Brooks, AB: The Sherwood Park Crusaders took the three hour trek south on Friday for their third matchup with the Brooks Bandits. Brooks took both games in Sherwood Park, and the Crusaders were looking to do the same. Carson Cherepak got the nod for Sherwood Park, while Brooks went back to Ethan Barwick.
Brooks got off to a quick start in the first, when Brendan Mairs beat Cherepak just two and a half minutes into the game. The lead didn’t last long, though, because Liam Hughes scored two and a half minutes later to tie the game at one. The Bandits would retake the lead about seven minutes later, as Sean Chisholm continued his hot streak since the restart, to give the Bandits a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Brooks led in the shot department, 11-10.
The second period saw a continuation of the style in the first, with Sherwood Park pressing for the tying goal. They found it just over halfway through the period when Tanner Fincaryk tipped home a Cale Ashcroft slap pass for his first of the season. Again though, the tied score would not last long. Brooks responded just over a minute later, with Chisholm burying his second of the night to give his side the advantage after two. Sherwood Park took over in shots, 11-7 in the period.
Sherwood Park similarly entered the third to the second, looking for an equalizer. That goal would come off the stick of Blake Sydlowski, who continued his hot streak with his fourth goal of the season. The two teams would play to a stalemate for most of the third, with overtime looking likely for the second consecutive game. Sean Chisholm had other ideas, as he scored his third, fourth and fifth goals of the game in the final two minutes to give the Bandits a 6-3 win over the Sherwood Park Crusaders. Shots favoured the Bandits in the third: 15-9. Cherepak made 27 saves in the loss, while Barwick took the win with the same number of stops.
The two teams will square off for the final time on Saturday night in Brooks. Puck drop at 7 p.m.