Dogs Pushed to the Brink Following 3-2 Game 5 Defeat
April 20, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Brantford Bulldogs News Release
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. Returning to home ice for Game 5 in their Eastern Conference semi-final series, the Brantford Bulldogs set to Civic Centre ice looking to wrestle back control of the series which entered Saturday night tied 2-2.
The Bulldogs received the services of starting netminder Ryerson Leenders and it paid off early with Leenders denying all 10 Generals shots he faced in the opening period. As they did in Game 4, the Bulldogs created a couple of goal mouth scrambles around Jacob Oster's net but were unable to find the icebreaker with Oster recovering on each occasion to turn the puck aside. Once again, as in Game 4, the Bulldogs struck first. Off of a high cycle in the Generals zone, Owen Protz held the puck at the left point allowing Jake O'Brien to curl to the slot while Nikolas Rossetto came open just above him, Protz pass deflected off Rossetto's stick but O'Brien lifted a Generals' defender's stick to gather it. Quickly turning and snapping the puck, O'Brien fired it over Jacob Oster through a Marek Vanacker screen for his 3rd of the post-season and a 1-0 Bulldogs lead at 18:54 that the hosts held heading down the tunnel after 20 minutes.
As the second period opened with the Generals on a power-play, their quick strike offense evened up the proceedings. Callum Ritchie, off of gaining zone entry, turned the puck back to the right point for Luca Marrelli who flashed a perfect pass across the zone to Beckett Sennecke at the side of the Bulldogs net to tip in for his 7th of the playoffs and a 1-1 tie. The Generals picked up their first lead of the game on the power-play once again at 8:37 as Luca Marrelli fed Colby Barlow in the right circle to fire a shot that Ryerson Leenders stopped but the pop-up rebound was batted out of the air by Sennecke and in for his 2nd of the game and 8th of the playoffs to give Oshawa a 2-1 lead. Ryerson Leenders was spectacular in the middle frame from there, denying Colby Barlow on what looked like an open net, sliding across the crease to flare the puck over the goal and turning Matthew Buckley aside on a pair of breakaways to keep the game within a goal. The Bulldogs battled back to tie the game on a power-play of their own at 11:54 with Tomas Hamara starting a rush and laying the puck to the left for Marek Vanacker over the Generals blueline who sent it middle for Cole Brown, backing into the right circle. As the puck arrived Brown loaded his blistering wrist shot and beat Oster over his shoulder to tie the game on his 2nd of the post-season. After Luca Marrelli was given an instigator penalty in a fight with Calvin Crombie just under two minutes later, the Bulldogs had a golden chance to re-take the lead. Marek Vanacker was fed at the side of the net by Patrick Thomas, getting a tip on the puck, Oster made a brilliant split stop across his crease to hold the Chicago prospect from nosing the Bulldogs in front and both teams settled for a draw through 40-minutes.
Into the third period, the Bulldogs came out with jump, creating a series of goalmouth scrambles that Oster was able to fend off to keep the game knotted. At 4:08, the Generals' made their netminder's work stand up as Lauri Sinivuori from the left side whipped a pass through the crease in the Bulldogs zone to Andrew Gibson, returning from suspension for Game 5, who tipped the puck just past the pad of Ryerson Leenders for his 2nd of the playoffs to put the Generals back up 3-2. The Bulldogs battled hard right down to the finish but Jacob Oster's 32 saves carried the day for the Generals for a 3-2 victory and a 3-2 series lead.
The Brantford Bulldogs will look to stave off elimination in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semi-final when the series heads back to the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa on Sunday, April 20th with a 6:05pm start time.
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Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 20, 2025
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- Dogs Pushed to the Brink Following 3-2 Game 5 Defeat - Brantford Bulldogs
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