Cranbrook, BC (March 22, 2025) – Luke Bibby scored his third goal in two nights and Chris Quizi recorded 27 saves as the Brooks Bandits defeated the Cranbrook Bucks 4-1 at Western Financial Place on Saturday.
The Bandits are now on a five-game win streak with two games left in the regular season before playoffs begin April 4th in Brooks. It was also the Bandits first win at Western Financial Place in team history.
In the opening frame, forward Caden Drury continued the Bandits strong powerplay efforts from last night’s game as he scored just past the halfway point in the period, sliding in a net front chance to put the Bandits ahead 1-0. Just less then two minutes later, following a fight at centre ice between Bandits forward Nathan Brown and Bucks forward Rasmus Svartstrom, forward Luke Bibby sniped a goal off the rush to make it 2-0.
In the middle frame, there was no scoring as Quizi put in a strong effort between the pipes to keep the Bucks off the board. The Bandits also killed off two penalties, going six for six in the game.
In the final period, the Bandits continued their strong powerplay as forward A.J. Lacroix one-timed a Parker Lalonde pass to increase the Bandits lead to 3-0. However, Bucks forward Patrick Murphy scored on a breakaway to get the Bucks on the board, cutting the lead to 3-1. Later in the game, forward Nathan Free set up forward Jace Letourneau on the two-on-one chance to bring the Bandits to a 4-1 win.
The Penticton Vees won their sixth straight game on Saturday, beating the Okotoks Oilers 4-0. The Vees have a four-point lead for first place on the Bandits, both with two games remaining. The West Kelowna Warriors locked up seventh place in the conference with a 7-2 win over the Blackfalds Bulldogs. They will face whoever finishes second in the conference between Brooks and Penticton.
The Bandits host the Spruce Grove Saints on Friday, March 28th for the final home game of the regular season. The game will be preceded by Team Awards ceremony on the ice, and the $25,000 Grand Prize of the Bandits Cash Raffle will be drawn in the 2nd intermission. Game time is 7:00 pm. The Bandits wrap up the season on the road on Saturday, March 29th in Okotoks.
