Brooks Bandits and Spruce Grove Saints battle again in AJHL final

If there's one thing you can almost guarantee over the last 12 years in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, it's that either the Brooks Bandits or the Spruce Grove Saints will skate away with the league title.

The Bandits have been in the championship series six times since 2010 and have raised the trophy five times.

The Saints have played in eight finals since 2010 and also have five championships under their belts. 

Once again this year it will be the Bandits facing off against the Saints, the series opens up on Friday night in Brooks.

Ethan Lund is from Calgary and is the Captain of the Bandits. He says even though the two teams don't face each other much in the regular season, it's become quite the rivalry.

"It was pretty neat this year because we got to play them in the showcase so it kind of added to the game," the 21-year-old said.

"Usually you only play the north team two times so we've had the three games already. We're very familiar with them but I think just the rivalry and the history is pretty neat."

LIKE A GRUDGE MATCH

With each team winning five titles since 2010, this is almost like a grudge match.

Forward Devin Phillips, who put up 23 goals and 68 assists for 91 points this season, says the Bandits want this one bad.

"Yeah, obviously it's two great teams," the 20-year-old said.

"They've been going at it for 10 years and it five to five in the series so we'd like to get that sixth one to kind of jump ahead which would be awesome and I think we have the team to do it."

FIRST TIME IN AJHL PLAYOFFS

Even though this is Phillips third year with the Bandits, it's his first year competing in the AJHL playoffs and playing in the championship final.

He says he's been leaning on some of the veterans on the team to help get him prepared.

"Just talked to Lundy (Ethan Lund) and we definitely go look for him. Him and (Goaltender Ethan) Barwick have been part of a playoff series like this before so we definitely ask them a bit since it's our first playoffs, so they definitely do a great job of helping us with that."

CAPTAIN LUND CONFIDENT IN HIS TEAM

Lund won the 2019 AJHL Championship when the Bandits beat the Saints in the league final. He says he's confident the Bandits can also get the job done in 2022.

"I think we have tremendous upside offensively and I think if we lock down defensively we should be good to go to let our all stars go and score some goals for us.  It will be interesting.  It will be a battle but I think we're up for the task."

Here's a look at the times and dates for the AJHL final series:

• Friday, April 29 at Brooks, 7 p.m.
• Saturday, April 30 at Brooks, 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 3 at Spruce Grove, 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 4 at Spruce Grove, 7 p.m.
• Saturday, May 7 at Brooks, 7 p.m. (if necessary)
• Tuesday, May 10 at Spruce Grove 7 p.m. (if necessary)
• Friday, May 13 at Brooks 7 p.m. (if necessary)