Closing out their weekend 3-in-3 set, the Brantford Bulldogs paid their 3rd visit of the season to the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa to take on the Oshawa Generals on Sunday evening for the Generals’ Teddy Toss Game. The Bulldogs received the services of the OHL’s leading goal scorer Marek Vanacker back on Sunday after serving a one game suspension as well as Nik Rossetto who returned following a night off on Saturday.
On an early penalty kill the Bulldogs saw a glorious opportunity with Jett Luchanko handling a puck through the defensive slot and laying it forward for a breakaway for Cooper Dennis. Just a step off the left side, the right hand shot barreled down the slot on Jaden Cholette and looked to go five-hole. Cholette squeezed the knees and stopped his momentum before his pads could slide across the goal line keeping the game scoreless. David Egorov was next for an impressive stop, denying an Aiden O’Donnell rocket with a shoulder stop before stopping defenseman Brady Blaseg with a beautiful split pad save. The Generals broke the ice and called on the bears at 15:05 with Blaseg firing a puck off the end wall that skipped right back infront of the Bulldogs net where Vadim Smirnov collected it and tapped it backside for Anthony Figliomeni to record his 2nd goal of the season. After action returned, Ben Danford hit both the right post and left post in the same shift, while Cooper Dennis had a break off the right-wing side denied by a sharp shoulder save from Jaden Cholette to send the Generals down the tunnel with a 1-0 lead.
The middle frame was a wild one that saw the Bulldogs immediately bounce back from the 1-0 defecit. It started at 2:01 with a nifty tic-tac-goal set that saw Jake O’Brien lay the puck around behind the net from the right corner to Marek Vanacker who turned it right to the net front of Adam Benak to hammer in his 14th of the season to tie the game 1-1. Just 37-seconds later off a Jaden Cholette mishandle, Luca Testa won the puck on the end boards and sent it to the right circle for Nik Rossetto who hit the top corner for his 1st of the season after returning from injury giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead. On the power-play at 3:33 the Bulldogs extended the lead with Adam Benak’s initial chance rolling through the legs of Cholette and along the goal line where Jake O’Brien found it. The puck wouldn’t sit for the captain but bounced to Marek Vanacker to knock in his 22nd of the season taking a 3-1 advantage. The Generals turned the period from there with a neutral zone turnover leading to Lucas Teixeira carrying into the Brantford zone off the right-wing side and sending a shot top corner for his 2nd of the season at 6:11. After Jaden Cholette denied Jake O’Brien on a shorthanded breakaway, the Generals tied the game at 17:13 on a shorthanded goal of their own. After David Egorov had made a tremendous shorthanded breakaway stop on Owen Griffin, the Bulldogs goaltender moments later went to play the puck around back of his net, Harrison Franssen stole it and beat Egorov back to the post for his 8th of the season, tying the game 3-3. Before the period was out at 19:31, Aiden O’Donnell took an offensive zone turnover in for a breakaway, Egorov made a stunning toe save but the puck laid at his pad where Ben Cormier lifted it over the Bulldogs goaltender to give the Generals a 4-3 lead through 40 minutes.
The Bulldogs came out with purpose in the final frame and were rewarded for it at 5:41. Ben Danford caught the puck down at the right point and darted a pass to the left post for Jake O’Brien who immediately spun it middle to Marek Vanacker to record his 2nd of the game and 23rd of the season tying the game 4-4. Equal terms did not last however as with the Generals on a 4- on-3 power-play at 8:49, Zack Sandhu was tackled at the right post, leading to a scramble that ended with Lucas Moore hammering his 6th goal of the season for a 5-4 Generals lead. Jaden Cholette was called on for one more 10-bell stop with Adam Benak rifling a shot out of the left circle with time ticking down and Cholette’s 26 saves would be enough to earn the Generals the 5-4 decision.
Story submitted by Reed Duthie
