The Bradford Bulldog Midget A team continued its pursuit of a York-Simcoe Championship, in a penalty-filled game against the Georgina Blaze at the BWG Leisure Centre on Saturday night.
After Bradford won Game 1 in Georgina, 6-4 on March 14, the Blaze were ready to fight back – and scored the first goal early in Period 1, maintaining a 1-0 lead into the second period.
The Bulldogs were initially unable to capitalize on the power play or get past a rock-solid Georgina goalie, until 4:48 remaining in Period 2, when Bradford tied it up – then scored the go-ahead goal, with just over 2 minutes left in the period.
Bradford carried its 2-1 lead into the penalty-riddled Third period, that saw the ejection of a Georgina player. Both sides pressed hard in the physical match, with the Blaze goalie repeatedly leaving the net to go after the puck.
But with just over 2 minutes left in the game, Georgina pulled its goalie for the extra man attacker – and with 17 seconds left, Bradford scored an empty-netter for a 3-1 win.
Bradford goals by Clark Carruthers, Dylan Rocha - and Joseph Magani into the empty net.
The Bulldogs now lead the series 2 games to 0; Game 3 takes place in Sutton on March 18, at 9 p.m. Game 4, if needed, will be back in Bradford on March 19 at 7 p.m.
