Bandits down two games to one in their opening round match-up

Brantford Bandits started their chase for the Sutherland Cup against the Stratford Warriors on Friday, March 8, 2024.

The seventh-seeded Bandits were in for a battle against the second-seeded Stratford Warriors in game one of the best-of-seven series, which started on Friday.

Stratford capitalized on a powerplay marker late in the first period to open the scoring before adding a second powerplay goal halfway through the second period on their way to a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. The third period was all Warriors as they dominated at both ends of the ice, scoring four more goals in the opening ten minutes of the final frame on their way to a 6-0 victory and a 1-0 series lead.

The teams resumed their battle for game two in Brantford on Saturday, March 9, 2024. Brantford came out flying to start the game, led by forward Ezra Fischer, who scored two first-period goals to lead his team to a 3-1 lead after the opening 20 minutes. The Warriors got back within one halfway through the second stanza before Brantford scored two more goals in the last five minutes, including a short-handed goal by Evan Palubeski, to take a 5-2 lead into the second intermission. Brantford tightened up defensively in the final frame, only allowing a goal in the middle of the period before Juan Agromayor scored an empty-netter to seal the 6-3 victory and knot the series at a game apiece.

The Warriors and Bandits returned to Stratford for game three on Sunday, March 10, 2024, in what became a tightly-contested contest. The Bandits opened the scoring just five minutes into the game after forward Charlie Pys beat Warriors goalie Matthew Perdue with a shot to give his team the early 1-0 lead. Stratford responded less than a minute later with a powerplay marker to tie things at one.

The Warriors kept up the pressure, taking their first lead of the game just 25 seconds later after Liam Gorman buried a shot past Bandits goalie Lennart Neisse. Both teams settled down the rest of the way as the Warriors held on to their one-goal advantage after the opening 20 minutes.

The teams played tight defensively in the middle stanza, trying to keep the opposition at bay but it was the Bandits who got the advantage. At 10:52 of the period, Bandits forward Blake Clayton grabbed the puck and ripped a shot past Warriors goalie Matthew Perdue to knot things at two at the second intermission.

The Warriors and Bandits played anxious hockey to start the final frame as neither team wanted to make a mistake that would cost them the game. The teams continued to focus on defence as the teams couldn’t muster much offence over the final 20 minutes. When the horn sounded, the Warriors and Bandits were deadlocked at two and heading to overtime for the first time in the seven-game series.

With the game on the line, the Warriors were the more aggressive team and it paid off just 89 seconds into the extra frame as Warriors forward Cole Lewis scored the overtime winner for his first goal of the playoffs to give his team the 3-2 victory and the 2-1 series lead.