The Bulldogs defeated the Brooks Bandits 5-2 on Saturday night. The Bandits are now on a losing streak that dates back to before any of the current players were even born.
The Brooks Bandits, one of the most dominant teams in junior hockey over the past two decades, have indeed been a powerhouse since turning their fortunes around in the mid-2000s. Their current 4-game losing streak (as of November 8, 2025) marks the first such skid since the early days of the franchise in the AJHL. Based on a review of their historical records, the last time they lost 4 games in a row was during the 2003-04 season—the final year of their initial “building phase” where they posted a dismal 11-43-6 record (28 points in 60 games) and finished last in the South Division. With 43 losses that year, they had multiple extended losing streaks, including several of 4 or more consecutive defeats. This was their fourth straight season without a playoff appearance, as the team struggled with an expansion-franchise learning curve after joining the AJHL in 2000.-VIA GROK AI
Mathis Dufour got the Bandits on the board first just 1:03 into the game after the Bulldogs had some mas communication and basically gave him a goal. The assists on the goal went to Alexei Zhukov and La Prairie, Quebec native Zachary Deleau.
Joey Melo tied the game up for the Bulldogs after a huge scramble in front of Zahara. The assists on the goal went to Noah Mertz and Dean Toskos at 8:58 of the first period.
Shots on goal in the first period were 9-8 for the Bandits
Bemidji State commit Isaac Johnson gave the Bandits the lead at 3:52 of the second period on a Power Play goal. The assists on the goal went to Liam Fitzpatrick and Stockholm, Sweden native Harry Ahlberg.
Nicholas DiPaolo tied the game up for the Bulldogs at 11:06 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Rohan Guevarra and Nikita Mescheryakov. Everyone in the stands knew he would score this goal a very long time before it even went in. There was so much room left on the far side. I truly think Zahara lost his bearings on this goal.
Shots on goal in the second were 9-8 for the Bulldogs
Nikita Ivashchenko gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead when the puck had one of the stranger bounces. Not much Zahara could of done on that one, the hockey gods were not his friend there. The assists on the goal went to Thomas Neu and Matthew Croxall at 5:02 of the second period.
Thomas Neu makes ia 4-2 game at 14:03 of the third period. The assist on the goal went to Matthew Croxall.
Matthew Croxall gets the rebound from the post after Luke Dahlen clanked it off it while trying to get the empty net goal to make it 5-2 game at 19:31 of the third period. The other assist went to Nikita Mescheryakov.
Shots on goal in the third period were 9-8 for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs outshot the Bandits 26-25.
Carson Mertz made 23 save on the 25 shots that he faced for the win. For the Bandits Zach Zahara made 21 saves on 25 shots.
Three Stars of the game were 1) Noah Mertz 2) Joey Melo 3) Nikita Ivashchenko
Attendance in Blackfalds was 598
Bulldogs next game is Saturday November 9th in Brooks against the Bandits
