LARDIS HAT-TRICK LEAVES SARNIA STUNG IN WEDNESDAY WIN
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. On Wednesday night, the Brantford Bulldogs closed their 4-game homestand hosting the Sarina Sting for their only visit of the season to the Brantford Civic Centre in the 2024-25 season. Brantford entered the weekend looking for a bounce back effort to even out their homestand before a Thanksgiving weekend road-trip.
The Bulldogs started the opening frame strong with Nick Lardis rifling his 3rd of the season. The goal was set by Patrick Thomas in the right circle off a Calvin Crombie feed finding Lardis at the top of the slot for the shot as Crombie drew the defenders down to the net, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead at 5:26. With just over a minute left in the opening frame, Josh Avery battled the puck along the left wing boards, banking it to Cole Brown who strode through the left circle feeding Luca Testa. Testa faked the initial shot to get a defender to drop to a knee before wristing the puck past the screen for his 1st of the season at 19:22, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 to close the first period.
Beckham Edwards opened the second period, cutting the Bulldogs lead in half. After Ryerson Leenders stopped both Zach Filak & Kaden Johnston on a Sarnia rush, Edwards jumped on a slot rebound for his 5th of the season at 6:23 pulling the Sting within a goal at 2-1. After the Bulldogs successfully killed off a Zachary Lavoie slashing penalty, thanks to Ryerson Leenders holding the door shut, it would be Lavoie who helped add to the lead. Sending the puck across the goal mouth in front of Nick Surzycia, Lavoie found Nick Lardis who returned it back to the left side for Jake O’Brien who piled in his 3rd of the season to restore the two-goal Bulldogs lead at 15:50, which the hosts took to the locker room through 40 minutes.
Early in the third period, the Bulldogs top line went right back to work. After Ben Radley moved the puck to Nick Lardis on the left side of the Sarnia blueline, Lardis dropped the puck deep in the Sarnia zone. Calvin Crombie tore off after the puck, tracking it to the endwall and tossing it back out front to a waiting Lardis whose one-timer beat Surzycia for his 2nd of the game and 4th of the season at 3:30 making it a 4-1 lead. Ladris called on the hats late in the game, at 15:29, as Patrick Thomas, working up the left-wing wall, moved the puck for Calvin Crombie in the circle. Crombie was driving through the circle and pulled defenders towards him, leaving Lardis alone in the circle where the sniper put a picture-perfect shot past Surzycia for his 3rd of the night and 5th of the season. With Lardis’ 4-points and 26 saves from Ryerson Leenders, the Bulldogs closed the homestand with a 5-1 victory over the Sting.
The Brantford Bulldogs will face off against the Ottawa 67’s for the first time this season on Friday, October 11th at TD Place Arena with puck drop slated for 7:00pm.
