PURDELLER POWERS PETES PAST BULLDOGS
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. The Brantford Bulldogs played host to the defending OHL champion, Peterborough Petes on Friday for their second home game of the season in a matchup of the past two J. Ross Robertson Cup winners.
The opening frame was all Petes. With his 3rd goal of the season and the Petes’ first goal of the game, Braydon McCallum scored at 4:43 coming off of a miscue at the Peterborough blueline. Then on the power play at 6:14 the Petes doubled the lead through a goal by Tommy Purdeller, his 2nd of the season, coming on the rebound of a Chase Lefebvre shot off the pads of Matteo Drobac. The Petes tripled the lead on Konnor Smith’s 1st of the season, assisted by Purdeller & Lefebvre at 11:42 giving the visitors a 3-0 lead and chasing Matteo Drobac. Despite a 5-on-3 opportunity for the Bulldogs, the Petes turned the table just after returning to 5-on-4 as Carson Cameron scored his 1st OHL goal at 15:59 shorthanded, on David Egorov, giving the Petes a 4-0 to carry the locker room after the opening 20 minutes.
In the middle frame, Nick Lardis started a bit of momentum with a great shot opportunity that Liam Sztuska turned aside. Feeding off the momentum and on the power-play, Ben Bujold found Luca Testa in the left circle, in his first game back from injury, where Testa whipped a shot over Sztuska’s glove for his 1st of the year at 4:32. The Petes had a chance to answer right back with a 2-on-1, but David Egorov split across the goal mouth to deny the opportunity. After a Quinton Page goal was disallowed for a high-stick the Bulldogs cut into the lead again. Cole Brown, just after a Bulldogs power-play expired, strode down the left side and rifled a bullet over Sztuska’s glove for his 2nd of the season at 17:01 pulling the Bulldogs to within a pair by the time the middle frame expired.
The Petes recovered quickly in the final frame with former Bulldog Jonathan Melee scoring the Petes 5th of the game with on one-timer from the left circle at 3:16 to re-establish the 3-goal lead. At 6:44 Owen Beck extended the lead back to 4 recording his 1st of the season on a breakaway and giving the Petes a 6-2 lead. The Bulldogs managed to claw one back with Braeden O’Keefe stealing a puck off the right-wing boards, setting Noah Van Vilet crashing down from the left point at 14:03 for the big defender’s 1st of the year. The scoring came to a close however at 14:23 as Tommy Purdeller iced it for the Petes, as the 2023 OHL Champions skated away with a 7-3 victory in the first half of the home & home.
The Brantford Bulldogs return to action tomorrow night, October 14th facing the Peterborough Petes at the legendary PMC with puck drop at 7:05PM.
