Trail, BC (October 30, 2024) – The Brooks Bandits erased a 1-0 deficit and scored four unanswered goals, beating the Trail Smoke Eaters 5-2 on Wednesday at Cominco Arena in the first of three games on their BC road trip.
Goaltender Johnny Hicks earned his 10th win of the season, making 25 saves as the Bandits improved to 12-1 on the season.
In the first period, Smoke Eaters forward Attila Lippai potted his fifth goal of the season on a shot from the left wing, but the Bandits would bounce right back with a quick response. Forward Isaac Johnson finished off a cross-ice pass from forward Nathan Free to make it 1-1. Late in the period, forward Liam Fitzpatrick fired home his third goal of the year with a shot from the left circle to put the Bandits in the lead 2-1.
In the second period, forward Parker Lalonde netted his BCHL-leading 12th goal of the season to double up the Bandits lead to 3-1. At the halfway point of the period, A.J. Lacroix fired a cross crease pass which deflected off a Trail defencemen’s skate and slipped five-hole on Trail goaltender Teagan Kendrick.
The Smoke Eaters showed some signs of life in the third as defenceman Noah Ziskie put one behind Hicks, who shut the door the rest of the way. Following a Trail timeout, defenceman Ethan Beyer sent the puck 200 feet down the ice to bury the empty-net goal for his first of the season and lift the Bandits to a 5-2 win.
The Bandits are back in action on Friday, November 1st in West Kelowna to face the Warriors at 7:00 pm Pacific. You can catch the game live on New Country 105.7 or Flo Hockey.
