Brantford Bulldogs capped off Rivalry Week in dominant fashion on Saturday night, overwhelming the Brampton Steelheads 9–3 at the TD Civic Centre to sweep the weekend series and claim all four points.
The Bulldogs came out flying in the opening frame, riding the momentum from the previous night’s victory with a three-goal first period. They wasted no time getting on the board, striking just 1:59 in when Cooper Dennis set up Aiden O’Donnell for his third goal of the season. The pressure continued, and at 4:50, Brantford doubled the lead on the power play as Sam McCue buried a rebound off an O’Donnell shot. Brampton looked to respond, with Mason Zebeski testing David Egorov, but the Bulldogs’ netminder shut the door. Brantford extended its lead at 10:25 when McCue scored his second of the night — and recorded his 100th career OHL point — off a perfectly executed play. The sequence began with Jake O’Brien finding Adam Benak, who fed McCue alone on the right side. McCue ripped a shot past Zach Bowen to make it 3–0. The Steelheads had a chance to cut into the lead late in the period, but Egorov stood tall once more, making a glove save on Justin Bottineau. He stopped all 11 shots he faced in the opening frame as the Bulldogs carried a commanding 3–0 lead into the intermission.
The second period was all Bulldogs again, as they erupted for six more goals to take full control of the game. At 1:45, a beautiful passing sequence started with Benak feeding Edison Engle, who set up Dennis for his fourth goal of the season. Just under three minutes later, at 4:31, Caleb Malhotra slipped a shot through the five-hole for his fifth goal of the year to make it 5–0. Brantford struck again at 10:53 when Adam Jiricek buried a rebound from McCue to extend the lead to 6–0. Moments later, Jiricek delivered a heavy hit and dropped the gloves with William Eggleton, earning the Bulldogs a power play. During the man advantage, a turnover led to a shorthanded breakaway for Gabriel Chiarot, who was hooked by Vladimir Dravecky and awarded a penalty shot. Chiarot came in with speed, but Egorov stood his ground and made the save. The Bulldogs answered back on the power play at 15:43. Off a faceoff win by Dylan Tsherna, Luca Testa took a pass and flipped a backhander past Bowen to make it 7–0. The physical play continued, with Freeman dropping the gloves with Green in a spirited bout. At 17:46, O’Brien set up Benak, whose play led to Owen Protz jumping into the slot and scoring his second of the season to push the lead to 8–0. Brantford struck once more before the period ended, as Testa notched his second of the game and fifth of the season to give the Bulldogs a staggering 9–0 advantage heading into the final frame.
The Steelheads found some life in the third period, scoring three times. Just 1:52 in, Zebeski set up Chiarot, who buried his fourth of the season to get Brampton on the board. At 10:36, Chiarot returned the favor, setting up Parker Von Richter for his first of the season to cut the lead to 9–2. With just 31 seconds remaining, Luke Dragusica and Eggleton combined to set up Joshua Avery, who scored his fifth of the year to make it 9–3. Despite Brampton’s late push, the Bulldogs’ dominant first 40 minutes proved too much to overcome, as they skated away with a 9–3 victory to complete the weekend sweep.
The Bulldogs return to action on the road as they open a three-in-three set against the Sarnia Sting on Friday, October 24, at Progressive Auto Sales Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.
Story by Mikayla Grimes
