Game played on 11/13/2024.
General Game Notes: As an observer at this game it appeared that both teams were equally matched when playing in even strength situations, with most of the play being dictated by the veterans for both teams. The power plays (5 minors taken by the visiting team Colts and 3 minors taken by the home team) were effective but no results were shown on the scorecard. The goals scored by the home team Bulldogs were from the usual suspects (O’Brien 10 g 10 a in 18 games) and (Thomas 5 g 18 a in 18 games). The visitors had goals from players who are expected to score also(Wakely 6 g 5 a in 9 games) (Beaudoin 6 g 8 a in 13 games)and the winning goal in overtime while playing 3 on 3 was (Jelsma 6 g 3 a in 8 games). Both keepers gave their teams solid performances, with the chance to win.
Ben Hrebik (G, L, 6’2″, 190, Barrie Colts, 04/04/2006)
Grade: B
Comments: Ben was a major contributing factor in the Barrie Colts getting the extra point in this closely contested contest. Very good tonight with his rebound control and Ben only was scored on twice with both goals finding their way through his pads. I will have to watch Ben a few more times to see if he can continue his winning streak of being undefeated so far this season. His timing is good when going up and down, moving laterally quickly and finding the puck through crowds. I think that he plays a bit too far back in his net for our liking but you can’t complain about his results.
Tristan Bertucci (D, L, 6’2″, 185, Barrie Colts, 07/12/2005)
Grade: B
Comments: Tristan plays a contain and control type of defence with good positioning and mainly a stick check to separate the puck from the opposing player. In this game tonight we saw Tristan having difficulty defending when playing against speedy players and power forwards like Brown were having their way with the lightweight defence man. Tristan can skate well enough to play against the smaller and light weight players for now and can help himself if he gains some more upper body strength. Safe and dependable is how I describe Tristan and looks like a 4 or 5 D placing right now in this league.
Bradley Gardiner (C, R, 6’1″, 190, Barrie Colts, 03/06/2005)
Grade: B
Comments: Bradley is an efficient checking forward who will exploit your mistakes on the counter offensive rush when there is a turnover created. For Bradley it is his IQ and skill set that allows him to play this style of defending to create turnovers. Bradley works well with his line mates and they all seem to be in sync, knowing where each other is and distributing the puck to each other. Although not a huge and powerful player Bradley takes what you give him and uses his puck protecting skills to maintain puck possession.
Cole Beaudoin (C, L, 6’2″, 209, Barrie Colts, 04/24/2006)
Grade: B
Comments: Cole for us had an ok game with his effort seeming to be a bit lax to start the game. He was ok on the face offs winning just under 50% and we have seen Cole play with more urgency in his fore check. At around the half – way mark it seemed as though Cole turned it up a notch with this part of his game and he started to generate more opportunities on the offensive side of play. With a few minutes left in the game a turnover in their own end found Cole and he showed his very good straight away speed to pull away from the opposing teams back checkers, leaving him with the puck on a two on one. Cole is a goal scorer and he promptly deposited the puck on the opposing goaltenders glove side when he hit his spot. Other than this we think that Cole had an average game.
Beau Jelsma (LW, L, 5’9″, 174, Barrie Colts, 04/28/2004)
Grade: B+
Comments: Beau is one of the fastest straight away skaters in this entire league and when he gets free room to fly he does just that. Once in a while Beau gets caught with his head down or skates himself into a corner where there is nowhere to go, and he takes a big hit. Beau was most likely the minute leader in ice time tonight as he seems tireless when he is in puck pursuit or possession. Scored to win the game in overtime when he pulled away from two defenders for a loose puck and scored on a breakaway in the 3 on 3 situation.
Kashawn Aitcheson (D, L, 6’1″, 198, Barrie Colts, 09/21/2006)
Grade: B+
Comments: Kashawn plays against all the top players on the opposing team and just goes about his work of playing a heavy game with flashes of offensive tendencies to create. Kashawn was a rock back on the D tonight and didn’t stray out of his role which was to provide a stable defence in front of a young goalkeeper against a very good offensive team. Plus + 2 on the night and did what he was told to do.
