June 1, 2024 – The Brooks Bandits defeated the Surrey Eagles 4-1 in Game 2 of the Rocky Mountain Challenge to sweep the best-of-three series.
2003-born forward Hunter Wallace scored his second goal of the series to open the scoring for Brooks 6:32 into the first period. He was named the game’s first star, as well as the Rocky Mountain Challenge Most Valuable Player.
Nathan Free and Jordan Hughesman also scored in the first period as the Bandits built a 3-0 lead.
Savek Brar potted his first of the series for Surrey late in the second period, but Parker Lalonde restored the Bandits three-goal advantage just 40 seconds into third to make it a 4-1 final.
Brooks claims the Rocky Mountain Challenge after winning the Alberta Cup where they defeated the Okotoks Oilers in seven games of the semifinals and beat the Sherwood Park Crusaders in five games of the championship series.
“We know the level of competition in the BCHL, so to beat the league’s best, it’s just a testament to all the work we put in this year,” said Bandits captain Nicholas DeGraves. “I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”
“It’s been a long journey to get here,” said Brooks goalie Johnny Hicks, who stopped 15 of 16 shots in the win. “To get the chance to play for this organization, it’s an honour. Especially with all these guys, it’s surreal. I’m just having fun and living in the moment right now.”
