After taking both games on home ice to open their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series with a 2-0 lead, the Brantford Bulldogs took to the road for the first time in the post-season with Game 3 taking place on Tuesday night from the Sudbury Community Arena and a chance to take a stranglehold on the series on the line.
The lineup news was mixed entering the night with star defenseman & Toronto Maple Leafs 1st round pick, Ben Danford serving the first of a two-game suspension, but the Bulldogs did receive back the services of both Vladimir Dravecky, who missed Game 2 with illness, and Luca Testa who was forced to leave Game 2 following a mid-ice collision. The opening frame of Game 3 gave the Bulldogs exactly what they wanted to open the road slate of the series. At 4:31, Jake O’Brien stole the puck from a Sudbury defender in the left circle and dealt the puck back to the blueline for an on-rushing Adam Jiricek who collected the puck just above the top of the right circle and rifled a shot over Paolo Frasca for his 1st of the playoffs and a 1-0 Bulldogs lead. Ryerson Leenders only faced a pair of shots in the opening period but made a brilliant save on the first one. With Jean-Cristoph Lemieux feeding across the Bulldogs crease to Adam Nemec, Ryerson Leenders went right to left to make a brilliant sliding glove save, taking away an open goal from Nemec for the second time in the last two-games. Nemec was taken off for his 2nd penalty of the opening frame at 18:29 after lifting the puck up and out of play. The Bulldogs cashed in on the man-advantage at 19:29 with Jake O’Brien knocking down a clearing attempt and sending it to the left circle for Adam Jiricek who hit Caleb Malhotra with a cross-crease dart to record the rookie’s 4th in 3 playoff games and a 2-0 lead going down the tunnel through 20-minutes.
For the rest of the full game recap, check out the Bulldogs Web site.
Story by Reed Duthie
