Go Fish : Bulldogs outlast Steelheads
Brantford, ON – The Steelheads came out flying, but the Bulldogs offence prevailed 7-4.
The Bulldogs came out flying with two high-quality scoring chances, but Jacob Gibbons was there to shut the door.
Brampton came up with a chance of their own when Kieran Witkowski found Jack Van Volsen in the slot, but he was denied by David Egorov.
The Trout continued to build pressure before they broke through with twelve minutes to play in the first. Kieran Witkowski fired a breakout pass to Jack Van Volsen, who tapped it for a streaking Luke Misa. The Calgary Flames prospect streaked down the left wing before rifling a shot top shelf on Egorov to give the Steelheads the lead.
With just under 7 minutes to play, the Bulldogs found an equalizer. Patrick Thomas sprung up the middle of the ice before making a nice move around the Steelheads’ defender. The veteran made no mistake, as he beat Gibbons to tie the game at 1-1.
The Steelheads wasted no time regaining the lead, as just over a minute later they restored a one-goal lead. Finn Harding received a drop pass at the blue line from Jack Van Volsen. The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect drew in the defenders before he sauced a feed to the backdoor for Luke Misa. The Steelheads’ all-time assists leader showed off his goalscoring ability when he rifled a one-timer home to give the Trout a 2-1 lead.
It took just a minute and eighteen seconds for Brampton to double their lead. Finn Harding picked up the puck along the board in the Steelheads zone, and he took it for a skate. Harding weaved his way through three Bulldogs defenders before wrapping around the net to give the Trout a two-goal lead.
The Steelheads were not done yet, as they added another goal just two minutes later. After a negated icing, Kieran Witkowski battled two Bulldogs defenders. His battle allowed Luke Misa to grab the loose puck and send it to Mason Zebeski in the slot who roofed it on the backhand to extend the lead to 4-1.
In the second period, Brantford began to claw back at the Steelheads’ lead.
When Mason Zebeski was called for a hold, Patrick Thomas answered back for the Bulldogs. Nick Lardis cut through the middle of the ice before pulling off a between-the-legs shot on Jacob Gibbons. Lardis’ attempt bounced to the goal line where Thomas jammed it home to make it 4-2.
Exactly five minutes after the Thomas marker, Joshua Avery scored to cut the Brampton lead in half. Jake O’Brien forced a turnover on the forecheck before spinning a feed past five bodies on its way to Joshua Avery. The sophomore forward quickly whipped a shot past Gibbons to make it 4-3.
The Bulldogs completed the comeback with just over six minutes to play in the second period. After setting up the Avery goal, Jake O’Brien deflected Lucas Moore’s point shot past Gibbons to tie the game at 4-4.
Both teams traded chances at the start of the third period, as they knew it would be a pivotal tally.
The Bulldogs would find the tiebreaker on the power play after Spencer Sova was called for a cross-check. Nick Lardis deked into the zone before playing catch with Tomas Hamara. Lardis lasered the return feed past Gibbons to give Brantford their first lead of the night.
Brampton pressed to tie the game when Owen Protz was called for checking from behind, but they were unable to capitalize.
The Bulldogs headed to back-to-back power plays of their own when Reed Gee and Finn Harding were called for infractions. The Steelheads were able to kill off the first of the man advantages, but they could not contain the dangerous unit for a second time. Cole Brown wired a shot off Gibbons, but the puck bounced back into the slot. Jake O’Brien quickly jumped on the rebound, and hammered it home to double the lead.
Brantford would add one more insurance marker, as when the Trout pulled their goalie, Marek Vanacker launched a shot into the empty cage to reach a final score of 7-4.
The Steelheads are back in action this Friday for their Christmas game. Grab your tickets here.
