Saints fall 4-2 to Bandits to end win streak at 6.
By: Adam Kulak
Coming off a big 4-2 win in Drumheller last night, the Saints were unable to get the same result as they fall 4-2 to the undefeated Bandits at the CRA in Brooks. They managed to tie the game after 20 minutes but Brooks just kept coming and they capped off a real strong performance for their 17th win.
First Period
With Matt Davis playing last night, Max Duchesne would get the start between the pipes and he would be tested right away. The Bandits came out of the gate very fast as Randy Hernandez would get a clear-cut breakaway just a few seconds into the game. Duchesne would deny him with the pad on the five-hole attempt to come up with a huge save on what could have been a deflating early goal for the Saints.
As the period went on, it became a back and forth game for both teams. The Bandits had several good looks and the Saints answered back with close opportunities of their own. Over halfway through the period, Sean Chisholm would fire a 2 on 1 feed and it initially looked like Max Duchesne made the save. However, the Brooks goal judge and the ref came to the conclusion that the puck just crossed the line, giving Brooks the 1-0 lead here in the opening period.
It was an unfortunate result for the Saints, but they came out hard after that to try and find the tying goal. They could only get 5 shots through to Pierce Charleson but late in the period they would make one of them count.
Grahame Gamache like last night in Drumheller, came flying down the right wing and put the puck on net. The rebound would pop out right to Seth Fyten as he had a yawning cage to even this game back up at 1 goal a piece. The shots in the period were 10-5 in favor of Brooks but the score would be even 1-1 at the end of 20 minutes.
Second Period
Max Duchesne was the star of the second period, even though the Bandits got two, he robbed them of at least a couple more the way the period went. It was still a close game here tonight on the scoreboard, but if it weren?t for Duchesne in net, things could have gotten ugly real fast.
The Saints started getting sloppy and they really struggled for most of the second period. The Bandits turned up the pressure and dominated the play, outshooting the Saints 19-3 in the period. The Saints had a tough time managing the puck and gave Brooks rush after rush and chance after chance in transition.
Just over 3 minutes into the period, Sean Chisholm would walk the blueline and beat Duchesne with a big shot from the point with his second of the game to give Brooks back the lead. The Saints also gave Brooks three opportunities on the man advantage and Brooks would make them pay on the first opportunity of the period. James McIsaac would through it out front for Tim Rego backdoor as he extends the Bandits lead to 3-1 just 6 minutes in the middle frame.
Even though the Saints haven?t played their best, they still found a way to hang around and over halfway through the period they would find a little bit of life. Stanley Cooley would come flying down the right wing, curl around the net and snuck one through Pierce Charleson on the wraparound to bring the Saints back to within one.
The period would end 3-2 after 40 minutes with the Bandits leading in shots 29-8. The Saints would be fortunate to only be trailing by 1 but they will have an opportunity to bounce back with a good third period to try and take this game.
Third Period
Things didn?t really get a whole lot better in the third period. The Saints looked tired from the night before and they didn?t have anything going in this game. Brooks was the much faster team; they were winning more puck battles and they were attacking off the rush all game long.
Brayden Krieger would beat Duchesne from the right faceoff dot on the Powerplay to improve the Bandits lead to 4-2 and that would be how it ends. The Saints had a couple of Powerplays and chances late, but nothing would come of it as the Bandits improve to 17-0-0 on the regular season and the Saints drop to 14-3-0.
The one bright spot from tonight was the play of Max Duchesne in net. Some people thought that Matt Davis would get the start against Brooks, but Duchesne was really good in this one. It could have easily been much worse than 4-2 but he made several Grade A saves including two breakaways.
Other than that, it was a game that the Saints would like to forget, and they will look to put it behind them right away. They will be back home for a Twoonie $2uesday with an opportunity to rebound as they get set to host the Lloydminster Bobcats.