WOLVES’ KRAWCHUK LEADS THE PACK PAST DOGS IN 3-1 FINAL
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. Country Weekend closed for the Brantford Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon with a matinee visit from the Sudbury Wolves. Saturday’s contest opened the season series between the two sides, which was a home heavy series in the 2023-24 season, with each team winning both meetings on home ice.
David Egorov opened the contest with a spectacular split toe save following a scramble at the top of the slot in the Bulldogs zone. The visitors hit the scoreboard first at 11:55 as Noah Roberts, retrieving the puck, caught an edge on the end boards allowing Alex Pharand to pull the puck loose and center it for Hudson Chitaroni who had it knocked off his stick but fell for Tayjon Street to record his 1st OHL goal giving the Wolves a 1-0 lead. With just 11 shots between the team through 20 minutes, the Wolves took the 1-0 lead to the locker room.
The second period belonged to Nate Krawchuk in the Wolves crease and David Egorov manning the pipes for the Bulldogs. Krawchuk turned aside 10 Brantford opportunities in the frame, while Egorov denied 7 Wolves attempts. Both teams had to kill off back-to-back minor penalties in the opening 10-minutes of the periods and did so successfully. David Egorov made save of the frame, kicking aside a Quinten Musty drive that changed direction on the way through, dragging his pad while hitting the splits to keep the Bulldogs within a goal.
The Wolves added to their lead just 1:28 into the third period. With the line of O’Brien, Brown & Lavoie trying to work forward in neutral ice, an Owen Protz clearing attempt was deflected by Nathan Villenueve, who drove the front of the net as Kieron Walton dropped the puck on the right side for Alex Pharand, whose initial shot was blocked only for Villeneuve to bat in the rebound for his 4th of the season. The Bulldogs answered back at 2:36 with Noah Nelson winning a left circle draw forward towards the Wolves goal. Nikolas Rossetto collected the puck next to the goal having his first shot denied by Krawchuk and gathering his own rebound to bank it off the Wolves goaltender for his 2nd of the season pulling the hosts back to within a goal at 2-1. The Bulldogs momentum was haulted at 10:35 when Chase Coughlan batted the puck off neutral ice glass, landing forward for Lucas Di Giantomasso in a 2-on-1 with Ondrej Molnar, setting the Slovakian import for his 1st with the Wolves to take a 3-1 lead. With 24 saves on 25 shots, Nate Krawchuk earned the Wovles the pair of points holding onto the 3-1 win at the buzzer.
The Brantford Bulldogs return to action on Sunday, November 3rd, making their first visit of the season to the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa for a 6:05pm puck drop against the Generals.
