September 27, 2024 – Johnny Hicks continued his stellar play in net as the Brooks Bandits won a hard-fought 4-1 game over the Penticton Vees on Friday night at the Centennial Regional Arena in the first meeting of the season.
Hicks won his third straight start, stopping 20 pucks as the Bandits remained undefeated on the season at 3-0.
In the first period, it was a fast-paced start to the game. A couple of penalties went both ways halfway through the first when forward Liam Fitzpatrick stole the puck away in the defensive zone and scored on a short-handed breakaway to put the Bandits in the lead by a score of 1-0.
In the second period, there was no scoring as both Hicks and Vees starter Will Ingemann stood strong between the pipes.
Five minutes into the third period, the Bandits were firing away as forward Nick Peluso doubled the lead with a pass from winger Isaac Johnson. Just under four minutes later, defenceman Quinn McCall fired the puck on net from the point and squeezed past the low blocker side of Ingemann to extend the lead to 3-0 for the Bandits. The Vees did not go away easily, as just a few moments later they rallied back with a broken play in front of the net to put one up on the board. Centre Parker Lalonde put the icing on the cake with an empty-net goal in the final second of the game.
The Bandit’s next game is on Sunday afternoon, and they will host the Trail Smoke Eaters at 4 PM at the Centennial Regional Arena. Kids get free admission to the game.
