The Guelph Storm defeated the Brantford Bulldogs 6–4 on Friday night at the Sleeman Centre in Game 28514 of the Ontario Hockey League regular season, in a contest that featured nine goals in the opening period and a combined 10 penalties.
Guelph built its advantage early, scoring five times in the first period. Wil McFadden opened the scoring at 1:02, followed by goals from Layne Gallacher, Tyler Hopkins on the power play, Charlie Paquette, and Ethan Miedema, pushing the Storm to a 5–1 lead before the midway point of the period.
Brantford answered with three first-period goals to remain within striking distance. Cooper Dennis scored twice in the opening frame, including a shorthanded goal at 7:16, and Parker Holmes added a goal at 18:07, sending the Bulldogs into the first intermission trailing 5–3.
Both teams were held off the scoreboard in the second period. Guelph goaltender Zachary Jovanovski, who started the game, and Colin Ellsworth, who played the final two periods, combined to keep Brantford off the board through 40 minutes.
The Bulldogs drew within one early in the third period when Dennis completed his hat trick at 0:36, cutting the deficit to 5–4. Brantford did not score on its lone power-play opportunity, finishing the game 0-for-1.
Guelph secured the result with an empty-net goal by Gallacher at 18:04 of the third period.
The Storm finished 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Bulldogs were scoreless with the man advantage.
David Egorov made 30 saves in relief for Brantford after replacing Ryerson Leenders at 8:33 of the first period.
Leenders stopped five shots before exiting. Jovanovski earned the win for Guelph after making seven saves in the first period, and Ellsworth recorded seven saves over the final 40 minutes.
Hopkins was named the game’s first star, Dennis the second star, and Gallacher the third star.
The game began at 7:07 p.m. and ended at 9:38 p.m., with an announced attendance of 4,912.
Despite the loss, Brantford remains third in the OHL Eastern Conference.
Through 37 games, the Bulldogs are 25-7-4-1 for 55 points, trailing the Ottawa 67’s (59 points) and the Barrie Colts (49 points), and have scored 167 goals while allowing 104.
Brantford’s power play sits at 34.0 per cent, with an 83.5 per cent penalty kill.
The Bulldogs return to action at home on Wednesday, January 7, hosting the Niagara IceDogs at 7 p.m.
