Bulldogs nip Battalion 2-1

Nick Lardis’s goal at 9:48 of the second period proved the winner as the Brantford Bulldogs skated to a 2-1 victory over the North Bay Battalion in an Ontario Hockey League game Sunday.

Tomas Hamara also scored for Brantford, which won a third game in three days and moved its won-lost-extended record to 24-15-4 for 52 points, third in the East Division. The Bulldogs defeated the Oshawa Generals twice, winning 5-4 in overtime on the road Friday night and 5-3 at home Saturday.

Goaltender Ryerson Leenders provided 29 saves before a crowd of 3,195 at the Brantford Civic Centre.

Ethan Procyszyn scored for North Bay, while goaltender Mike McIvor faced 15 shots as the Troops completed a two-game road trip. The Battalion, which lost 3-1 to the Niagara IceDogs on Saturday night, is 16-22-3 for 35 points, fifth in the Central Division.

The teams fought to a 1-1 tie through 20 minutes before Lardis struck off an odd-man rush. Lardis looked off to his mates before snapping the puck home from the right circle for his team-leading 37th goal of the season. Joshua Avery and Owen Protz were credited with assists.

With Parker Vaughan whistled for holding at 12:53 of the middle period, Aaron Enright put a high pass to fellow penalty killer Andrew LeBlanc alone in front of Leenders, but the goaltender managed to grab the puck and cover up.

Procyszyn grabbed Cole Brown after Lirim Amidovski was checked heavily at 1:56 of the third period and engaged in a wrestling match that produced coincidental roughing minors, as well as a third to the Battalion’s Stepan Chukharev. He exited the box after two minutes, but Procyszyn and Brown were confined for 7:42 before a whistle freed them.

Jacob LeBlanc had two good chances to tie it in the final minutes, including one with McIvor pulled for a sixth attacker, but Brantford held on.

Procyszyn opened the scoring on the power play at 13:59 of the first period with his team-leading 25th goal. Shamar Moses fired the puck from high on the inner edge of the right circle, and Procyszyn tipped it in front. Nick Wellenreiter drew the other assist.

Defenceman Hamara replied 58 seconds later, stepping around a defender and driving deep into the left circle to beat McIvor off the crossbar. Aiden O’Donnell and Dylan Tsherna had the assists on rookie O’Donnell’s fifth goal.

As they did at Niagara, the Troops came out fast, enjoying the early territorial advantage and building a 14-5 edge in shots in the frame.

The Battalion plays host to the London Knights at 7 p.m. Thursday on Soiree Carnival Night.

BATTALION BULLETS: It was announced Wednesday that Zach Hyman of the National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers has purchased the Brantford club from Michael Andlauer, now the principal owner of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. The Bulldogs have obtained a 15-year lease agreement to remain in Brantford after relocating from Hamilton for last season … It was the second of four meetings, the visiting Battalion having won 3-2 in overtime Oct. 18. The teams next meet Jan. 30 at Memorial Gardens … Vaughan and Andrew LeBlanc paced the Battalion with four shots on goal. Hamara led Brantford with two … Briir Long played against his former team for the first time after joining the Battalion in a trade Oct. 28 for a fifth-round pick in the 2027 OHL Priority Selection … North Bay went 1-for-3 on the power play. Brantford was 0-for-2 … Opening line combinations had Procyszyn centring left winger Moses and right winger Amidovski, Zach Wigle centring left winger LeBlanc and right winger Vaughan and Ihnat Pazii pivoting left winger Nolan Laird and right winger Wellenreiter. Long centred left winger Chukharev and right winger Ryder Carey … Defence pairs were Bronson Ride with Jacob LeBlanc, Enright with Adrian Manzo and Brayden Turley with Kent Greer … The Battalion was without Jacob Therrien, Reyth Smith and Zach Wilson … Among the missing for Brantford were Calvin Crombie, Daniel Chen and Ben Bujold … Blake Beer and Brendan Kane were the referees. Photo/article credit -North Bay Battalion