April 18, 2024 – The Rogers BCHL Playoffs begin this weekend in Brooks as the Bandits face the Okotoks Oilers in the 10th all-time playoff meeting between the teams.
Brooks finished 1st in the BCHL Alberta Division with an overall record of 58-6-1, setting a team record for most wins in a single season. The Bandits went 17-2-1 in the BCHL. Okotoks finished 4th in the Alberta Division with a record of 38-28-3, going 5-14-1 in the BCHL.
The Oilers won the BCHL Alberta Division Wild Card Series, sweeping the Spruce Grove Saints 3 games to 0 to reach the Semifinal. The winner of the Brooks/Okotoks Semifinal will face the winner of the other Alberta Semifinal featuring the Sherwood Park Crusaders and Blackfalds Bulldogs.
The Bandits swept the season series with Okotoks, going 5-0 in the AJHL and 6-0 in the BCHL, with one game going to overtime on March 8th. The Bandits roster features 21 NCAA Division I commits, the Oilers have 12 committed to NCAA Division 1 schools.
Brooks is 7-2 in Playoff Series vs the Oilers. They met in 2006, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. This will be the sixth straight playoff (not including 2020 and 2021 playoffs cancelled by COVID) that the two teams have met.
Alberta Semifinal Schedule:
G1 Fri, April 19 @ Brooks
G2 Sat, April 20 @ Brooks
G3 Tue, April 23 @ Okotoks
G4 Wed, April 24 @ Okotoks
G5 Fri, April 26 @ Brooks*
G6 Sun, April 28 @ Okotoks*
G7 Tue, April 30 @ Brooks*
All Games 7:00 PM
*if necessary
Top Scorers:
- Mirko Buttazzoni (Brooks) 93 points 38G 55A
- Sam Huck (Okotoks) 81 points 37G 44A
- Parker Lalonde (Brooks) 80 points 30G 50A
- Logan Sawyer (Brooks) 78 points 35G 43A
- Jack Silverberg (Okotoks) 66 points 27G 39A
Top Scoring Defencemen:
- Rylan Brown (Okotoks) 59 points 10G 49A
- Ethan Beyer (Brooks) 49 points 7G 42A
- Hughie Hooker (Brooks) 46 points 8G 38A
- Quinn McCall (Brooks) 39 points 11G 28A
- Ethan O’Halloran (Okotoks) 33 points 8G 25A
Goaltending Record
- Johnny Hicks (Brooks) 33-5
- Christian Green (Okotoks) 14-14-2
- Mikail Kingo (Okotoks) 12-7
- Sam Scopa (Brooks) 9-1-1
- Ian Mills (Brooks) 1-0
Top Bandits Scorer vs Oilers
- Parker Lalonde 20 points 9G 11A
- Mirko Buttazzoni 15 points 7G 8A
- Nick Peluso 15 points 3G 12A
- Logan Sawyer 12 points 7G 5A
- Danylo Korzhyletskyi 11 points 6G 5A
Bandits Goaltenders vs Okotoks
- Hicks 5-0
- Scopa 4-0
- Mills 1-0
- Holahan 1-0
Head to Head:
September 30 (Max Bell Centre)
Bandits 5, Oilers 2
The Bandits built a 4-0 lead, and despite a couple goals from Okotoks in the 3rd period, Brooks skated to a 5-2 win, outshooting the Oilers 30-23. It was a penalty filled game at the AJHL Showcase that saw 126 penalty minutes handed out. Nic DeGraves (Edmonton, AB) had a three-point game and was named 1st Star. Johnny Hicks (Kamloops, BC) made 21 saves in net.
October 14 (Okotoks)
Brooks 5, Okotoks 3
Down 3-2 in the 2nd period, Logan Sawyer (Orangeville, ON) tied the game and Caelan Fitzpatrick (Moose Jaw, SK) scored the game winner in a 5-3 Bandits comeback win.
It was one of the few times the Bandits were outshot in a game this season, but Hicks made 29 saves to get the job done.
