Lardis Lasers & Leenders Larceny Lead Dogs To Series Win
April 6, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Brantford Bulldogs News Release
BRANTFORD, ONTARIO. Returning to the Brantford Civic Centre for Game 5 on Saturday night, the Brantford Bulldogs entered the night with their second opportunity to eliminate the North Bay Battalion in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series holding a 3-1 series lead.
The Bulldogs got the start they were looking for, going to the power-play 1:59 into the first period with Jacob Therrien being nabbed for a cross-check and capitalizing. Jake O'Brien set the puck across the front of the net for Marek Vanacker who picked up his own blocked shot and fed on for Nick Lardis in the right circle, squeezing the shot through Mike McIvor for his 5th of the series and a 1-0 Bulldogs lead at 2:13. Ryerson Leenders was excellent in the opening frame, denying all 9 shots he faced, including a pair of blocker saves from tight angles punching away both Wellenreiter & Amidovski opportunities to keep the Bulldogs up a goal. Mike McIvor equally strong, stopping 10 of 11 he faced with the North Bay netminder kicking a pair of opportunities away from Luca Testa and stopped a Thomas Budnick drive crashing down from the point through a screen to keep the game a 1-0 Bulldogs lead through 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs doubled their lead quickly into the middle frame, at 4:30 with Cole Brown driving up the right-wing side and feeding middle for Nick Lardis. With a magical touch, the CHL's leading goal scorer in the regular season tucked the puck between his legs and flipped it through Mike McIvor in a fantastic show of skill for his 2nd of the game & 6th of the playoffs to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. The Battalion cut into the lead at 7:18 with Lirim Amidovski hopping on an errant puck in the Brantford zone, and on an exchange with Nick Wellenreiter converted his opportunity for his 3rd of the series to make it 2-1. The Bulldogs struck quickly to follow, Noah Nelson battled the puck loose at the side of the North Bay goal for Calvin Crombie who whipped it back to the left point for Owen Protz who stepped in and fired in his 1st of the post-season to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead. Only 19-seconds after the Protz goal, the Bulldogs added on. Tomas Hamara laid the puck up the left-wing boards for Cole Brown to quickly chip over the line for Patrick Thomas, quickly twisting it to open space off the right side with Nick Lardis barreling towards the puck. Lardis hammered a shot over the glove of Mike McIvor to finish off his hat-trick and 7th goal of the post-season to put the Bulldogs ahead 4-1 at 11:28. The Bulldogs appeared to take a 5-1 lead shortly thereafter with Josh Avery setting a Lucas Moore right point rocket that drove into the North Bay net but a review for the zone entry deemed the play off-side. Undaunted, Ryerson Leenders made the three-goal lead stand up in the middle frame, with North Bay putting some pressure on the Bulldogs goal, Leenders made a pad save on Andrew LeBlanc to deny a short distance two-on-one and keep the hosts up a trio hitting the locker room after 40 minutes.
The Bulldogs put the game away in the final frame, with the line of Noah Nelson, Calvin Crombie and Dylan Tsherna causing havoc in the offensive zone. Nelson lifted the stick of a North Bay defender on the right-wing boards, allowing Calvin Crombie to step to the puck and drive the middle of the ice. Shifting to his backhand, Crombie lifted the puck over McIvor to give the Bulldogs a 5-1 lead at 5:07 on his 3rd of the playoffs. It was all Leenders needed in the home pipes, turning aside 23 of 24 and securing the Bulldogs their first series win in Brantford with a 5-1 final in Game 5 for a 4-1 series victory.
The Brantford Bulldogs will now await the winner of the Oshawa Generals/Brampton Steelheads quarterfinal series to determine their Eastern Conference semi-final series which will open on Brantford Civic Centre ice.
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Ontario Hockey League Stories from April 6, 2025
- Generals Advance to Second Round, Beating Brampton 4-1 in Game 6 - Oshawa Generals
- Frontenacs Face off against the Barrie Colts in Round Two of the 2025 OHL Playoffs - Kingston Frontenacs
- Gens Look to Close out Brampton for Second Time in Game 6 - Oshawa Generals
- Lardis Lasers & Leenders Larceny Lead Dogs To Series Win - Brantford Bulldogs
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