Game Recap: Bulldogs Eliminate Stars

Parkhill, ON – It was always going to be a tough series. It was always going to be a battle which lasted more than the minimum four games. The Battle of Highway 81 was alive an well between the Bulldogs and Stars and a thirteen-goal thriller seemed to be a somewhat fitting way to end the series between these two hockey clubs.

With the series victory, the Bulldogs will challenge the Petrolia Flyers in Round 2 of the PJHL Yeck Division Playoffs. The Flyers dealt with the Lucan Irish by way of a 4-0 series victory which ended on Wednesday, February 26.

Period 1: Just 1:55 into proceedings, veteran forward Nick Mazza (Noah Cameron) pushed the Bulldogs ahead. Just seconds after a Bulldogs 2-on-1 opportunity was stymied by Benjamin Gustafson in the North Middlesex goal, the puck was found and tucked home by Mazza to jumpstart the scoring frenzy.

Nick Bannister, at 3:51, replied for the Stars via the power-play.

Noah Cameron (Nathan Lavender, Jack Uniac) nudged the Bulldogs ahead by one at the 6:25-mark. The initial point shot was thrown into the mix by Uniac which created a scramble in front of Gustafson. The puck would eventually wiggle free and onto the stick of Cameron who showed good patience in front of goal and slotted the puck into the back of the net.

Not to be outdone, Nick Bannister (14:47) ensured that both teams would head into the first intermission level at two apiece.

Period 2: Jake Van Arenthals continued his point production for the Stars just 27-seconds into the middle frame. With the goal, the Stars turned the table and lead 3-2.

However, to go along with the theme of the occasion, Nathan Solomon (Kevin Waters, 1:39) earned his first goal of the post-season which tied the game yet again. A seemingly harmless wrist-shot from the far-side point eluded the goaltender and was had just enough firepower to find the mesh behind Gustafson.

At 9:42 of the middle frame, Nathan VanHooydonk (Cal Crinklaw, Kevin Waters) gave the Bulldogs the lead again. Waters supplied the initial burst of speed across the North Middlesex blueline and would eventually dish the puck to a streaking Crinklaw who found VanHooydonk driving the back post to send the away fans into a frenzy of cheers. There was no shortage of cowbells and barks from the stands as the Dogs pulled ahead 4-3.

Mount Brydges-born James Hipple (Nick Mazza, Noah Cameron) continued the scoring for the Bulldogs at 15:30. The play started as Cameron rushed through neutral ice and gained the offensive blueline. From there, Cameron would leave the puck with Mazza who would slip a cross-ice pass to Hipple who had entered the offensive zone late. Hipple would weigh out his options before firing short-side in order to beat the blocking arm of Gustafson.

Another local product, at 18:23, would take his turn to light the lamp. This time, it was Nolan Griffiths with the goal via the man-advantage from Noah Cameron and Ben Landers. The puck squirted out to the point where a waiting Griffiths collected the bouncing disk, turned, and fired a quick wrist-shot through a maze of players. The puck eventually found its way to the mesh of the goal and the away side took their 6-3 lead into the second intermission.

Period 3: Mimicking his effort in the early moments of the middle stanza, Jake Van Arenthals would find the back of the net just 2:55 into the third period via the power-play.

Moments later, at 5:23, Noah Cameron (Nathan Lavender) continued his productive evening to push the Dogs ahead 7-4. After an initial failed attempt to convert on a 2-on-1 which hit the post, Cameron made no mistake in pushing the puck over the line to complete the play.

Sometimes goal aren’t pretty and at 11:38 of the final period, Callum Statchuk (Deacon Kroesbergen, Logan Forster) barreled his way towards goal with the puck. With both Statchuk and a plethora of Stars players falling towards the goal, the puck somehow made its way over the line. Statchuk started his tiresome trek towards goal from his own blueline as he was being trailed by three Stars players as he crossed into the offensive zone. Statchuk’s second was the team’s eighth.

Finally, at 14:52, Nathan VanHooydonk (Alex Laszlo) scored his second goal of the game and third of the post-season via the power-play. Vanhooydonk sensed an opportunity to hang out at the opposing blueline where Laszlo pitched him a perfect stretch pass. Vanhooydonk would streak into the offensive zone after collecting the puck and send it far-side and over the glove hand of Gustafson.

Outstanding the crease, as usual, was Aiden Berry who turned aside 43 of 47 shots-on-goal to earn his fourth victory of the post-season.

Game Report

2025 PJHL Playoffs Bracket: Click Here

Up Next: The Bulldogs will take on the Petrolia Flyers in Round 2 of the PJHL Yeck Division Playoffs. Stay tuned for updates.

-1975-

Mount Brydges Bulldogs Media

Photo Credit: Kassy Howard – KPH Photography