Mountain Standard Time
- Tuesday, Aug 15 @ 11:15am: Brooks vs Norway W 4-0
- Wednesday, Aug 16 @ 11:30am: Brooks vs Denmark
- Thursday, Aug 17 @ 11:15am: Brooks vs Hungary
- Saturday, Aug 19: Semifinals
- Sunday, Aug 20: Final
The U20 Super Challenge runs from August 15-20, hosted by Farjestad BK at Lofbergs Arena. It features eight teams in two Groups, with team’s travelling from around Europe to participate.
All tournament games will be streamed on https://www.svenskhockey.tv/sv/home
Located 300km west of Stockholm, and 220km east of Oslo, Karlstad is a city of 65,000 residents. The Lofbergs Arena seats 8,645 for hockey, and is the home of Farjestad BK, who’s professional team compete in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Karlstad is located in the Central European Timezone, which is eight hours ahead of Mountain Time.
The Bandits 2023 Exhibition Season begins Tuesday, September 5th when they host the Okotoks Oilers at the Centennial Regional Arena. The 2023-24 Regular Season begins September 15th in Drayton Valley when the Bandits begin their defence of three straight National Championships.