LEENDERS DEINES 35 IN GUTSY DEFEAT TO FRONTS
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. Closing out Renway Retro Weekend on home ice, the Brantford Bulldogs played their 3rd game in nights on Saturday, hosting the Kingston Frontenacs. Entering the game, the Bulldogs had posted a sterling 5-0-1 mark across their last six but would be challenged in depth having lost Noah Roberts, Luca Testa, Dylan Tsherna & Parker Holmes to injuries over the first two games of the weekend.
Braeden O’Keefe made his return to the Bulldogs for Saturday’s game to shore up for the forward group, having recorded 36 points in 25 games for the Niagara Falls Canucks of the OJHL. The Bulldogs got the start they wanted in the opening frame with Tomas Hamara taking an offensive zone d-to-d pass from Owen Protz and locating Nick Lardis on the right side. Lardis went for a tour of the offensive zone, swooping around back of the Kingston net and wrapping in his co-league leading 23rd of the season to give the hosts the 1-0 lead at 10:25. Before the Bulldogs could make it out of the opening frame the Frontenacs countered, at 16:06, Cal Uens collected his 1st of the season from Tuomas Uronen & Ben Pickell to knot the game up 1-1 through 20.
Ryerson Leenders was the story of the middle frame. Giving the Bulldogs his 3rd extraordinary start in the past week, Leenders denied all 17 shots he faced in the middle frame as the weekend schedule and attrition clearly began to catch up with the Bulldogs. Leenders was called on time and again to deny the likes of Jacob Battaglia, Gage Heyes and Cedrick Guindon who each recorded a handful shots in the frame, testing but not cracking the Bulldogs goaltender. While Leenders did his level best to keep the Bulldogs in the game, Mason Vaccari was quiet and efficient stopping 9 of the 10 shots that came his way through 40 minutes, assuring the game hit the final frame tied 1-1.
Leenders was the story again in the final period, giving the Bulldogs every opportunity to pull ahead, while Mason Vaccari was at his busiest, stopping 11 shots in the final frame, the Bulldogs largest period outburst of the night. Lardis, Protz & Hamara led the way launching a pair each in the final frame, Vaccari held strong. The Frontenacs finally found a way through Leenders to take the lead at 7:40 when Ethan Miedema converted a Gage Heyes set-up for his 11th of the season and the visitors wouldn’t look back. Jacob Battaglia collected his 15th and Cedrick Guindon his 13th, depositing into empty nets at 18:07 & 19:35 to assure the Fronts a 4-1 victory, halting the Bulldogs at 4 of a possible 6 points over the weekend.
The Brantford Bulldogs return to action on Friday, November 29th when they take on the Oshawa Generals at the Tribute Communities Centre for a 7:00pm puck drop.
