City councilors are grateful for the Brantford Bulldogs season that was and already looking forward to season to be.
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Councillors, at a Tuesday meeting, voted unanimously in favor of sending a congratulatory letter to the Bulldogs and their owner Michael Andlauer for a remarkable season. They’re also thanking the team for its valuable economic and social impact on the community.
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The resolution, brought to council by Coun. Michael Sullivan (Ward 1) also thanks the Bulldogs fans for their enthusiastic support and their community spirit to help make the Bulldogs inaugural season in Brantford a success.
The team had a regular season record of 37-20-9-2 and finished third in the Eastern Conference
The Bulldogs season came to an end when they were ousted by the Ottawa 67s in a best of seven quarter-final playoff series on Sunday. The 67s took the series 4-2 when they defeated the Bulldogs 6-1 in Ottawa.
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“First of all, Jay McKee is the coach of the Brantford Bulldogs and a former NHLer and he made a very bold statement the other day,” Sullivan said. “He said he has never heard a louder arena in his life.
“For someone who has had years of experience in the NHL to make that statement, that’s a tribute to the fans.”
Sullivan said the fans in Brantford are incredible.
They embraced the team, could be seen walking around wearing team jerseys.
The Bulldogs brought a sense of community back to Brantford, something that has been missing since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Coming out of COVID I don’t think we could have had anything better to form a bond between people,” Sullivan said. “I made friends in that arena that I might not have made otherwise.
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“So I’d like to thank the fans for their support and I’d like to congratulate the Brantford Bulldogs for a tremendous season.”
Several other councilors commented on the season and Mayor Kevin Davis reflected on the efforts that brought the team to Brantford.
“I recall 14 months ago when the decision was made to accommodate the then Hamilton Bulldogs need for a new home and I remember how the city was buzzing with excitement,” Davis said. “I remember the intense interest around the city as the much-needed renovations to the Civic Center got underway and there was frenzy around season’s tickets which sold out in a couple of weeks with virtually no marketing whatsoever.”
Davis said the team brought OHL hockey to the community but also provided the stimulus for a badly needed upgrade of the Civic Centre.
“They brought a renewed energy to that area of the city and to a large degree lifted the spirits of the community following COVID and all the divisiveness that came out of the pandemic.
“The team brought some unity and some excitement to our community.”
Davis said it also generated some economic benefits for the community.
“There’s thousands really nothing else that brings together of people once a week and it also brought people downtown, people who hadn’t been downtown in quite some time,” Davis said.
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