OHL PLAYOFFS RETURN TO BRANTFORD; BULLDOGS VS 67S
When the Brantford Bulldogs hit the ice on March 29th to host Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchup with the Ottawa 67’s, it will mark the first time in 40 years that the City of Brantford and the Brantford Civic Centre have hosted OHL Playoff Hockey.
Marking the return will be the third time in franchise history that the Bulldogs and 67’s have met in the opening round of the playoffs. In 2018, the Bulldogs took 5 games to eliminate a young, upstart 67’s side on their way to the franchise’s first OHL Championship. The 67’s returned the favour the following year, knocking off the defending, and injury depleted, champions in a 4-game sweep on their way to capturing the Bobby Orr Trophy.
The 2023-24 season series broke for the Bulldogs carrying a 3-0-0-1 record, capturing 7 of a possible 8 points, though the teams finished just 5 points, Brantford (85) & Ottawa (80), apart in the standings.
The first meeting of the season came on November 17th in Ottawa, a tight affair that saw Matteo Drobac stop 31 of 32 in a brilliant performance and Florian Xhekaj lead the way offensively potting both Bulldogs goals in a 2-1 win at the Arena at TD Place.
The 67’s got a measure of revenge on January 12th when the teams met again immediately following the trade deadline. The Bulldogs opened the scoring on home ice with Zakary Lavoie potting his 1st as a Bulldog but Will Gerrior, Brad Gardiner & Luca Pinelli scored in succession to post the visitors to a 3-1 lead. Lavoie cut back in, making a great first impression in black & gold with his 2nd of the game but was quickly countered Luca Pinelli putting the 67’s back up by two through 40 minutes. Lucas Moore and Luca Testa scored back-to-back to open the third period tying the game at 4-4 before Chris Barlas struck at 11:24 to give Ottawa a 5-4 advantage. With just 13-seconds to go another newcomer for the Bulldogs, Daniil Sobolev rocketed his 1st in his new home to tie the game and force overtime. Needing a shootout to solve the extra point, it was Nic Whitehead who gave the game to the 67’s.
The game on January 12th marked the last appearance of the regular season for Nick Lardis, while Tomas Hamara & Cedricsson Okitundu had their regular season’s come to an end within just a couple weeks.
The Bulldogs pressed on with youth being served and when the teams met for the third time at the Brantford Civic Centre on March 16th, the hosts flipped the script. The 67’s opened one goal leads twice in the first period through Luca Pinelli & Jacob Maillet only to be equalized on both occasions, first by Daniil Sobolev and again by Luca Testa. A tight second period led to a third the Bulldogs took control of. Marek Vanacker continued his 2nd half dominance giving the Bulldogs a lead that was doubled by Ben Bujold and with Patrick Thomas striking the empty net, the Bulldogs took a 5-2 victory and assured a season series victory.
When the teams met for the final time on March 24th for the final game of the season, both had secured playoff spots but while Ottawa was cemented into the 6th seed, the Bulldogs were playing for home ice advantage. Again, it was the 67’s who struck to open the game, with Cooper Foster staking the hosts to the lead. From that point on it was the Florian Xhekaj show! Scoring two goals and adding 3 assists, Xhekaj was in on all 5 Bulldogs goals in a 5-1 win to secure home ice advantage to open the playoffs. In addition to Xhekaj’s heroics, Jake O’Brien’s first period power-play goal assured him the OHL Rookie Scoring Championship.
Top Dogs: Marek Vanacker led the Bulldogs in both goals (36) & points (82)…Florian Xhekaj (34) & Zakary Lavoie (31) followed closely in goals, with Lavoie scoring 18 in just 31 games as a Bulldog…Nick Lardis was on a torrid pace before injury scoring 29 goals in 37 games…Rookie wizard Jake O’Brien led the Bulldogs in assists (51)…Vanacker (46) & Thomas (45) followed closely…Matteo Drobac set franchise records for career wins, saves, shots faced, games & minutes played…Captain Lawson Sherk became the 2nd Bulldog to play in 250 games.
Between the Barber Poles: Captain Luca Pinelli led the 67’s in both goals (48) & points (82)…Braeden Kressler (28), Will Gerrior (26), Samuel Mayer (21), Cooper Foster (21) & Brady Stonehouse (20) each topped 20 goals…Sophomore defenseman Henry Mews led the 67’s defense in points (61) and team in assists (46).
As we start the 2024 OHL Playoffs we are asking all our fans to wear white for our playoff games. White Out T-Shirts will be available for purchase at the game Friday, along with a round 1 discount on white jerseys. (in-game only). Let’s show #WeAreBrantford and White
Out the Civic Centre.