The Erie Otters survived a late push from the Brantford Bulldogs to secure a 3–2 win Tuesday afternoon at TD Civic Centre in Game 350 of the 2025–26 OHL regular season.
Erie jumped out to a fast start, netting two goals just 21 seconds apart early in the first period.
Callum Hughes opened the scoring at 4:08 with assists from McLean Agrette and Ritter Coombs. Moments later, Michael Dec doubled the lead at 4:29 on a feed from Lucas Ambrosio.
Brantford responded at 11:29 when Luca Testa capitalized on a clean setup from Caleb Malhotra and Zackary Sandhu to cut the deficit to 2–1.
The Bulldogs struggled to find their offensive rhythm for much of the second period, despite being given a power-play opportunity.
The goaltenders were key figures throughout the match. Erie’s Noah Erliden stopped 32 shots in total, splitting time between two stints in goal due to a substitution.
David Egorov of Brantford made 29 saves, including a critical stop late in the second period that kept his team within striking distance.
Brantford’s second goal came on the power play at 5:35 in the third period, when Testa scored again, this time assisted by Marek Vanacker and Edison Engle to tie the game at 2–2. However, Erie would find the game-winner in the final minute of play.
Lucas Ambrosio scored the deciding goal at 19:12, assisted by Agrette and Hughes.
The play developed quickly off the rush, catching Brantford’s defensive unit in transition. Despite pulling Egorov for the extra attacker, Brantford could not generate a tying goal in the final moments.
Both teams had three power-play opportunities, but Brantford was the only one to convert, finishing 1-for-3 with the man advantage.
Erie remained scoreless on its power-play chances, but ultimately outpaced Brantford with key even-strength plays.
The win improves Erie’s record as they continue to climb the Eastern Conference standings.
Brantford, meanwhile, has dropped two of their last three games and will look to rebound quickly as they travel to Erie for a rematch on Wednesday, December 31 at 6:00 p.m.
