GUELPH SPECIAL TEAMS STORM BULLDOGS
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. Looking to shake off a tough luck weekend the Brantford Bulldogs returned to home ice on Wednesday to host the Guelph Storm in their only visit of the season to the Brantford Civic Centre.
The opening period was a battle of the netminders with both David Egorov & Brayden Gillespie turning aside 8 shots apiece in the first 20 minutes. A bit of a scary moment for the Bulldogs in the last minutes of the period, after taking a massive open ice hit from Thomas Budnick just inside the Guelph blueline, Adam Jiricek took one more shift before heading down the tunnel with the Bulldogs training staff and wouldn’t be able to return to the game. With the game in a scoreless tie through 20 minutes of play, each went down their tunnel looking for an offensive answer.
The Storm found their answer first coming 2:08 into the second period with time expiring on an early frame power-play. After gaining the offensive blueline, Daniil Skvortsov gained zone entry on the left-wing side, dropping the puck to the line for Cam Allen. Though Egorov denied Allen’s point shot and the rebound attempt from Carter Stevens, it was the defenseman Skvortsov who reached the puck around Egorov to tuck in his 2nd of the season to give the Storm a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs responded before the frame was out at 17:02. Nick Lardis worked a high cycle with Owen Protz, where Protz carried through the left circle making a spectacular cross ice pass delivering it to Patrick Thomas just off the right circle. Thomas, staring at an open net off the brilliant feed, deposited his 3rd of the season, tying the game 1-1. With David Egorov stopping 14 of 15 in the middle frame and 22 of 23 for the game, the Bulldogs appeared to have picked up the momentum heading to the final period.
The visitors nosed back out front at 8:37, shorthanded. With Nick Lardis attempting zone entry on the left-wing side, Quinn Beauchesne poked the puck loose for Jett Luchanko to carry away on a shorthanded breakaway. With a quick pump fake, Luchanko was able to freeze Egorov, just catching him over the glove for his 1st of the seaon, putting the Storm ahead 2-1. Just under two minutes later on the power-play, Jett Luchanko tossed the puck net front for Vilmer Alriksson who’s initial drive was denied, only for Charlie Paquette to collect the puck right on the doorstep and find the back of the net to give the Storm the 3-1 lead on the team’s third special team goal of the night at 10:15. Though the Bulldogs pulled the net with just over three minutes to go and they compiled chance after chance, with Gillespie coming up with glove saves on Jake O’Brien & Zakary Lavoie, the Bulldogs just weren’t able to crack the Storm crease keeper. The game came to a close with 18 seconds to play with Charlie Paquette hitting the empty net to give Guelph a 4-1 victory and snapping a 9-game losing streak.
The Brantford Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday afternoon for a 4:00pm matinee hosting the Niagara IceDogs for the first time on the season.