OKOTOKS, AB (March 8, 2024) – Logan Sawyer scored twice, including the overtime winner, as the Brooks Bandits survived in a wild 7-6 win over the Okotoks Oilers on Friday at the Centennial Arena.
It was the Bandits (10-1 in BCHL) seventh straight win, as they improved to 51-5 on the season. Goaltender Sam Scopa (Lexington, MA) made 32 saves for his seventh straight win.
Wallace (Oak Lake, MB) opened the scoring just four minutes in, receiving a Danylo Korzhyletskyi (Kyiv, UA) pass, splitting the defence and scoring forehand off the rush to make it 1-0. Oilers forward Connor Gourley nearly tied the game with a chance off the rush, but hit a post. Shots were even at 13 after 20 minutes.
A wild 2nd period saw Okotoks tie the game 1-1 at 4:20, as forward Brett Wilson scored forehand from the left wing. The Bandits reclaimed the lead at 8:01, as forward Jordan Hughesman (Winnipeg, MB) pass from the right win corner to Korzhyletskyi, who one-timed a shortside shot to make it 2-1. However, the Oilers tied the game 2-2 four minutes later, as Tapper one-timed an Owen MacNeil cross-ice pass, and then Okotoks took a 3-2 lead at 12:55, as Hayden Fechner finished off a pass from the wall from Connor Gourley. The Bandits went on the penalty kill, and nearly tied the game on a two-on-none chance from Hughesman and Wallace, but the later was denied by a toe save from Oilers goaltender Christian Green. The Bandits tied the game 3-3 at 19:01 on the powerplay, as forward Mirko Buttazzoni (Langley, BC) sniped a left circle shot. But with 30 seconds left in the frame, Oilers forward Sam Huck raced to a loose puck and scored five-hole to make it 4-3 Oilers.
The Bandits scored three unanswered three goals in the opening six minutes of the 3rd. Korzhyletskyi scored far-side, top corner from the right wing tying the game 4-4 at 4:06. Then at 5:05, Sawyer finished off a two-on-one cross ice pass from Parker Lalonde (Aberdeen, SK) to make it 5-4. Less than a minute later, Lalonde tapped in a Nick Peluso (Rochester, NY) pass to make it 6-4, forcing the Oilers take a timeout. Okotoks responded at 9:44, as Huck one-timed a puck to cut the lead to 6-5. Okotoks emptied the net for the extra attacker, and tied the game at 19:12, as Brett Wilson banged in a Huck pass to make it 6-6.
It was the Bandits third BCHL overtime, and it only lasted 2:12. Sawyer grabbed the puck and skated into the Brooks end before heading north up the right wing, burning past the defence and shelfing a forehand snipe to make it 7-6, the final. Shots were even 38-38.
The Bandits are back in action on Saturday, March 9th when the Bandits host the Blackfalds Bulldogs at 7:00 pm.
