TESTA & MALHOTRA STRIKE FOR A PAIR IN 6-2 GAME 1 WIN
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. The Brantford Bulldogs stage is set as they kicked off their playoff journey Friday night, skating into a packed crowd at the TD Civic Centre as the Eastern Conference’s top seed played host to the 8th seed Sudbury Wolves in Game 1 of their first-round matchup.
The Wolves came out with early pressure, as Artem Gonchar looked to drive a chance up ice, but Adam Jiricek stepped in with a key defensive block. Going the other way, Caleb Malhotra tried to spark the crowd, firing a drive on goal, but Wolves netminder Paolo Frasca came up with the stop. The physicality began to build as Jiricek delivered a heavy hit on Blake Clayton, setting the tone early. Sudbury continued to push for the opening goal, with Jan Chovan driving a chance on net, but Ryerson Leenders turned it aside with a blocker save. Moments later, Owen Protz rushed into the zone with Adam Benak alongside him, electing to take the shot himself before the rebound popped out to Benak at the top of the crease, but Frasca denied him as well. The Bulldogs earned their first power play of the night and looked to capitalize, as Jake O’Brien connected with Benak, but Frasca got his stick across to disrupt a backdoor opportunity for Marek Vanacker. Brantford would break through at 15:01. After Charlie Paquette won the faceoff cleanly, the puck was worked back to Vladimir Dravecky, who found Cooper Dennis, and he fired a shot bar down to open the scoring with the Bulldogs’ first goal of the playoffs. Brantford kept the pressure on and doubled their lead at 18:44. Charlie Paquette set up Ben Danford at the point, who teed up a shot that Luca Testa redirected on the doorstep, lifting it over Frasca to make it 2-0. After 20 minutes of play, the Bulldogs headed to the intermission holding a 2-0 lead over the Sudbury Wolves, while also carrying a 12-5 advantage on the shot clock.
The Wolves looked to chip away at the Bulldogs lead early in the frame, as Blake Clayton came in with Chase Coughlan on a rush, but Owen Protz shut it down with a strong defensive play while Ryerson Leenders kicked the puck aside. Brantford pushed back the other way, with Jett Luchanko trying to set up Cooper Dennis but the chance was turned aside by netminder Frasca. The Bulldogs headed to the man advantage, where Sudbury created a shorthanded look with Henderson breaking in alone, but Leenders came up with the stop to keep the three-goal cushion intact. Brantford would make them pay shortly after, capitalizing at 3:58 to extend the lead to 3-0. Adam Benak fired a shot on goal, with Marek Vanacker battling to dig out the rebound and sliding it over to Caleb Malhotra, who made no mistake, slipping it past Frasca. Brantford continued to press on another power-play opportunity, and in the final moments, Edison Engle drove hard to the net but rang his attempt off the post as the Wolves managed to kill it off. Sudbury then went to their first power play of the night and found a response at 10:39. Artem Gonchar kept the puck in at the line and worked it over to Adam Nemec, who set up Daniel Berehowsky on the doorstep to finish and cut the lead to 3-1. The Wolves looked to build momentum with another opportunity, as Genc Ula generated a chance in close, but Leenders tracked it down and made the glove save to keep Brantford in control. The Wolves headed to the man advantage late in the frame, but the Bulldogs turned it into a shorthanded opportunity as Caleb Malhotra and Charlie Paquette broke out on a rush. Malhotra got a shot off, but Paolo Frasca came up with the stop to keep Sudbury within reach. After 40 minutes of play, the Bulldogs headed to the intermission holding a 3-1 lead over the Wolves.
Ben Danford looked to extend the Bulldogs lead early in the final frame, firing a long drive on goal, but Wolves netminder Paolo Frasca came up with another strong stop. Moments later, Jake O’Brien danced through the Sudbury zone and tried to connect with Marek Vanacker, but Frasca shut the door once again. Caleb Malhotra followed up with a drive of his own and chased down the rebound but was denied on the second effort. The Wolves cut into the lead at 8:01, as Jean-Cristoph Lemieux found Hudson Chitaroni on the doorstep, and he slipped it past Ryerson Leenders to make it a 3-2 game. Brantford looked to respond, with Adam Benak firing from the right circle, and the rebound bouncing out to Marek Vanacker in front, but Frasca came up with another key save. Moments later, Benak was awarded a penalty shot and made no mistake, wiring it top shelf over the shoulder of Frasca to restore the Bulldogs’ two-goal cushion. The Bulldogs pulled away late in the frame, adding another at 16:43. Caleb Malhotra rushed into the zone and snapped a shot top shelf for his second of the game, making it 5-2. Brantford wasn’t done there, striking again at 17:36, as Charlie Paquette wrapped the puck around and found Luca Testa, who buried his second of the night to seal a 6-2 victory. With the win, the Bulldogs take a 1-0 series lead over the Sudbury Wolves.
The Brantford Bulldogs will look to hold home ice on Sunday, March 29, when they host the Sudbury Wolves at the TD Civic Centre in Game 2 of this Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. Puck drop set for 4 p.m.
