Patrick Thomas Sets Record; Leads Dogs To Shootout Win Over Petes

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 Brantford Bulldogs

Patrick Thomas Sets Record; Leads Dogs To Shootout Win Over Petes

January 11, 2025 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Brantford Bulldogs News Release


PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO. The Bulldogs played their only game of the weekend on Saturday night, making a trip to the Peterborough Memorial Centre to faceoff with the Petes for the 4th time on the season. Entering the game, the Bulldogs had a debut in the lineup with Thomas Budnick, acquired from the Guelph Storm in advance of the overage deadline, making his first appearance as a Bulldog, while Luca Testa returned to the lineup for the first time since November 21st, coincidentally, the last time the Bulldogs played in Peterborough.

It didn't take long for the newest Bulldog to make his initial impact, just 19-seconds into the game, Thomas Budnick strode down from the blueline for a puck that had bounced off Patrick Thomas' skate, hammering a shot past Petes' netminder Easton Rye for his 4th of the season and 1st as a Bulldog to take a 1-0 lead. With his assist on the goal, Patrick Thomas set a new record for assists in a career by a Bulldog with 144, passing OHL Championship teammate Logan Morrison's 144 mark to stand alone in the record book. The Bulldogs doubled up the lead at 7:50 when a loose puck rolled into neutral ice and Nick Lardis launched his way forward, beating the first Petes defender in stride and popping the puck past the second, Lardis carried down the middle of the ice on Rye. Waving the blade of his stick over the puck, the Bulldogs leading goal scorer faked to his backhand before tucking the puck under Rye's pad on his forehand for his 34th of the season, giving Brantford a 2-0 lead. The offense wasn't done, at 9:12, Marek Vanacker rolled the puck from the right corner to the right point for Lucas Moore who crossed it through the slot to the returning Luca Testa. Showing tremendous patience, Testa got Rye down and sprawled before lifting the puck over his pad for his 6th of the season, giving the visitors a 3-0 lead. The Petes got one back at 10:26 with Francis Parish finding Jonathan Melee on sneak away where the speedy Petes captain snuck a shot under Ryerson Leenders' arm for his 13th of the season to cut the lead to 3-1 heading to the first intermission.

The middle frame stood in stark contrast to the first, with the two teams combining for just two shots through the first 8 minutes of the frame. Peterborough took advantage of the lull at 9:34 with Gavin Bryant winning a faceoff back to Gens Ula who had a multi-player battle at the front of the Bulldogs net to fire a shot through that Ryerson Leenders never saw, recording his 1st in the OHL and pulling the pesky Petes to within a goal. Colin Fitzgerald equalized shortly after on the power-play with Aiden Young on the left-wing side finding Fitzgerald crashing into the right circle for a shot that powered through Leenders and into the Bulldogs goal knotting the game 3-3 on his 8th of the year at 14:25. With a later power-play the Bulldogs tossed a series of good looks at Easton Rye with Nick Lardis just missing over the top and shots just narrowly turned aside from Cole Brown & Aiden O'Donnell, keeping the game 3-3 heading to the second intermission.

Martin Matejieck opened up the third period giving the Petes their first lead of the night at 1:22 with the game in a 4-on-4 sequence. Brady Stonehouse shoveled the puck to the left point for Liam Ladds who set the puck into Matejicek's wheelhouse at the right point for a rocket that got under the crossbar on the import defender's 4th of the season and a 4-3 Petes lead. The Bulldogs wouldn't go quietly, pressing on Easton Rye in the final frame and the power-play evened the game at 9:12 with a tic-tac-goal sequence. Nick Lardis freed up the puck on the right-wing boards, rolling to Cole Brown who took a stride to the slot and delivered to the left circle for Jake O'Brien. The gifted playmaker one-touched a feed back across to Patrick Thomas who fired in his 17th of the season tying the game 4-4, eventually forcing overtime.

The Bulldogs pressured the Petes end heavily but it was Ryerson Leenders who robbed Gavin Bryant with just 1.5 seconds to go to send the game into the shootout. Leenders continued to stand strong, denying Caden Taylor, Colin Fitzgerald and Brady Stonehouse and putting the game on the stick of Patrick Thomas who started out left and cut middle through the circle staring down Easton Rye and beating him over the shoulder to give the Bulldogs an electric 5-4 shootout win.

The Brantford Bulldogs will see Jake O'Brien, Joshua Avery & David Egorov take center stage at the Civic Centre on Wednesday for the inaugural OHL Top Prospects game at 7:00pm.


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