Dalyn Wakely (RW, R, 6’1″, 198, Barrie Colts, 03/05/2004)
Grade: B+
Comments: Dalyn was traded for just what he is very good at and that is creating offence. Dalyn is extremely dangerous and can pick up a turnover, turn and shoot from anywhere in the offensive end. Dalyn is also a capable player to take the face off and plays the PP as well. He was making a conscious effort to play a new system for a new team and seems to be a good fit for this contending team.
David Egorov (G, L, 6’1″, 154, Brantford Bulldogs, 05/18/2006)
Grade; B+
Comments: A very solid performance in back to back games for David, with signs of improvement in his focus and his catching glove side. David is staying up on feet for the shot and an improvement with the shots along the ice, as he seems to be able to, at times, direct the rebounds away from the danger lurking, in and around the net. He did pay for kicking a rebound out to the dangerous Dalyn Wakely, who had lost his checker in the back of the net. The other goal scored on David during regulation time was scored late in the game when a 2 on 1 resulted in Cole Beaudoin hitting his spot over Davids catching glove when he was too far back in the net. The breakaway goal in the overtime had eyes when Jelsma used his blazing skating speed to have a clear look to find the low stick hand side. David is becoming more and more confident during these tight games and will have some consideration from the NHL teams in the upcoming draft when he continues to clean up his minor errors.
Noah Roberts (D, L, 6’0″, 187, Brantford Bulldogs, 12/02/2005)
Grade: B+
Comments: Noah had another very good performance while taking care of the defensive side and also stepping up into the neutral zone with his gap coverage. When Noah uses his very good skating ability and heavy checking strength, to neutralize the oncoming rush, he keeps the game in front of him and within his comfort area. Occasional miscues while handling the puck, usually when Noah is transitioning backwards, are all part of the learning curve. His deep end coverage is getting very good and the opposing players are not as eager to venture to his side of the ice. When Noah gets the chance to use his big shot from the point it could be another weapon that the Bulldogs have up their sleeve.
Tomas Hamara (D, L, 6’0″, 194, Brantford Bulldogs, 03/09/2004)
Grade: B+
Comments: Tomas continues to be the offensive coordinator for this teams PP and if he can get his shot through the block, in the general vicinity of the excellent hand eye coordinated players he is playing with his point totals along with these said team mates should go no where but up. Tomas also has toned down his heavy game a touch and just is finishing his checking assignments with the expected enthusiasm, without any extra attention required. Tomas is going to log a great deal of ice time this season and doesn’t need to tire himself with unnecessary hassles.
Owen Protz (D, L, 6’1″, 213, Brantford Bulldogs, 02/07/2006)
Grade: B+
Comments: When Owen begins to understand the situations in the game that require restraint and patience, he will start to get A type ratings, which are reserved for Alpha Dogs. Right now Owen is a very good B dog, which is a good thing as well. So many good things were noticed in this game I just don’t know where to begin, so I will just talk about the really good ones. The first notable improvement in Owens game is his switching off of defensive responsibility with partners. Owen is starting to read situations or the opponents tendencies and was switching off in order to intercept passes. Another thing Owen is doing very well is tightening up his gap in the offensive zone and continues it back into the neutral zone where he intercepts passes and also plays physical in these areas. Not once was Owen knocked off of the puck when in a one on one competition for a puck in his own end. This player is a very strong young man. Owen also was not afraid to shoot his low hard shot and was getting it through to the net. One of the most exciting plays in the overtime was when Owen drove to the net around opposing players, like he was a power forward, and nearly ended the game.
Calvin Crombie (RW, R, 6’0″, 170, Brantford Bulldogs, 09/03/2005)
Grade: B+
Comments: Calvin continues to take the role given to him and appears to like being part of a shutdown defending line. Calvin and his line mates play a nasty, heavy physical game and do so without taking any reactionary penalties. Noah Nelson and Calvin should work on their face off efficiency as the 25% win ratio makes their job harder than it already is. All three players on this checking line (Lardis,Nelson & Crombie) can score, but were shut out as a unit. The best part was that the unit wasn’t scored against while checking the best line for the opposing team.
