PHOTO: Absent Light Photography
Stephen Kirkpatrick scored a 3rd period goal to try and give the Saints some momentum but they eventually fell by a 4-1 score to the Brooks Bandits on Friday night in Spruce Grove.
The two teams played to a scoreless opening 14 minutes before Cooper Pierson gave the Bandits their first and only lead of the game, driving wide on a Saints defender and beating Bodee Weiss to his glove side to push the visitors ahead by a one-goal margin.
Mathis Dufour pushed the Bandits on to a two-goal advantage on a rebound in front of the net with just 34 seconds remaining in the period to make it a 2-0 game heading into the middle frame.
After Ethan Beyer scored a power play goal to give the Bandits a 3-0 lead, the Saints took over the period and outshot Brooks by a 19-8 margin in the 2nd period but couldn’t find a way to beat Zach Zahara in the Bandits net as the visitors took a three-goal lead into the 3rd period.
Kirkpatrick’s marker at 4:58 of the final frame helped the Saints on the scoresheet to cut the deficit to two goals and gave the Saints a chance to get back in the game before Matej Teply pushed the Bandits ahead by three goals once again to make the game 4-1.
Three Stars:
1) Cooper Pierson
2) Ethan Beyer
3) Matej Teply
