In a high-energy showdown at the Brantford Civic Centre on Sunday, the Brantford Bulldogs surged past the Oshawa Generals with an 8-5 victory, seizing a 2-0 lead in their OHL playoff series.
Brantford came out flying on home ice, with Marek Vanacker scoring the first point for his team, quickly followed by another snipe from teammate Nick Lardis just 20 seconds after. Generals’ Calum Ritchie cut the lead in half with a powerplay play goal at 19:20.
The Generals knotted the score in the second, with Owen Griffin scoring just 1:38 in. The Bulldogs answered with a goal by Adam Jiricek 3:04 in, breaking the tie. Lardis scored his second of the night at 8:22, with Generals’ Matthew Buckley responding soon after. Lardis was able to secure his second hat trick of OHL playoffs with a goal at 12:51.
Starting off the final period, Bulldogs’ Dylan Tsherna gave his team more of an advantage, finding the back of the net at 2:19. Generals’ forward Noah Powell answered minutes later with a goal for the east-end city and teammate Griffin followed suit at 7:23, gaining on the Bulldogs. Despite a late push by the Generals, Bulldogs’ Noah Nelson and Patrick Thomas scored consecutive empty netters, putting a bow on the night at 19:28.
Lardis was injured in the third period following his hat trick.
“At this time Nick is being evaluated to determine the extent of the injury,” Reed Duthie, director of broadcasting and communications, confirmed in an email to CTV News. “It’s too early to have any clarity on his status for Tuesday or moving forward in the playoffs.”
The Bulldogs have a 2-0 lead in the series. Their next game against the Generals will be Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Tribute Communities Centre, in Oshawa, Ont.
