Steelheads kick off season with dominant win against Brantford Bulldogs
Brampton ON – The Steelheads made a statement in their home opener as they beat the Bulldogs 7-0. The Steelheads came into the year ranked as the 2nd best team in the OHL and they showed why, taking care of business against 9th ranked Brantford.
Just under two minutes in, the Trout thought they had the ice breaker when Jack Van Volsen tapped in the rebound, but after a Brantford challenge it was called back for being offside. The Steelheads kept the foot on the gas, outshooting Brantford 8-1 after five.
Brampton found themselves shorthanded following a William Eggleton interference penalty. While shorthanded Carson Rehkopf danced around the Brantford defenceman before he narrowly missed wide.
Brampton and Brantford exchanged penalties when Noah Roberts was caught for a hook, before Porter Martone was called for a high-sticking double-minor.
Fresh out of the box Porter Martone picked up the feed from Finn Harding and rifled it top shelf on former teammate Ryerson Leenders. Who else but the newly appointed captain to pick up the first goal of the inaugural season in Brampton.
The Steelheads came out flying to start the second frame, narrowly missing a second goal. Before drawing a penalty, which was killed off.
Fresh out of the box Cole Brown broke in on a breakaway, where he was denied by Jack Ivankovic to keep the Bulldogs scoreless.
With just under 7 minutes to play Porter Martone broke in on a two on one with Angus MacDonell. Martone waited out the sprawled defender before hitting MacDonell who found the back of the net, to double the lead.
The Steelheads looked for more when Luke Misa sent a pass cross ice for Carson Rehkopf, but his one-timer was denied by Ryerson Leenders.
With Just over a minute left in the frame, Porter Martone snuck a feed up the middle of the ice to spring Spencer Sova on a breakaway. The veteran defenceman showed off his hands, and slipped one five hole on Leenders to extend the lead to 3-0.
The Steelheads started the third on the man advantage following a late penalty to Owen Protz. On the ensuing powerplay Porter Martone found Carson Rehkopf across the crease who fired a one-timer into the empty cage. Martone picked up his fourth point of the night on Rehkopf’s first as a Steelhead.
Tempers flared following a huge hit from Adam Zidlicky, who was then challenged to a fight, resulting in a Steelheads powerplay.
Five minutes later Luke Misa added another goal for the Steelheads, as he picked up the loose puck and wristed it by Leenders to make it 5-0.
Just over a minute later William Eggleton picked up the turnover and roofed it upstairs on Leenders for the Steelheads sixth of the night.
With just under two minutes to play the Trout picked up their 7th and final goal, courtesy of Gabriel Chiarot. Chiarot fired one far side on Leenders to reach the final score of 7-0.
A stellar performance from Porter Martone led the way, but it was a well balanced affair as all seven goals came from different players. The Steelheads look to keep the momentum rolling tomorrow as they travel south to face the Erie Otters for their first road game of the season. You can catch the action at watch.chl.ca!
