Bradford, Sanvido lead Beast over Mariners

BRAMPTON, ON – Erik Bradford had a pair of points and Connor Sanvido scored his first career ECHL goal as the Brampton Beast skated by the Maine Mariners 4-1 on Star Wars night.

The Brampton Beast hosted their annual Star Wars game on Saturday night against the Maine Mariners. The icy landscape outside the CAA Centre resembled the ice planet Hoth, which set the stage for a great game.

The first period started with a bang, as Bradford got the scoring started with any early tally. TJ Melancon, making his return from injury, fired from the point and Bradford got a stick and sent it past Maine starter Francois Brassard less than a minute in.

The Beast continued their assault, and Lindsay Sparks was the scorer this time around. He took the pass from Francois Beauchemin and the aforementioned Bradford and tipped it home a for 2-0 Beast lead at 9:03.

Miles Gendron got in on the scoring later in the frame and wired a shot up past Brassard at 16:27 for a 3-0 Beast lead. It was a perfect shot that found the top corner and left the fans cheering in their seats.

Brampton took a 3-0 lead into the intermission and was up in shots 10-7.

The second period was a more defensive effort from both sides as neither team was able to find the twine.

Goaltenders Dubeau and Brassard were excellent when they were called upon and both made some saves to keep the game 3-0 after 40 minutes of play. Shots after two periods were 19-16 in favour of Brampton.

The Beast fought in the third and got a goal off the stick of Sanvido. The former Fort Wayne Komet tapped it into the net past Brassard for his first ECHL goal and a 4-0 Brampton lead at 1:44.

The Mariners struck back and got a goal from Michael McNicholas at 17:51 that broke the shutout bid of goaltender Dubeau. The horn sounded shortly after and the Beast ended the night with a 4-1 win.

Dubeau made 25 saves for his 16th win of the season. Brassard ended the contest with 25 of his own and the loss.

Notes: Molson Three Stars: 3) Sanvido (BRA); 2) Dubeau (BRA); 1) Bradford (BRA)… The Beast and Mariners finished the game scoreless on three combined power play attempts… Brampton will go for the weekend sweep Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.

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