Bulldogs Bounce Rangers
Published on February 15, 2016 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Brantford Bulldogs News Release
HAMILTON, Ontario - Hamilton Bulldogs forward Matt Luff recorded a hat trick, including the game winner, to lift the Hamilton Bulldogs (20-28-6-0) to an eventual 5-4 win over the Kitchener Rangers (37-11-5-0) at the FirstOntario Centre.
Kitchener got on the board first as Darby Llewellyn grabbed a pass in the slot and beat Bulldogs starter Kaden Fulcher. Defencemen Frank Hora and Dylan Di Perna collected assists on the goal at 19:01.
At 4:08 of the second Luff banked in a shot from behind the net to notch his 18th goal of the year.
Niki Petti and Matthew Strome had the helpers.
Just over two minutes later Luff capitalized again banging in a puck that Rangers starter Dawson Carty was unable to corral. Luff's second of the game had assists from Jack Hanley and Petti.
Down a man three minutes later a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play was finished by Petti for his 19th of the year. Luff and Jesse Saban had the assists on the short-handed goal.
That would be it for Carty who would be replaced by Luke Opilka.
The Bulldogs would add one more before the period was out as Trent Fox took a drop pass from MacKenzie Entwistle and fired a shot high over Opilka. Saban had the secondary assist at 18:17.
Less than three minutes into the third Luff completed his hat trick streaking into the Rangers zone and went forehand then backhand roofing it over Opilka for his 20th of the season. Forward Jack Hidi had the lone assist on the goal at 2:49.
Kitchener began crawling back into this one beginning with Llewellyn's second of the game on a wrist shot from the high slot. Assists went to Nick McHugh and Nick Magyar at 3:42.
Ryan MacInnis registered his 28th goal of the year after taking a pass from Mason Kohn and beating Fulcher with a quick shot. The goal came at 8:21.
The Rangers got back within one on Adam Mascherin's team leading 30th of the year. The goal saw assists from Miles Liberati and MacInnis.
Hamilton hits the road for a game in St. Catharines on Thursday night at the Meridian Centre where they will tangle with the Niagara IceDogs. The 'Dogs will be back at home on Saturday night when they host the Windsor Spitfires in their annual Pink in the Rink game. Puck drop is 7:00pm
3 Stars
1-Matt Luff (3G, 1A)
2-Darby Llewellyn (2G)
3-Niki Petti (1G, 2A)
Dan Lawrie Premium Player of the Game (Hardest Working Player): Jack Hanley For more information on Hamilton Bulldogs flex tickets, group tickets and single-game tickets call 1- 866-DOGS-TIX (364-7849) or visit hamiltonbulldogs.com.
Listen to all Bulldogs regular season games live on Hamilton's AM 900 CHML, on 900chml.com or watch all home games and over 30 away games live in HD on Cable 14 or online or demand at cable14now.com.
Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 15, 2016
- Firebirds Fall to #5 London in Matinee Tilt - Flint Firebirds
- Muzito-Bagenda & Bastian Each Score Two in 6-2 Win over IceDogs - Brampton Steelheads
- Bulldogs Bounce Rangers - Brantford Bulldogs
- Spirit Drop Road Game to Sting 11-4 - Saginaw Spirit
- Amadio's Pair Paces Battalion to Victory - North Bay Battalion
- Mistele Leads Explosive Sting Offense in 11-4 Rout - Sarnia Sting
- Third Period Push Not Enough as Battalion Outlast 67's - Ottawa 67's
- Second Period Struggles Lead to Family Day Loss for Rangers - Kitchener Rangers
- Attack Downed by Gens on Family Day - Owen Sound Attack
- Otters Punish Guelph 6-1 - Erie Otters
- Otters Take Down Storm on Family Day - Guelph Storm
- IceDogs Entertain on Family Day - Niagara IceDogs
- Bulldogs Announce Top Three Jersey Finalists - Brantford Bulldogs
- Colts' Kevin Labanc Named Pioneer Energy OHL Player of the Week - OHL
- Maksimov, Russian U-17's Wins Five Nations Tournament - Saginaw Spirit
- Preview: Monday Matinee Battle in London Next for Firebirds - Flint Firebirds
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
