Game Report

The Bandits simply overpowered the Mustangs with an efficient 5-0 victory in this one. Penalties seemed to hurt any chance for the Mustangs to sustain any pressure or momentum. The 33 minutes in penalties that they took was more than enough time for an effective Brooks powerplay. The powerplay had clinical passing and the Bandits were able to capitalize for 2 powerplay goals.

Anthony Paskaruk had 29 points as a 16-year-old rookie with Brooks last season.

Brooks Bandits

21  Anthony Paskaruk  (1 goal, 1 assist) – By far, one of the best players on the ice. Paskaruk always had his feet moving and made plays because of it. For a player of his size, he wins a lot of battles in both ends of the ice. He was in the right position for his powerplay goal and also had many other opportunities. His assist also came on the powerplay and it was a beauty feed across the ice for a tap in.

18 Patrick Lee – The young Bandit rookie doesn’t look out of place. Looked a bit nervous to make contact in the 1^st period, but was initiating the contact by the end of the game. For a guy his age, he seems to be very confident with handling the puck and has good vision as well. The things that he will improve in the future are his size, for him to battle. This will allow him to win more battles and with the puck control he has, it could be a solid offensive player. I also noticed a couple times where he had left the defensive too early and the Mustangs defenseman was able to pinch in and continue the play.

DNP: 24- Sam Johnson, 22-Maddison Smiley, 1- Michael Frederick

Calgary Mustangs

27 Chase McMurphy – McMurphy didn’t have the best game that I’ve seen him play. When he’s at his best, he utilizes his speed and is effective in the offensive zone. He collapsed too low into the defensive zone and had trouble breaking out. The bright spots of his game last night were that he finished all of his checks and his shot continues to impress. He has a quick release on his snap and slapshot but could work on his accuracy.

3 Jared Van Ree – Van Ree’s game has almost taken a complete 360 from last year, in a good way. He seems to be a more confident and a more mature player. It seems as though he’s taken a sense of leadership on the blueline and he’s playing a ton of minutes. Multiple times he took the hit to make the play and did not shy away from contact.

17 Damien Kulynych – Not a really strong game from Damien last night. He grinds in the corners and plays well positionally, but didn’t play well in his own end. His unwarranted penalties at the end of the game cost the Mustangs to kill penalties for 9 minutes.

8 Austin Hall – New to the Mustangs this year, I was only to see Hall briefly during this game. He didn’t really stand out to be an impact forward, but was a solid role player. The times that I did see him, he was finishing his checks and trying to goat players into taking penalties. He does need to improve his skating if he wants to be effective and needs to get stronger on his skates.

2 Jeff Wildeman – Wildeman is a new Mustang this year as well. I was impressed with his game on the 2^nd half of the game, compared to his first. In the first half of the game he started wandering too much and getting out of place, almost looking lost at some points. As the game progressed, he started getting more physical and joining into the rush. I could see in the future him getting carried away in the rush and getting out of place more often if he continues not to strengthen that part of his game.

Tags: AJHL, Anthony Paskaruk

About the Author: Andrew Choquette