THOMAS & LARDIS COMBINE FOR OVERTIME WINNER AGAINST PESKY PETES
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. On the heels of their most consequential victory of the season over the Oshawa Generals on Friday night, the Brantford Bulldogs returned to action on Saturday night squaring off with a Peterborough Petes team that has battled the Bulldogs to four one-goal games in five previous meetings.
Both the Bulldogs & Petes entered Saturday night without large pieces of each lineup, with the Petes beginning the game with 11 forwards and 6 defensemen while the Bulldogs were down to 10 forwards and 6 defensemen due to the late scratch of Nikolas Rossetto who was listed as day to day. As they did the night before, the Bulldogs struck first with Thomas Budnick shuttling the puck along the blueline for a drive from Niko Krmpotic. Easton Rye made the initial stop, but Calvin Crombie was right on the doorstep, fighting through a check to knock the puck past Rye and into the Petes goal for his 4th of the season at 5:21, giving the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead. Rye was brilliant in the first period, denying Nick Lardis and Patrick Thomas on incredible split saves across the Petes net and Tomas Hamara on a penalty shot, but the Bulldogs would add to the lead before the opening stanza expired. On the power-play at 16:12, Tomas Hamara moved the puck from the middle of the line into the left circle for Jake O’Brien, working towards the bottom of the circle and towards the net, O’Brien made a perfect pass to the front of the Peterborough goal to an awaiting Patrick Thomas who planted his stick on the ice and shovelled the puck into the Petes net to take a 2-0 lead on his 25th of the season.
The middle frame opened with the Petes striking back, playing in his 200th career game and in front of friends & family, Gavin Bryant won a left-wing attacking draw to Brennan Faulkner who tossed it to the left point for Martin Matejicek. Sending a looping shot through a crowd in the slot, the puck appeared to deflect off a leg before tumbling past Ryerson Leenders for the import defenseman’s 11th of the season at 8:05, cutting the Bulldogs lead in half. With time winding down in the middle frame, the Bulldogs re-established the two-goal lead once again on the power-play. Lucas Moore circled at the top of the left circle, dropping the puck onto Jake O’Brien who tossed a saucer pass across the front of the net with perfect weight to land for Patrick Thomas once again. Thomas was able to deflect the puck past Rye once more to garner his 2nd of the night and 26th of the season to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead at 18:10. Moments later, at 18:32, play was called to a halt with the officials deeming Thomas Budnick had speared a Petes player behind the play, though the review was inconclusive the initial call stood with Budnick reciving a 5-minute major and game misconduct.
The Bulldogs managed to kill off more than three of the five-minute major before the Petes offense was able to cut the lead in half once more. At 1:38, Gavin Bryant set Quinton Page for a shot that rocketed past Leenders on Page’s 8th of the season to pull the Petes back to within a goal at 3-2. Leenders & Rye were brilliant through the balance of the third period with both netminders turning aside grade A opportunities leading the game into its final minute. With Rye on the Peterborough bench, Caden Taylor set Brady Stonehouse in the high slot to rifle a drive through a screen and past Leenders, tying the game at 19:01 and leading to overtime.
In the extra frame, Rye was called upon to deny a back door feed from Jake O’Brien to Marek Vanacker but the Bulldogs wouldn’t be denied. Past the halfway point of the extra session, Jake O’Brien laid the puck for Patrick Thomas darting up the right-wing. Crossing into the offensive zone, Thomas dropped the puck for Nick Lardis and drove the front of the net. Lardis took the space behind the captain and strode down the slot, firing far side and notching his 66th of the season to lead the Bulldogs past the Petes with a 4-3 overtime victory.
The Branford Bulldogs return to action on Wednesday night, March 5th, hosting the London Knights in their only visit of the season to the Brantford Civic Centre with a 7:00pm puck drop.
