LEENDERS DENIES 29 AS BULLDOGS SWEEP WEEKEND WITH WIN OVER TROOPS
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. Finishing up a 3-in-3 weekend, the Brantford Bulldogs played host to the North Bay Battalion at the Brantford Civic Centre following back-to-back victories over the east leading Oshawa Generals to open the weekend.
The Bulldogs received the services of Luca Testa back following a one game absence due to illness that prevented the speedy winger from appearing on Saturday, while the Brantford crowd welcomed back Shamar Moses, Lirim Amidovski & Jacob LeBlanc who all helped Team East to a victory in Wednesday’s OHL Top Prospect Game as well as former Bulldog Briir Long for the first time with North Bay. Ryerson Leenders was outstanding in the opening period for the Bulldogs stopping 13 North Bay shots while the Bulldogs got their legs. The Battalion did manage to open the scoring despite Leenders’ strong start on the power-play at 13:59 with a Shamar Moses right point shot, deflected by Battalion captain Ethan Procyszyn crossing the front of the net to stake the visitors to a 1-0 lead. Just 58-seconds later the Bulldogs found the response, Dylan Tsherna exchanged on the right-wing attack side with Aiden O’Donnell who found Tomas Hamara at the left point. Cutting in past the first defender to the slot, Hamara drifted back left into a shooting lane striking his shot off the crossbar and post before landing in McIvor’s goal for his 5th of the season sending the game to the intermission knotted 1-1.
Ryerson Leenders was brilliant again in the middle frame, opening the period with sprawling stop on Briir Long that forced the Bulldogs netminder to split across the crease to keep the puck out his net. Off the tremendous work by their netminder the Bulldogs jumped out to their first lead of the game at 9:48. Owen Protz lifted the puck out of the Brantford zone, where Josh Avery pushed it forward through neutral ice and slid it to the right over the blueline to Nick Lardis who pulled back and forced McIvor to commit before beating him over his blocker hand for his 37th of the season and a 2-1 Bulldogs lead. Leenders 21 saves through 40 minutes assured the Dogs carried the lead down the tunnel and to the third.
The final frame saw the Bulldogs turn aside a late push from the Battalion who piled 8 shots onto Ryerson Leenders including a point-blank opportunity from Andrew LeBlanc right at the bottom of the slot that the Bulldogs net minder captured to keep the hosts in the lead. With Leenders turning aside 29 of the 30 he faced, Nick Lardis’ 2nd period marker held up as the winner with the Bulldogs taking a 2-1 victory and sweeping the weekend collecting 6 points.
The Brantford Bulldogs return to action on Wednesday night, January 22nd, hosting the Niagara IceDogs with a 7:00pm puck drop.