BRANTFORD, ONTARIO – The Brantford Titans began their two game home stretch on Saturday as they welcomed the Ayr Centennials to town. The season series was tied at one game apiece as the Titans defeated Ayr back on January 11th 5-3. Carter Vicente was back between the pipes after a stellar performance on Thursday in Hamilton despite the shootout loss.
The scoring started early as it took all of 24 seconds for Ethan Szabo to score his 23rd goal of the season as he followed up on a rebound that poked out to the slot and he buried the puck top shelf glove side on Newton. Lucas Muhn would pick up the lone assist. Jack Pancoe would extend the lead to 2-0 at the 6:42 mark as he would let a point shot go from the left side of the ice that would go straight into the net past Newton. Cayson Craig would pick up the only assist on the goal. Ayr would strike back though before the period ended. The puck would float up in the air and be batted into the net by Austin Keleher to make it a 2-1 game. The officials would have a discussion about whether the puck was knocked in with a high stick but the goal would stand. Shots after 20 minutes favoured Brantford 17-13.
There would be no scoring in the middle frame however it was a penalty filled period as the teams would combine for 5 minor penalties, 3 for Brantford and 2 for Ayr. Titans would have a couple of shorthanded breakaways but they could not solve Centennials goaltender Kayden Newton. Shots after 40 minutes still favoured Brantford 25-21.
In the third period, fans would see a little bit of everything. After Jack Weiser took a two minute minor and a 10 minute major for head contact, Ethan Szabo would score his 2nd of the game to give the Titans a 3-1 lead. 20 seconds after that, Josh Currie and Ethan Stover would drop the gloves and give the fans a donny brook. Both guys receive five and a game with Stover picking up an extra minor for roughing which would put Brantford back on the power play. 34 seconds later Hutton would get called for high sticking giving the Titans a 5 on 3 advantage which helped Szabo collect his 3rd of the game and 25th of the season to make it a 4-1 game. The Titans would add a couple more goals in the late stages of the 3rd period as Adam Saipan would score his 10th of the season and Simon Otaki would score his first GOJHL goal to make it a 6-1 final.
Shots on Goal: Ayr: 28 | Brantford: 36
PP: Ayr: 1/8 | Brantford: 3/8
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2ByAR3pZhQ
The Titans are back at it on Thursday against Fort Erie at the Gretzky Centre at 7:30pm.