September 29, 2024 – The Brooks Bandits remain undefeated after a thrilling 5-4 overtime win over the Trail Smoke Eaters in front of 1,706 fans on Sunday at the Centennial Regional Arena.
Mikus Vecvanags made 17 saves in his first regular season start, while Parker Lalonde score twice, including the game-winning goal.
In the 1st period, the Bandits started on the front foot but just two minutes into the game Josh Wiebe took an interference penalty only one minute later on the ensuing penalty kill, Davide Patella drove wide and ripped one top corner to put the Bandits in the lead. 10 minutes later, forward Nathan Free doubled the lead on an end-to-end rush that started with a pass from defenceman Mathieu Taillefer.
In the 2nd period, Trail found the net only 15 seconds into the period. Just a minute later, Smoke Eaters defenceman Lucas Lemieux took a tripping minor, and on the ensuing powerplay, forward Nick Peluso fired a wrist shot off the rush to make it 3-1, Bandits. Trail would not go away easily as they piled on two more goals in the period, with one of those being a short-handed goal.
The 3rd period saw Brooks had 17 shots in the period, while holding Trail to only three shots. Lalonde scored his fifth of the season, firing in a forehand shot off the rush to give the Bandits a 4-3 lead. However, Trail forward Evan Sundar scored with just less than two minutes to go in the game to even things up 4-4, forcing the Bandits into their first overtime of the season.
In overtime, Vecvanags stopped a Smoke Eaters two-on-one chance to keep the game going. Lalonde stole the puck in his zone and quickly broke out on the left side boards to create a two-on-one opportunity in which he buried the low wrister to send the Bandits home with a 5-4 victory.
The next Bandits game is Saturday, October 5th when they host the Blackfalds Bulldogs at 7:00 pm.
Photo Credit: Matt Piotrowski
