NEWS RELEASE
BRADFORD RATTLERS
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The Bradford Rattlers honoured our first responders on Sunday, Oct. 30 with tickets donated by Steve Quesnel of McKague Mortgages.
First responders included members of the Bradford fire department, Barrie fire department, South Simcoe police and Newmarket’s Southlake hospital.
The night began with the evening’s flag bearers with Eva Poole and Colby Shapcott completing laps of the rink under spotlight (light courtesy of Upsight & Sound in Barrie and flags courtesy of The Flag Store).
The Rattlers’ starting lineup took the ice to commence in the official puck drop by Bradford acting Fire Chief Ian Poot, accompanied by mayor-elect James Leduc. The Rattlers’ Jesper Eriksson and Titans’ Jericho Mongrain represented their teams at the night’s puck drop.
The puck drop was followed by a moment of silence to reflect on the passing of South Simcoe police officers Devon Northrup and Morgan Russell, who unfortunately lost their lives in the line of duty earlier in October. The Bradford Rattlers and community mourn the passing of these two dedicated officers and staples in the Bradford community.
Following the moment of silence, Barrie’s community choir, the Northern Pipes, sang O Canada, accompanied by group organizer and guitarist Brett Caswell. The Northern Pipes did a great job of presenting O Canada. They are open to all members as a drop-in choir at Donaleigh’s in Barrie on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m.
Temiscaming took an early lead in the first period, scoring 19 seconds in with a goal by Jacob Tessier-Gagnon, who would proceed to score again with another quick goal at 1:37. The Rattlers would respond with their own goal at 6:01 by Stepan Levitskiy (No. 14) and assisted by Jesper Eriksson (No. 8) and Jacob Rhodin (No. 91) to close the gap to a 2-1 lead by Temiscaming. However, the Titans would pull off two more goals with one at 6:34 by Christophe Laniel and another at 12:20 by Antonio Balestra, making the score 4-1 in favour of the Titans and necessitating a goalie change by the Rattlers.
The Rattlers would go into the change rooms at the end of the first period in a desperate and tense position, being down by three against a strong Titans team. However, the head coach would rally the players in the change room, resulting in the Rattlers closing the gap in the second with two goals to the Titans’ one.
The Rattlers would score at 6:16 into the first on a power play by Brayden Uluqsi (No. 16), assisted by recent addition Lucas Sturm (No. 9) and the goalie, Oliver Balazs (No. 1). The Rattlers’ second goal would also be on the power play from Hunter Godmere (No. 20) and assisted by William-Daniel Burns (No. 22), shortly followed by the Titans’ goal at 15:43 by Nathan Hardy. The second period would close with a score of 5-3 for the Titans.
The Rattlers would return hungry for the win in the third period, dominating the first five minutes with a goal by Hunter Godmere at 1:33, assisted by William-Daniel Burns, followed quickly with two power-play goals by Jacob Rhodin at 2:22 and 4:53, respectively (assisted by Godmere and Levitskiy, then Erisksson and Levitskiy), giving the Rattlers a one-goal lead over the Titans.
The Rattlers would continue to hold control of the game during the third, pulling a penalty shot awarded to Levitskiy at 13:59, which he promptly sank at the back of the Titans’ goal to receive the final goal of the game for the Rattlers. The game would finish with a final score of 7-5.
The Bradford Rattlers welcome everybody to attend Sunday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. at the BWG Leisure Centre (blue ice) as the Bradford Rattlers take on the South Muskoka Shield.
Looking to complete your community service hours? Have a group looking to participate in intermission activities, be a flag bearer, national anthem singer, or a group to attend a game? Fundraising, advertisement or sponsorship considerations? Contact [email protected] to inquire for more information.
The Bradford Rattlers thank our sponsors and fans for helping put on an amazing evening.
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