The game last night (March 7, 2026) between the Blackfalds Bulldogs and the Brooks Bandits at the Centennial Regional Arena in Brooks, Alberta, was a tightly contested interdivisional matchup in the BCHL, with the host Brooks Bandits emerging victorious by a score of 3-2. The first period remained scoreless as both teams’ defenses held strong and goaltending was sharp. Brooks broke through in the second period, building a lead with effective forechecking and timely scoring, while Blackfalds responded but couldn’t fully equalize. In the third, the Bulldogs pushed back with two goals to make it close, but the Bandits held on for the win, bolstered by strong netminding from Zach Zahara, who stopped 29 of 31 shots faced. Dmitrijs Dilevka contributed two assists for Brooks in the victory. This result snapped a winning streak for Blackfalds
Shots on goal in the first period were 9-6 for the Bandits.
Barrington, Illinois native Lazarus Ebanoidze opened up the scoring for Brooks at 2:35 of the first period. The assist on the goal went to Stockholm, Sweden native Harry Ahlberg.
Carson Mertz left the game with an unknown injury part way through the second period.
Alexi Zhukov scores on the Power Play to make it a 2-0 game for the Bandits at 11:00 of the first period. The assist on the goal went to Dmitrij Divelka.
The Bandits made it 3-0 while they were shorthanded when Liam Fitzpatrik scores his 30th goal of the season. The assist on the goal went to Dmitrij Divelka.
Shots on goal in the second period were 13-12 for the Bulldogs.
Danny Hussa got the Bulldogs on the board at 5:27 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Radoslav Dmitrov and Joey Melo.
Thomas Neu scores his 22nd goal of the season at 6:06 of the third period to get the Bulldogs within one. The assists on the goal went to Dean Toskos and Nicholas DiPaolo.
Shots on goal in the third period were 12-8 for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs outshot the Bandits 31-29 in the game.
Zach Zahara made 29 saves on the 31 shots that he faced for the win for the Bandits. For the Bulldogs Carson Mertz stopped 12 of the 13 shots that he faced before being replaced by Oliver Kiraly in the second period. Oliver Kiraly stopped 14 of the 16 shots he faced. Hopefully Mertz is okay he appeared to of pulled his groin and left the game.
Three Stars of the game were 1) Zach Zahara 2) Oliver Kiraly 3) Dmitrij Dilevka
Attendance in Brooks was 1448
The Bulldogs next game is Friday March 13th in Blackfalds against the Trail Smoke Eaters
