The Brock Badgers men’s hockey team lost 3-2 in overtime to the Laurier Golden Hawks on Oct. 5, falling to 1-1 to begin the 2024-25 season.
Samuel Vyletelka, Brock’s rookie goaltender, made 26 saves in his OUA regular season debut as the Badgers picked up a hard-fought point away from home.
Ethan Sims scored his first goal of the season and Holden Rogers added another, but Laurier’s Tristan Malboeuf’s 48 saves — including seven in overtime — spoiled the comeback as the Golden Hawks came out victorious for their first win of the new season.
After Laurier took an early 2-0 lead in the first courtesy of Bryce Kilbourne and Samuel Williamson, the Badgers began to find their legs in the second as they looked for their second consecutive comeback win, after successfully rallying late to beat the Waterloo Warriors 5-4 on Oct. 3.
Vyletelka made three critical high-danger stops in the opening minutes of the second period, as strong play in between the pipes sprung the Badgers’ forwards. Sims, the former Niagara Ice Dogs and Hamilton Bulldogs forward, scored the Badgers’ first goal of the game seven minutes into the middle frame, ripping a shot past Malboeuf to cut the deficit in half.
With the Badgers down 2-1 entering the third, Brock dominated play putting 24 shots on goal in the period.
The Brock forecheck was tenacious as they were seeking the equalizer, winning puck battles including a forced Laurier turnover in the neutral zone, which proved to be costly.
After the Golden Hawks’ turnover, the Badgers controlled possession in the Laurier zone. From a scrambled play, Ryan Thompson found an open Rodgers in the slot who beat Malboeuf top-shelf blocker side for his second goal of the season, and more importantly, tied the game at two. Now, Rogers — who only registered two goals in three games last season — already has two goals and two assists in a pair of games this season as the third year forward looks poised to take a big leap this season.
Rogers nearly added another on the powerplay in the latter stages of the period, however, Laurier’s penalty kill was perfect on the night, successfully killing all seven Badgers powerplays — an area that needs to be improved for Brock if they want to find success this season.
The game was tied at two heading into overtime. In the extra frame, Jonah Boria, who was named to the U Sports All-Rookie Team last season and was actively jumping into the rush all game long, nearly scored the game-winner a minute into overtime, but Malboeuf had other ideas.
Malboeuf also denied Boria and Rogers on the breakaway later in overtime, keeping the Golden Hawks in the game. Laurier’s Evan Benwell scored the game-winner with a minute left, beating an outstretched Vyletelka, as Laurier won a back-and-forth thriller 3-2 in overtime.
Next, the Badgers head to London on Oct. 10 to play the Western Mustangs before making the trip to Windsor to battle the Lancers the following night.
For more information on the Brock Badgers men’s hockey team, head to gobadgers.ca.