It was a record setting night Saturday in Brooks as the Fort McMurray Oil Barons took on the CJHL’s #1 ranked team the Brooks Bandits.
Having tied the record for the longest winning streak in AJHL history a night earlier, the Bandits looked to lock up the record with their 25th consecutive win.
The Bandits (49-3-0) got two first period goals and added another two in the third to knock off the MOB 4-1 and claim the record.
The Oil Barons (25-19-8) played the Bandits tough all night, not giving up a whole lot and creating chances of their own.
The first period saw Bandit goals from Simon Boyko and Randy Hernandez. Both goals coming from inside the blue paint as the Bandits opened up a 2-0 lead after one period.
The Oil Barons stormed out of the gates to start the second period and struck 11 seconds into the frame. Ryan Conroy carried the puck into the Bandits zone and it came to Reed Morison who spotted Kole Gable cross-ice. Gable rifled a shot past Pierce Charleson to cut the Bandits lead in half.
The Barons started the third period on a powerplay with a chance to tie up the game but were unable to generate much pressure. It was the Bandits who instead capitalized early in the period when Brandon Scanlin was sent in on a breakaway after coming out of the penalty box. Scanlin lifted a shot up and over the shoulder of Chris Curr to give the Bandits a 3-1 advantage.
The MOB killed off four straight penalties in the game, holding the league’s number one ranked powerplay at bay until the third period. After Chad MacLean was handed a five minute major for checking from behind, the Barons killed off the opening four minutes of the penalty before Mack Hancock beat Curr on a one-timer.
The Barons limited the Bandits to just 22 shots in the game but they were able to capitalize on the opportunities they created while the Barons goal scoring woes continued. After generating 45 shots in Friday’s loss to Calgary, the Barons fired just 19 Saturday and for a second straight game were only able to score a single goal.
The Oil Barons road trip wraps up Sunday afternoon against the Olds Grizzlys. You can catch all the action beginning with the pre-game show at 2:15 p.m. on Country 93.3 with Taylor Pope.
