Following their victory in Game 3 to take back home ice advantage in their Eastern Conference Final, the Brantford Bulldogs entered Game 4 on Thursday night at Sadlon Arena looking for much the same effort as they looked to take a 3-1 stranglehold on the series.
The Bulldogs got on the front foot early in the game, at 4:41, Edison Engle wrapped the puck around the end boards where Caleb Malhotra forced an end wall scrum in the offensive zone with multiple Colts defenders. Charlie Paquette pulled the puck from the pile and dealt it to the low slot where Cooper Dennis darted through to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead on his 3rd of the playoffs. Ryerson Leenders picked up where he left off in Game 3, denying a Kashawn Aitcheson shot that was deflected on the way to the net to keep the Bulldogs ahead. The lead bubbled on the power-play at 10:25, Adam Jiricek played low for Marek Vanacker who kept the puck through a battle and set it for Adam Benak in the right circle. Benak walked through the circle to the hashmarks before darting a shot over Hrebik for his 3rd of the postseason and a 2-0 Bulldogs lead. The lead was built further under a minute later with Caleb Malhotra forcing an errant pass from Kashawn Aitcheson in the offensive zone. Cooper Dennis collected the puck and set it low for Malhotra who drew Hrebik in before sending it across the face of goal to Charlie Paquette who again went over top of a sprawling Hrebik to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead at 11:17. Before the period was out, Ryerson Leenders got some help on the PK with Adam Jiricek knocking a rolling puck away from the goal line while Zack Sandhu put body on the line to block an Aitcheson one timer, keeping the Bulldogs up by the 3-0 mark through 20 minutes.
For the rest of the full game recap, check out the Bulldogs Web site.
Story by Reed Duthie
