In the middle stretch of a long-distance weekend run, the Brantford Bulldogs made the trip from Erie, Pennsylvania to the legendary Peterborough Memorial Centre for a Saturday night clash with the Petes. On the way to Peterborough the Bulldogs saw Jake O’Brien, Jett Luchanko, Ben Danford & Marek Vanacker all depart the trip for Team Canada Selection Camp, with Ryan Chamberlain, Joey Banas, Philip Govedaris & David Buchman all returning to the Bulldogs roster while Josh Giordano made his OHL debut in the divisional clash.
The Bulldogs, despite the players not available, hopped on the scoreboard early with Jeremy Freeman winning a battle below the goal line and twisting the puck to the slot for Nikolas Rossetto who fired his 2nd of the season past Easton Rye to give the Dogs a 1-0 lead at 1:22. Brantford nearly doubled the lead at the mid-way point of the first period with Ryder Boulton feeding Joey Banas alone down the slot where Banas was twisted with a hook that went uncalled which played a part in denying the free agent signing his 1st career OHL goal. The Petes knotted the game 1-1 just moments later in a 2-on-1 with Gerry DiCunzolo looking off Matthew Soto and finding a way through Ryerson Leenders for his 3rd of the season at 12:21. Leenders was brilliant in the first period for the visitors however, stopping 20 of the 21 he faced with his finest coming with the period knotted 1-1 and Gerry DiCunzolo on a partial breakaway that Leenders was able to kick aside to keep the game tied to the intermission.
The middle frame was an unfortunate one for the Bulldogs, after Jeremy Freeman was penalized for a controversial cross-check early in the period, the Petes made the advantage pay off with Kaden McGregor finding Carson Cameron crashing down for his 4th of the season and a 2-1 Peterborough lead at 2:07. An ugly scene unfolded from there with Thanasi Marentette throwing his gloves off and punching Ryder Boulton from the backside drawing blood from Boulton’s nose. The incident ended with Marentette and Dylan Tsherna being sent out of the game, with Tsherna being given a 3rd man in misconduct as he came into defend Boulton. Joey Banas, Grayden Strohack & Braydon McCallum were all given 10-minute misconducts for “failure to clear zone” in the fray as well. The Bulldogs had their opportunities in the middle frame with both Caleb Malhotra & Cooper Dennis earning shorthanded breakaways with Easton Rye turning away both opportunities. Before the frame was out, with the Bulldogs on the penalty kill, Camron Hankai was tripped down in the Bulldogs zone by Braydon McCallum who was then open to the front of the next in a de-facto 5-on-3 that allowed McCallum to knock a second effort over the goal line to give the Petes a 3-1 lead on McCallum’s 7th of the season at 10:20, which is where the game would stand at the intermission. The Bulldogs showed new life in the final frame, beginning at 3:57 with Edison Engle setting the puck behind the goal for Caleb Malhotra who went coast to coast on the left-wing side, darting a shot over Rye’s short side shoulder, recording his 15th of the season and cutting the deficit to 3-2. Cooper Dennis tied the game 3-3 at 6:57 after Camron Hankai & Caleb Malhotra combined in neutral ice to send Dennis ahead on the right-wing side to dart a shot seven-hole on Rye on his 17th of the campaign. The game wouldn’t remain locked however, after Ryder Boulton was tripped down in neutral ice, Adam Levac strode onto a loose puck and notched his 13th of the season giving the Petes back the lead, 4-3, at 12:17 before Brennan Faulker iced it at 19:06 into the empty net.
