Brooks, Alberta – The Brooks Bandits will face a familiar foe this weekend, taking on the Blackfalds Bulldogs in a home and away series for the second consecutive weekend playing the same opponent in back-to-back games. The Bandits open the set Friday night in Blackfalds before returning to the Centennial Regional Arena on Saturday.
This marks Brooks’ first trip to Blackfalds of the 2025–26 season. The Bulldogs have been one of the BCHL’s hottest teams, winning 12 of their 17 games, including a 5–2 victory over the Bandits earlier this year.
Brooks enters the weekend looking to rebound after a pair of tightly contested losses to the West Kelowna Warriors.
“I think it’s just one step after another,” said Bandits forward Jack Rosensteel, reflecting on last weekend’s games. “Every day is a good day to work hard in the gym, work hard on the ice, and focus on the little details. It’s going to add up, and we’re going to start getting these wins.”
The weekend against West Kelowna was only the beginning of a demanding November schedule for the Bandits, who will face just two teams currently below the .500 mark this season.
“We’re going from West Kelowna, a very good team in this league, to Blackfalds, who lead our division right now,” noted captain Dante Siciliano. “It’ll be a good challenge for us.”
This weekend also marks the third time this season the Bandits will play a Friday road game followed by a Saturday home game, a routine that has tested the group’s resilience.
“It’s not easy coming home and playing when you get in at three in the morning,” Rosensteel admitted. “But it doesn’t affect us; it’s just something that’s in the back of our minds.”
Siciliano agreed, noting the challenge is the same for both teams. “When you play one night in their rink and the next in yours, both teams deal with the same travel,” he said.
Following Friday’s game, Brooks will have played eight of its last nine games on the road, setting a new team record. The previous mark was set last season when the Bandits played six of seven away from home.
Rookie forward Alexei Zhukov continues to impress, sitting second among all BCHL rookies with 17 points, trailing only Blackfalds’ Nikita Ivashchenko (19), who will also be in action this weekend. Ivashchenko is two years older than Zhukov, who shares the team lead in goals (7) with Rosensteel. Jack Good has maintained a point-per-game pace, and his 11 assists rank tied for eighth in the BCHL.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. MT on Friday at the Eagle Builders Centre in Blackfalds. The teams meet again Saturday night at the Centennial Regional Arena in Brooks with puck drop also being at 7:00 p.m. MT.
