LARDIS, BROWN & VANACKER EACH SCORE A HAT-TRICK IN 10 GOAL OUTBURST
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. It was a special night at the Brantford Civic Centre on Friday as the Brantford Bulldogs played host to the Niagara IceDogs with new team owner Zach Hyman taking in his first game at the renown “Madhouse on Market”.
The hosts didn’t take long to get their offensive rhythm when, at 5:46, Owen Protz held the puck in at the left point playing down the wall for Nick Lardis who collected the puck and beat a defender, tucking the puck through his own skates and cutting into the left circle. Lardis navigated across the front of the net, pulling the puck to his backhand and tossing a shot over Owen Flores’ shoulder and under the bar to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead on his 53rd of the season. The CHL’s leading goal-scorer wasted little time doubling up. Cole Brown, from high on the left side, played to Patrick Thomas attacking towards the slot and found Nick Lardis just inside the right circle. Lardis danced through an IceDogs defender and whipped a shot inside the post for his 2nd goal of the night and 54th of the season, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead at 8:16. The Brantford offense continued its strong opening frame at 12:14 on the power-play with Patrick Thomas low on the right side splitting the four Niagara penalty killers on a cross-ice feed for Jake O’Brien skating into the right circle. Quickly twisting the puck back to the net front, O’Brien connected on the doorstep with Marek Vanacker who converted the tap in for his 15th of the season and pulling the Bulldogs to a 3-0 lead. The first period onslaught wasn’t done yet with Jake O’Brien winning a face-off back to Lucas Moore who hit Marek Vanacker in the right circle where the Chicago Blackhawks 1st round pick in 2024 rifled a shot over Owen Flores left shoulder and off the back bar, recording his 2nd of the game and 16th of the season at 13:57, marking the end of the night for Owen Flores & marking the entrance of Matthew Humphries, and sending the Bulldogs to the intermission up 4-0.
The IceDogs opened the middle frame on the power-play and found a little life. After Ryerson Leenders stopped all 15 he faced in the opening period, Kevin He set Jack Brauti at the middle of the blueline for a one-timer through a screen that found its way to the back of the Bulldogs net at 0:26 but would be the last offense on the night for the visitors. On the man advantage at 5:30, Jake O’Brien again connected with Patrick Thomas with the Bulldogs captain on this occasion collecting the puck at his skate just off of the right post and delivered it to Cole Brown for a tap-in for Brown’s 22nd of the season and a 5-1 Bulldogs lead. With time running down in the middle frame, the Bulldogs set up a high cycle with Marek Vanacker in the middle of the blueline tossing left for Thomas Budnick charging off the left side. The defenseman carried around back of the IceDogs goal and set a pass to the net front for Jake O’Brien who split the wickets on Matthew Humphries for his 27th of the season and a 6-1 Bulldogs lead at 17:51.
With the Bulldogs running way ahead and Ryerson Leenders stopping 31 of 32 through 40-minutes, Niagara began to show their frustration in the final frame, leading to a series of Bulldogs power-play opportunities. At 8:56, with a 4-on-4 expiring, Aiden O’Donnell collected the puck in the left corner of the Bulldogs zone and caught Cole Brown coming out of the penalty box, sending Brown on a breakaway. With a fake to the backhand, Brown beat Humphries back to the near post on the forehand to collect his 2nd of the game and 23rd of the season giving the hosts a 7-1 lead. The power-play stayed white hot at 10:34 with Jake O’Brien playing high for Tomas Hamara who sent it on for Nick Lardis to hammer home for his 55th of the season, finishing off his hat-trick on the Bulldogs 8th of the night. Cole Brown was next to call on the hats at 12:24 with Nick Lardis and Patrick Thomas combining to set the Devils prospect net front for his 24th of the season and hat-trick goal giving the Bulldogs a 9-1 lead. Before it was over, at 13:40, the Bulldogs man-advantage collected it’s 6th of the game with Noah Nelson laying the puck out high for Thomas Budnick who fired to the front of the Niagara goal where Marek Vanacker tipped the point drive past Humphries for his 17th of the season, finishing off a Bulldogs record 3 hat-tricks in a single game in collecting a 10-1 win.
The Brantford Bulldogs will finish a home and home with the Niagara IceDogs on Sunday, February 16th with a 2:00pm start time at Merdian Centre in St. Catharines.
