BRANTFORD, ONTARIO – The Brantford Titans returned home on Thursday and welcomed the Welland Jr Canadians to the Gretzky Centre for game two of the season series between the two clubs. The Titans won the first matchup back on October 19th by a score of 5-2. This also marked the first game in the GOHL for Brantford Bulldogs first rounder David Buchman who joined the Titans this week after being assigned by the OHL club. James Gall got the call between the pipes for the Titans while the Jr Canadians called on Cooper Marsh.
Early in this one, Welland would get themselves into penalty trouble as they would take two minor penalties in a span of 54 seconds, putting Brantford on a 5 on 3 power play. The Titans would make them pay as David Buchman would put it on a tee for Matteo Gauthier who riffled a one-timer to the back of the net past Marsh to make it 1-0. That would be David Buchman’s first point in the GOHL. Kaleb Frank would get the secondary assist on the game’s first goal. Less than 3 minutes later, the defence for the Titans would activate themselves in the offensive zone as Christie and Buchman would show off for the crowd. Buchman would grab a loose puck below the goal line and feed Christie who was in the slot and he found the top of the net to make it 2-0. Tyson Papple grabbed an assist on the goal as well. Welland would then get their opportunity on the power play as Bailey-Reid and Stipan would both get called for minor penalties. James Gall would stand tall in the Titans net keeping the game 2-0 and helping his club kill off both penalties. That would lead to more offence at the other end as Kaden Wicklander wound up with the puck on his stick just inside the right circle and he would make no mistake for his fifth goal of the season. Stipan and Buchman collected the assists on the goal. The Titans would not be done there. With exactly one second left on the clock, Tyson Papple would squeak the puck past Marsh to make it 4-0 Brantford and they would take that lead into the first intermission. Titans would outshoot the Jr Canadians 18-11 after 20 minutes.
Welland would make a goalie change to start the second. Ryan Moore would replace Cooper Marsh who allowed four goals on 18 shots. The Titans would find themselves in some penalty trouble of their own as they were called for three straight minors. They would be able to kill off the first two but on the third, Liam Mansour would sneak in from the point and roof a shot over the glove of Gall to make it a 4-1 game. Kaden Wicklander would get called for a penalty just a couple minutes later also to give Welland a chance to cut the lead in half but the Titans would kill off the penalty. Immediately out of the box, Wicklander would have the puck on a 2 on 1 with Chamberlain. The pass would be right on the tape of Chamberlain from Wicklander and the Bulldogs prospect would make no mistake, restoring the four goal lead. Stipan also grabbed an assist on the goal. Titans would carry a 5-1 lead into the second intermission. They would outshoot the Jr Canadians 27-19 through two periods.
The third period would be quiet in terms of scoring the but the rough stuff would carry over from late in the second period. Liam Mansour and Quinton Kim-Lemay would square off deep in the Welland zone for a tilt just a few minutes into the final frame. Each player would receive a five minute major for fighting and a game misconduct. Just a few minutes later, Kaden Wicklander and Brady McConnell would get tied up and exchange pleasantries and both received four minutes in penalties for a facemask. No one would find the back of the net in the final frame and the Titans would cruise to their fifth straight win, defeating Welland 5-1. Final shots in the game favoured Brantford 43-28.
James Gall picks up his fourth win of the season, making 27 saves.
The Titans are back in action on Saturday as they welcome the Hamilton Kilty B’s to the Gretzky Centre. Puck drop is at 1:00pm.
