The Brooks Bandits are winners of the Inter Pipeline Cup and 2019 Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) Champions. The Bandits defeated the Saints in Game 4 on Tuesday night in Spruce Grove with a 2-0 shutout victory and 4-0 series win over the defending champions.
AJHL Commissioner Ryan Bartoshyk awarded Brooks defenceman Brandon Scanlin (Hamilton, ON) as the 2019 AJHL Playoff MVP.
This is the fifth league championship for Brooks in the past eight seasons, now claiming the title in 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2019. It was the fourth time that the Bandits and Saints have met in the league final and the sixth league final appearance in franchise history for the Bandits.
The Bandits earned a first round-bye in the 2019 Inter Pipeline AJHL Playoffs before defeating the Canmore Eagles in Game 5 on their way to the South Division Final versus the second-place Okotoks Oilers. The Brooks Bandits claimed the Viterra AJHL South Division Title with a win in Game 6 versus the Oilers to advance to the League Final.
Brooks captured the Dave Duchak Trophy as the Regular Season Champions for a fourth time after recording the most successful regular season in the history of the League. The Bandits held a record of 57-3, becoming the first team to ever record 57 wins, 114 points, and setting a new league record with a 33-game regular season win streak. They held an undefeated home record and also set a new AJHL best for fewest losses with only three on the season.
As the AJHL Champion, Brooks will advance to the 2019 Doyle Cup versus the BCHL Champion. The best-of-seven series will begin in Brooks on April 26th & 27th, 2019. If one team sweeps the first two games, the remainder of the series will be played in the BCHL. If the teams split the opening two games, Game Three will be played in Brooks before the series switches to BC for the remainder of the series.
The season concludes with the National Junior A Championship in Brooks, AB from May 11th-19th, 2019. With Brooks already holding a spot as the host team, the BCHL Champion will automatically advance to the National Junior A Championship despite the result of the Doyle Cup.