It has been a season of unexpected things for the Brooks Bandits.

The first was finishing the regular season ranked as the Canadian Junior Hockey League乌鸦传媒檚 No. 1 team with 51 wins.

乌鸦传媒淚 think our group came together real quickly. I think we learned our style of play much faster than our staff thought we would,乌鸦传媒� said Bandits head coach-GM Ryan Papaioannou, whose team captured the Alberta Junior Hockey League championship after sweeping the Whitecourt Wolverines.

The Bandits were the top team in the AJHL from start to finish, capturing the regular season title with a record for 106 points. They also led the AJHL with most goals for and fewest goals against. By defeating the Wolverines early last week for their second consecutive AJHL championship, their fourth in , they punched their ticket into the 2017 Western Canada Cup being hosted in Penticton.

乌鸦传媒淚t was different than expected. We had a heck of a lot of respect for Whitecourt and their staff and their players,乌鸦传媒� he said. We didn乌鸦传媒檛 expect to win it in a sweep. I think we had a really great Game 1, which maybe surprised them a little bit. The next three games were really tight. We played good hockey without the puck.

乌鸦传媒淚 think it乌鸦传媒檚 exciting. We have 17 players (12 are rookies) on our roster that are new from last season,乌鸦传媒� said Papaioannou, who is in his eighth season behind the Bandits bench. 乌鸦传媒淚 think for those guys it乌鸦传媒檚 exciting to win their first championship. I think for our returning players maybe a little unexpected just in terms of that turnover.乌鸦传媒�

The Bandits are an offensive team that also focuses on defence and strong goaltending. Mitchel Benson was third in the CJHL with a 1.73 goals against average and .929 save percentage with 36 wins. The defence likes to get involved in offence and they are able to roll four lines.

乌鸦传媒淲e had a lot of good contributions from our returning players,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淚 think that was a big key. The guys that came back, definitely carried the culture forward and they made a huge impact on our new players.乌鸦传媒�

The returning group includes defencemen Charlie Marchand (committed to Bentley University, National Collegiate Athletic Association Div. 1), Joe O乌鸦传媒機onnor (committed to Quinnipiac, NCAA Div. 1) and Cale Makar (committed to Massachusetts, NCAA Div.1 ), who racked up 24 goals and 75 points in 54 games and at forward, Tyrell Mappin, who led the team with 90 points in 56 regular season games, Josh McKechney (committed to Colgate University, NCAA Div. 1) and racked up 51 assists and 67 points in 60 regular season games, Parker Foo (committed to Union College, NCAA Div. 1), and Nick Prkusic (committed to Robert Morris University, NCAA Div. 1). He put up 58 points in 42 games.

When it comes to the , Papaioannou said it isn乌鸦传媒檛 necessarily about competing for that championship. It乌鸦传媒檚 about competing for one of the two RBC Cup berths.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 our third time at the WCC so I think we乌鸦传媒檝e learned that we don乌鸦传媒檛 need to be the best team all week long,乌鸦传媒� said Papaioannou, whose team will play the Penticton Vees on April 30 at 7 p.m. in the South Okanagan Events Centre. 乌鸦传媒淲e just need to be the best team come the weekend. We need to be good enough to get to the weekend. That乌鸦传媒檚 where we need to play our best hockey. It乌鸦传媒檚 exciting to play against other champions and regardless of Chilliwack and Penticton, either one of them could be a champion. It乌鸦传媒檚 going to be five real quality teams.乌鸦传媒�

Last year the Bandits advanced to the RBC Cup national championship, before losing out in the semifinal.