December 8 (Okotoks)
Bandits 5, Oilers 2
After a 1-0 lead following the 1st period, Brooks poured it on in the 2nd period, scoring four goals. Mirko Buttazzoni (Langley, BC had two goals, and Nick Peluso (Rochester, NY) had four assists in a 5-2 win.
December 30 (Brooks)
Bandits 9, Oilers 3
Sawyer had a big night in the Bandits first game following the Christmas break. The forward scored four points, while defenceman Hughie Hooker (Winnipeg, MB) had two goals in a 9-3 one-sided win. Hicks made 18 saves in his return to the net following the World Junior A Challenge.
January 26 (Brooks)
Bandits 3, Oilers 2
This was another comeback win for the Bandits. Down 2-0 after the 1st period, Brooks forward Josh Wiebe (Calgary, AB) sparked the comeback six minutes into the 2nd period, wihle Sawyer scored back to back goals in the 3rd for the 3-2 Bandits win.
February 6 (Brooks)
Bandits 5, Oilers 4
This game marked the first meeting between Brooks and Okotoks since joining the BCHL, and it was also in front of 2,180 local students for the Bandits Hockey Hooky game. It was a highly entertaining game that saw only six penalty minutes handed out. Okotoks once again had a 2-0 lead in the 1st to quiet the crowd. But Fitzpatrick got the Bandits going with 4:30 left in the period, and younger brother Liam Fitzpatrick (Moose Jaw, SK) tied the game soonafter. After each team exchanged goals in the 2nd, the Bandits took a 5-3 lead in the 3rd period following tallies from Keith McInnis (Red Deer, AB) and Parker Lalonde (Aberdeen, SK). Okotoks defenceman Kade Turner got one back to make it a 5-4 game, which the Bandits were able to hang on and win.
February 13 (Okotoks)
Bandits 9, Oilers 2
A week later, it was the Oilers turn to host an afternoon game for students. It was all Bandits in this one, outshooting Okotoks 51-21. Forward Nathan Free (Calgary, AB) was the 1st Star following a five-point performance of two goals and three assists. Buttazzoni had three assists, while forward Brock Souch (Edmonton, AB) had a goal and two assists in a 9-2 blowout. The game also marked the debut of goaltender Sam Scopa (Lexington, MA), who had just joined the team. He won his debut making 19 saves.
February 19 (Brooks)
Bandits 6, Oilers 3
Family Day at the CRA was highlighted by a Mirko Buttazzoni hat trick. He scored three of the first four Bandits goals, as they pulled away 5-1 in the 2nd period. Okotoks pushed back to get within two, but Lalonde scored an empty net goal to seal the win.
March 3 (Brooks)
Bandits 7, Oilers 4
This game was originally scheduled for March 2nd, but poor weather forced it to be rescheduled. The Bandits jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 1st which included two goals from Danylo Korzhyletskyi (Kyiv, UA). Brooks put 42 shots on the Okotoks net, while forward Hunter Wallace (Oak Lake, MB) had a three-point game.
March 8 (Okotoks)
Bandits 7, Oilers 6 OT
Probably the most entertaining game between the two teams this year, with the shots even 38-38. Down 3-2 in the 2nd period, Buttazzoni tied the game 3-3 late in the period, only to have Oilers forward Sam Huck reclaim the lead 29 seconds later. The wild 3rd period saw Brooks score three unanswered goals to take a 6-4 lead, only to have Okotoks come back and tie the game 6-6. 2:12 into overtime, Sawyer went end-to-end and scored the winning goal.
March 31 (Okotoks)
Bandits 6, Oilers 3
The final meeting saw the Bandits erase a 1-0 deficit, scoring five unanswered goals, as Lalonde and Nick Peluso (Rochester, NY) each had three-point games, while goaltender Ian Mills (Calgary, AB) made 20 saves in his first start as a Bandit.
The Rogers BCHL Playoffs are coming to Brooks this weekend, as the Bandits host the Okotoks Oilers for the Alberta Semifinal. Tickets are on sale for Game 1 (Friday, April 19th) and Game 2 (Saturday, April 20th), both are at 7:00 pm at the Centennial Regional Arena.
