The Bradford Bulldogs Midget A squad out-scored, out-skated and just plain out-played the Orillia Terriers in Game 4 on Thursday night to take the York-Simcoe Midget A Championship with a 6-3 victory on home ice.
The championship series had been a scrappy one, with plenty of dogfights, penalties and suspensions – but Thursday night’s game was all hockey and end-to-end action.
Orillia was first on the scoreboard, with just over nine minutes left in the first period – but less than a minute later, Anthony Roberts scored an unassisted goal for the Bulldogs, tying the score 1-1.
It was the start of a back-and-forth battle. Orillia scored a second goal seconds later to take a 2-1 lead, and held the Bulldogs at bay for most of the remainder of the period. Then, with just over one minute left, Brendan Firlotte tied it up for Bradford, on assists from Brendan Giasson and Ryan Fallis.
The second period saw the Bulldogs take a 3-2 lead, on a goal by Fallis from Firlotte. It was a special night for Fallis, playing in the Bob Fallis Sports Complex, named for his grandfather.
The Terriers made it 3-3, with 1:08 left in the second period – but that was the end of their scoring. With six seconds left on the clock, the Bulldogs made it 4-3 on a goal from AP Carson Cameron, assisted by Roberts and Fallis.
And the third period was all Bradford – with Roberts adding an unassisted goal about six minutes into the period, and then completing the hat trick with just over four minutes left on the clock, from Fallis and Jacob Lush.
It was a classy end to the series at centre ice, as medals and the championship trophy were handed out. Orillia’s coach called Bradford “a great team." Both sides had nothing but praise for Terrier goalie Owen Cuff.
And as all of the players took to the ice, including teammates who had been ejected in earlier games, one Bradford coach summed it up: “Hey, Bradford – it’s been a long road but we did it!"
Bradford Bulldogs Atom A team is still on the hunt for its York-Simcoe Championship, facing the Orillia Terriers in Game 5 tonight, March 29, at the West Orillia Sports Complex at 6:50 p.m.
