The Brantford Bulldogs saw their four-game road swing end with a 5–3 loss to the Peterborough Petes on Saturday night at the Peterborough Memorial Centre, as special teams and a late empty-net goal proved decisive.
Brantford opened the scoring just 82 seconds into the game when Nikolas Rossetto finished a play set up by Jeremy Freeman and Parker Holmes, giving the Bulldogs an early lead.
Peterborough answered later in the period, with Gerry DiCunzolo tying the game at 12:21, sending the teams into the intermission level at 1–1.
The second period swung the game in the Petes’ favour. Peterborough capitalized twice on the power play, with Carson Cameron scoring at 2:07 and Braydon McCallum converting at 10:20, both coming during a stretch that featured multiple penalties and a fight that led to a lengthy sequence of misconducts on both sides.
Brantford attempted to claw back in the third period. Caleb Malhotra scored at 3:57, assisted by Edison Engle, and Cooper Dennis tied the game briefly with a goal at 6:57, set up by Malhotra and Camron Hankai, narrowing the gap and injecting momentum into the Bulldogs’ bench.
That momentum was short-lived. Adam Levac restored Peterborough’s lead at 12:17, and with Brantford pressing late and the goaltender pulled, Brennan Faulkner sealed the result with an empty-net goal at 19:06.
Ryerson Leenders made 41 saves for Brantford in a heavy workload, while Easton Rye stopped 37 shots for Peterborough. The Petes finished 2-for-5 on the power play, while the Bulldogs went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
Despite the loss, Brantford remains atop the OHL Eastern Conference’s East Division with a 22-3-4-1 record.
The Bulldogs return home Sunday afternoon to face the London Knights at the TD Civic Centre, with the opening faceoff scheduled for 2 p.m.
