Brantford Bulldogs kept their momentum rolling on Friday night, following up a dominant win in Niagara with a convincing 7–2 victory over the Sarnia Sting in their lone visit to the TD Civic Centre this season.
The opening twenty minutes belonged to the Bulldogs, who erupted for three unanswered goals to seize early control. Sarnia earned the first power play of the game after a tripping call against Parker Holmes, but the Bulldogs’ penalty kill held firm. Brantford then went to work on a man advantage of their own. Jake O’Brien generated the first look, finding Marek Vanacker in tight, but the redirect went just wide. A point shot from Adam Jiricek created another chance, though O’Brien couldn’t tuck in the rebound. The Sting countered with pressure as David Egorov briefly lost his stick. Jacob Reese fired from the slot and Ryan Brown followed with another attempt, but Egorov turned aside both opportunities. Brantford broke through at 12:09 when Ryder Boulton set up Jeremy Freeman, who found Luca Testa in front for his seventh of the season to make it 1–0. The Bulldogs added to their lead at 14:47 as Dylan Tsherna slipped behind coverage and beat Patrick Quinlan with a backhand for his second of the year. Just 46 seconds later, Brantford struck again. Vanacker drove hard to the net and Adam Benak pounced on the rebound, burying his 12th of the season to give the Bulldogs a commanding 3–0 lead entering the first intermission.
Brantford wasted no time padding their advantage in the second period, scoring just 1:56 into the frame. Owen Protz connected with Cooper Dennis, who found open space and buried his 12th of the season to make it 4–0. Moments later, the Bulldogs went to a four-minute power play after Easton Walos was assessed a double minor for slew footing. Jiricek fired a heavy shot from the blue line, but a Sting defender stepped in front to block it. Sarnia pushed back, and Walos generated a look coming out of the box, but Egorov made the save. The Sting finally broke through at 10:08 when Brenner Lammens forced a turnover, pulled the puck to his forehand, and snapped home his second of the season to make it 4–1. The response from Brantford was immediate. Just 18 seconds later, Jiricek’s initial shot produced a rebound that Caleb Malhotra tapped in for his ninth of the season. Tempers escalated as Sam McCue and Hughston Hurt dropped the gloves, resulting in another Bulldogs power play. Brantford capitalized once again at 11:24, as Malhotra found space in front and buried his second of the night — and tenth of the season — to extend the lead to 6–1. Benak nearly added to the tally with a shot off the crossbar before Egorov shut down a Sarnia push on the power play, flashing the glove on a dangerous chance from Lukas Fischer. Despite being outshot 24–15 through two periods, the Bulldogs held a decisive 6–1 advantage entering the third.
Brantford continued pouring it on early in the final frame. At 5:54, Malhotra forced a turnover and worked the puck to McCue, who fed Benak in front. Benak buried his second of the night and 13th of the season to make it 7–1. Sarnia cut into the lead at 9:28 on the power play, as Matthew Manza connected with Liam Beamish, who roofed a shot over Egorov’s shoulder to make it 7–2. The Sting pushed for more, with Kaden Aucoin creating a dangerous look, but Egorov closed the pad to keep the lead intact. The Bulldogs controlled play the rest of the way, with Egorov finishing the night with 31 saves in another strong performance. Brantford closed out the week with a 7–2 win and continued building momentum heading into the final stretch of November.
Story submitted by Mikayla Grimes
