2019 EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER FINAL #1

Brentwood BanditsClearfield Bison 

Game #1 Preview: Bandits make their way into Clearfield. Should be a good series!
Game #1: A good back and forth 1st period until Carr scores on the breakaway. 1-0 Clearfield.

32 seconds into the 2nd, Tavares scores on a redirection from Krug and Kessel. Tied 1-1

Lindholm scores on a slapper from the point to make it 2-1 Bandits.

41 seconds into the 3rd Tavares scores his 2nd to make it 3-1 Bandits.

Less than a minute later Niederreiter rips one from the faceoff circle past Hellybuck to make it 4-1 Bandits.

Clearfield fired everything they had at Vasilevskiy but could only get one late one by him at 10:49 as Carr scored his 2nd… and that’s how it ended. 4-2 Bandits win.

Vasilevskiy saved 45 of the 47 shots Clearfield put on him. Hellybuck wasn’t up to the task today. I expect he will be next game.

Star 1 – Tavares 2G, 1A
Star 2 – Carr 2G
Star 3 – Vasilevskiy 45 saves

Notables
BWB – Kessel 3 assists, Tavares 17 faceoffs won, Horvate 15 faceoffs won
CLE – None

Bandits lead the series 1-0 by stealing a game in Clearfield.

The PA battle continues with game 2 tomorrow!

Game #2: Clearfield down 1-0 at home. Will they be able to even it up?Brentwood jumps out 1-0 with Vlasic (1) pickling the puck past Hellybuck.

Clearfield ties it up 1-1 with Palmieri (1)

Head to the 2nd, Rakell (1) puts Clearfield on top 2-1.

El Nino (2) scores on the PP to tie it 2-2.

Head to the 3rd. Palmiere (2) gets his 2nd of the game to put Clearfield ahead 3-2. They would go on to score another Brown (1) and win the split at home 4-2.

Heading to Brentwood tied 1-1.

Game #3: Tied 1-1, the Bandits hope to jump out ahead against a tough Clearfield team.

We go TWO PERIODS with no score! Both teams firing shots on goal. Clearfield with 21 and Brentwood with 26.

Head to the 3rd… Hornqvist (1) on the PP makes it 1-0 Bandits.

23 seconds later Palmieri with his 3rd of the playoffs ties it 1-1.

2:05 later Kerfoot (1) puts the Bandits back on top 2-1.

12 seconds later, Horvat (1) tickles the twine 3-1 Bandits lead.

Palmieri continues his torrid pace with his 4th of the playoffs, 3-2 Bandits.

Kerfoot with his 2nd of the game at 16:09 to give the Bandits a commanding 4-2 lead.

With Hellebuyck pulled Maatta (1) puts it in the empty net to seal the deal…

Bandits win 5-2 and take a 2-1 series lead.

Game #4: Bandits up 2-1 hoping to take an even more commanding 3-1 lead. Need the big guys to score to make it easier.

12:17 of the 1st sees Tavares (3) score on a redirection. 1-0 Bandits.

Clearfield on the PP, Neal (1) ties it 1-1.

In the 2nd Clearfield takes the lead 2-1 with Benn (1) putting it in the net.

Are the big Bison skaters waking up? They have all been very quiet.
Bandits up 3-1 heading back to Clearfield. Can the Bison make it a series?
12:26 of the 2nd Horvat pots his 2nd of the playoffs. Tied 2-2.

3rd period Kessel gets his 1st of the playoffs making it 3-2 Bandits.

Kerfoot gets his 3rd… 4-2 Bandits… and that is how it would end.

4-2 Bandits win.

Game #5: Clearfield facing elimination. Can they fend off the Bandits?

1st period Clearfield fires 14 shots and Vasilevskiy stops them all.

2nd period the Bandits out-shoot Clearfield 17-8 but both teams tally goals Kerfoot (4) for the Bandits and Fiala (1) for the Bison.

Head to the 3rd period… 3:29 Backes (1) scores to make it 2-1…

And despite out-shooting the Bandits 13-6 in the period, the Bison fall at home as the Bandits win the game 2-1 and the series 4-1.

Series Summary: A closer series than the 4-1 series win would indicate. Keeping Rakell to 1 goal and Giroux and Kane to 0 goals each might have been the key.

The Bandits look forward to playing either Jagr or NJ…