Brooks, Alberta – The Brooks Bandits defeated the West Kelowna Warriors 7-4 on Friday night at the Centennial Regional Arena. West Kelowna entered the contest as the top-seeded team in the Interior Conference. Luke Melnik and Jack Good each recorded three-point nights, while Jack Rosensteel added a pair of goals.
The scoring started early in the first period following an icing call against the Warriors. Zachary Deleau fired a shot from the point off the ensuing faceoff that found the back of the net at 7:05. Less than a minute later, Daxton Endicott answered to even the score before Phillip Hagen beat Zach Zahara at 17:50 to give West Kelowna the lead heading into the first intermission.
Alexei Zhukov scored in his first game back from injury with a goal from the doorstep at 5:28 of the second period. Isaac Johnson followed with a similar finish at 10:09, recording his second point of the period and his team-leading 22nd goal of the season.
In the third period, Luke Melnik scored on a spectacular solo effort, going coast to coast before firing a far-side shot past Angelo Zol. It was one of three points on the night for Melnik, who was named the game’s first star. Jack Rosensteel scored at 6:14 to extend the Bandits’ lead to 5-2. The Warriors pushed back late, as Liam Nilsson scored at 10:01 and Natan Ethier added a goal at 13:59 to pull West Kelowna within one. Ethier had previously recorded two hat tricks in three games against the Bandits. Dmitrijs Dilevka sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal before Rosensteel added his second of the night with 12 seconds remaining to secure the 7-4 victory. Jack Good assisted on the Bandits’ final three goals and now leads the BCHL with 33 assists. He moved ahead of Nikita Ivaschenko, whom he will face Saturday night in Blackfalds.
The Bandits return to action Saturday night when they visit the Blackfalds Bulldogs in a matchup with significant implications for the Interior East Division standings. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 MT, with coverage available on New Country 105.7 and FloHockey.
