Brooks, Alberta – The Brooks Bandits host the league-leading Vernon Vipers on Friday evening before visiting the struggling Sherwood Park Crusaders on Saturday. The Bandits have lost four of their last five games but have recorded points in all but two of those matchups.
Their most recent loss came against the Cowichan Valley Capitals, who outshot them 52-25. Emile Beaunoyer stopped 48 of those shots, but it wasn’t enough as the Bandits lost 4-3 in overtime.
“[Beaunoyer] has been stellar so far,” said forward Rylan Hue in the second intermission against Cowichan Valley. “We need to stop giving up these odd man rushes and play harder in the [defensive zone].”
Zachary Deleau leads all BCHL defencemen in points with 13, including a multi-assist performance against the Capitals. All three of his goals have been scored on the power play. The Bandits’ power play is currently clicking at a 38.2% clip, which is the best in the Interior Conference and second-best league-wide (Prince George – 44.7%). Interestingly, the Bandits do not have a stark difference between their home and away performances on the man advantage, with only a 1.2% differential (38.7% at home, 37.5% on the road). Brooks’ 21 power-play goals lead the BCHL.
Dmitrijs Dilevka leads all Bandits in points with 15, nine of which have come on the power play. Makaio Van Tassel leads Brooks with eight goals in ten games. Leading the team in points per game is Koby Francis, who sits at 1.80 ppg. He hasn’t played since October 10th.
The Vipers are coming off a 6-1 loss to the Okotoks Oilers on Wednesday night. They conceded three goals to BCHL points leader Conner Radke alone. Toms Trockis leads all Vipers with 17 points, while Tommy Karmiris’ 10 points in 10 games is the only other Viper at a point-per-game pace or better.
Vernon’s top goalie, Kason Kobelka, had posted three wins in four starts, including a .963 SV% and a 1.05 GAA, before signing with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL on Wednesday afternoon. Former Blackfalds Bulldog Oliver Kiraly and Saginaw, Michigan native Samuel DiBlasi now manage things between the pipes for the Vipers.
The Vipers were riding a ten-game point streak before it was snapped at the hands of the Oilers on Wednesday.
The Sherwood Park Crusaders have struggled mightily this season, posting a 3-7-1 record to open the campaign. They are tied for last in the Interior East Division with the Spruce Grove Saints, who have an identical record. The Crusaders’ -18 goal differential is the second-worst in the league, behind only the Surrey Eagles (-22), who beat them 8-6 at the BCHL Showcase in Nisku last week.
No one in the BCHL has conceded more goals this season than Sherwood Park, who give up an average of 4.7 per game (52 goals against over 11 games).
There will be a familiar face in Crusader green as defenceman Lazarus Ebanoidze, who was traded earlier this month from the Bandits, is expected to be in the lineup. Ebanoidze was part of the Bandits’ BCHL title run last season.
Saturday will also serve as a homecoming of sorts for Bandits forward Joseph Sinclair. The Hamilton, Ontario native will visit Sherwood Park for the first time since being involved in the Ebanoidze trade earlier this month. He posted 60 points in 54 regular-season games for the Crusaders last season, including 24 goals.
Sinclair is bumping along at a point-per-game pace with the Bandits, posting five points in five games since joining the club.
Acquired just last week, goaltender Joseph Quintilio is entering his second weekend and his first full week of practices with the Bandits. With the Saints this season, he posted a .909 SV% and a 3.46 GAA over five starts, winning one of them.
Both games will start at 7:00 MT.
