SANDRA M STANWAY
Brooks Bulletin
The BCHL Brooks Bandits hosted and defeated the Cranbrook Bucks on Saturday, 5-2, to extend their winning streak to seven.
The Bandits, who are 17-1 with 34 points, remain in first place in the BCHL having just one loss on their record to date.
Penticton, Chilliwack and Salmon Arm are tied for second with 30 points.
On Saturday against the 12th place Bucks, there were no goals in the first period, however, there were plenty of attempts.
Goalies Miles Roberts for Cranbrook and Johnny Hicks for the Bandits were stellar between the pipes. In the opening period Roberts faced 12 shots while Hicks faced four shots on goal.
The scoring opened 28 seconds into the second period on a power play goal by Ethan Beyer with the assist from Parker Lalonde.
Lalonde followed his assist with a goal of his, a successful penalty shot, which moved the Bandits to a 2-0 lead.
Davide Patella, with the assist from Josh Wiebe, scored a short time later and then about five minutes later Wiebe had his own goal.
The period finished with the fifth and final goal for the Bandits from Lalonde with the assist from AJ Lacroix and Keith McInnis.
The final period belonged to the Bucks who scored at 14:07 on a power play which was followed by their second and final goal at 17:24.
The three stars of the games were all Bandits: Hicks, Lalonde and Wiebe.
The Bandits will host Sherwood Park on Saturday.
In their last meeting the Bandits edged the Crusaders 4-3.
The Crusaders are currently in eighth place overall in the league with a record of 12-8.
