The Bancroft Rockhounds hit the solid rock wall of Bradford Bulls’ goalie Travis Smith (#30) in Wednesday night’s game at the Bob Fallis Sports Complex, going down to a 4-0 defeat.
It was the opening game in Round 1 of the Junior A Bulls’ playoff challenge for the GMHL (Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League) Russell Cup, and Smith stonewalled the Bancroft side through three periods of hard-skating and end-to-end action.
But the real story might have been the refereeing. The refs came down like a rockfall on the Bulls in the first period, but even though the Rockhounds seemed to have a golden ticket of immunity, they were unable to capitalize on their power play opportunities. The period ended in a scoreless tie.
Period 2 was more of the same, but the uneven penalty calls only seemed to inspire the Bulls to greater heights. In a determined assault on the Bancroft net, Bradford scored within the first three minutes of the second period, at 17:44 - a shorthanded goal by forward Nicholas Rotatore (#9) assisted by #15 Daniel Bott.
The penalties continued to roll down on the Bulls during the 2nd, leaving fans wondering if they were watching the same game. Even with the gift of an almost continuously shorthanded Bradford squad, the Rockhounds couldn’t beat Bulls’ goalie Smith, who remained laser-focused on the puck.
Bradford scored a second goal, with only 9.5 seconds left in the period, by #22 Nicolai Harrie Andersen from defenceman Josh Booker (#6) and forward Zachary Lewis (#24).
The Bulls came back in the third to find the seesaw refereeing was now in their favour, with Bancroft players sent to the penalty box on calls that included cross-checking and slashing, as interactions became more heated.
In fact, the Bulls played a good part of the period with a two-man advantage, harrying Bancroft goalie Igor Kulakov (#1). Kulakov held off the attack until, with 9:13 minutes remaining, Lewis found the back of the net with help from #17 Shawn Soliman.
Lewis scored on the power play. At one point, four Rockhounds were crowded into the penalty box, and tempers frayed as the final minutes of play dragged on.
The Bulls notched a fourth and final goal late in the 3rd. Dylan Henri (#23) scored, assisted by #8 Liam Silva and #20 Nathan Balkwill, as an exhausted Kulakov tried unsuccessfully to block the puck.
It was a solid win for the Bulls, who proved that they could stay focused on the game no matter what - but a scrappy start to the Best of three series.
Game 2 takes place in Bancroft on March 12 at 7 p.m. Game 3, if needed, will be played in Bradford at the Bob Fallis Centre on March 13, at 9 p.m. The Bulls, who finished the regular season in third place in the North Division standings, have their eyes on the North-South Championship title.
There were more than 60 spectators watching the game at Bob Fallis on Wednesday, marking the return to in-person attendance and an end to restrictions on gatherings just in time for the playoffs. Fans are encouraged to come out to cheer on the team.