Nick Lardis (RW, L, 5’10”, 167, Brantford Bulldogs, 07/08/2005)
Grade: B+
Comments: Nick logged extra ice time while playing with his regular checking line, PP and occasional PK appearances. Nick has great wheels and he put them on display while assisting on the teams second goal. Nick skated around the peripheral of the entire opposing team, in Barrie’s end of play and ended up high on the blue line when he fired a wrist shot, which found Captain Cole Brown in front of Barrie’s net, for the deflection goal. On any given night Nick can score goals if he is on and don’t underestimate this player’s accurate shot.
Dylan Tsherna (RW, R, 5’11”, 170, Brantford Bulldogs, 02/22/2007)
Grade: B
Comments: Dylan was not distracted in this game and didn’t react when he took a questionable hit from behind in his own end of play while trying to protect the puck. The referees both either missed the call or they were playing politics. Dylan could have been seriously injured but he dusted himself off, put his head down and showed a determination that I haven’t seen in Dylan yet this season. We know that Dylan is going to start to put the puck in the net eventually and when he does it will probably open the flood gates. All in all Dylan had a very good showing as he worked very hard in both directions for the entire game.
Zakary Lavoie (RW, R, 5’11”, 178, Brantford Bulldogs, 03/13/2004)
Grade: B
Comments: Zakary had a good game and assisted on the first goal of the game when his line mates(Brown & O’Brien) teamed up and kept the back checking pressure on, until they created a turnover in their own end. Zakary quickly passed to Brown, who was flying up the L wing with O,Brien on a two on one. This was a professional goal and Zakary started the play moving. When Zakary gets his feet moving faster and can last longer on his shifts with his line mates, then this line will become one of the top scoring lines in the league.
Jake O’Brien (C, R, 6’2″, 168, Brantford Bulldogs, 06/16/2007)
Grade: A-
Comments: Jake is getting the special attention from the oppositions best players mainly because he is an elite player who has everything required to become a superstar yet you know that he has to wait until the man strength slowly gets there. Right now Jake is learning to move a bit quicker in order to perform his magic as the opponents are just tipping him off balance or deflecting his passes enough to save the day. When Jake matures he is going to become an even more dominating player, than he already is. He was much better with his face off percentage 11/19 and he scored another highlight reel goal when he knocked a high pass down, didn’t panic and turned around to score on his backhand, while using deception. All of this is taking place while moving at top speed and within a blink of an eye. Wow.
Parker Holmes (LW, L, 6’3″, 222, Brantford Bulldogs, 05/08/2007)
Grade: B
Comments: Parker was playing like he can, and was a freight train when he ran into any of the opposition players. Parker should get some interest from NHL teams as he was displaying a good set of hands as well tonight. I also know that this player can’ throw them’ as mentioned earlier in the preseason. Some of these big players just need time to develop the fine motor skills.
Cole Brown (RW, L, 6’3″, 170, Brantford Bulldogs, 04/27/2005)
Grade: B+
Comments: Cole is improving his skating quickness and his powerful stride when in full flight is very impressive. He allows his talented line mates the space they require in order for them to do most of the navigating. Cole will continue to get the respect from the oppositions players as he is a big, strong, fast moving player that is very willing to go into the heavy, tough to play regions.
Patrick Thomas (C, L, 6’0″, 178, Brantford Bulldogs, 08/21/2004)
Grade: B+
Comments: The captain played like a captain tonight in front of his home fans. Patrick logged the most ice time for his team, won 60 % of his face offs, fought for space in front of the net in order to deflect a shot from the point, to get the go ahead goal in the third period, played in every situation possible, including special teams and the overtime. We sometimes as critics aren’t looking at all of the stats and get lost in the human aspect of the game. This player is entertaining to watch and he does give probably more than should be expected. A true leader and soon to be professional hockey player.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images