The Boston Bandits shook the gate, but could not get it open. The Junior Bruins were able to come away with the 2-0 win, giving them their second shutout in a row, as well as a quarterfinal win in the NCDC playoffs.

Yaniv Perets stopped 36 shots and the Junior Bruins got goals from Mike Brown and Jonny Mulera to earn the victory.

“It feels great. We faced a lot of adversity through the year with ups and downs, but we learned through that,” said Perets, a ‘00 from Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., who is committed to Quinnipiac University. “We played a great two games today and yesterday. I’m happy to move on to finals.”

As strong a performance as Perets had, he gave the full credit to his teammates for helping him out of jams throughout the two-day series, in which the Junior Bruins outscored the Bandits 8-0.

“Our whole team had my back, clearing plays, picking up sticks making sure I could see, staying out of the box,” said Perets. “They did a bunch of stuff that made my job easier. I owe it to all these guys for sure.”

Head coach Mike Anderson certainly praised his whole team for Sunday’s performance, but specifically mentioned the impact Perets made this weekend.

“We wouldn’t be here without Yaniv,” he said. “It’s not just the saves, but the timing of a few that really could have changed the momentum. Those saves made these games a lot different.”

On the goals side, Casey Carreau broke in shorthanded to the Bandits zone in a 2-on-1 formation with Mike Brown, who sent it home for the 1-0 lead at the 8:33 mark of the second.

Less than seven minutes later, Casey Carreau carried the puck from the sideboards to the front of the net, and then Mulera jumped on the loose puck for the 2-0 lead.  

“I’m happy for the guys, and excited and happy that we’re advancing,” said Coach Anderson. “It’s really hard to knock a team out, I don’t care at what point in the playoffs it is. [The Bandits] showed up today, battled hard, and had some decent opportunities late. We got tired late.

“I’m happy we’re moving on,” he added. “We’ll get the guys some rest and get ready for the Cyclones.”

Indeed, the Northern Cyclones pulled off the mammoth 8-over-1 upset last weekend over the New Jersey Hitmen to advance to semifinals.

“We just played them twice last week. They beat us up pretty good at their place, then we got them down here,” said Anderson. “I think it’ll be a very close, competitive series. They play really really hard and physical. They’ve got some guys who can make plays. We’ll have a good week of preparation and be ready to go.”