Bulldogs can’t win, or lose, in regulation
A lot of things went wrong for the Bulldogs in Sarnia Monday — they fell behind early, allowed a ton of shots and struggled on the penalty kill — before something finally went right.
No, they didn’t win (in fact, the 6-5 loss was their third straight in extra time). They scored. For the first time this season, the Bulldogs mustered more than three goals in a game and more than one in a period. And because of that, they finished the weekend with two points instead of one.
It was no easy feat, considering they allowed the Sting to build up a 4-0 lead and lost a player — Navrin Mutter was handed a five-minute major and ejected for slew footing — all before the end of the opening frame.
They pulled it off, though, and here’s how:
After registering just seven shots in the first, the Bulldogs started pelting goalie Justin Fazio with pucks immediately to start the second period. It paid off around the six-minute mark when Isaac Nurse and Connor Roberts beat the Sarnia native on back-to-back shifts. They took a step back after that, allowing Ryan McGregor to score shorthanded — the second goal they’ve given up with the man advantage in six games — then took a leap forward.
With about five minutes to go in the second, Justin Lemcke scored on a wrist shot from the high slot that deflected off a defender and in — the second power play goal of the season for the Bulldogs and the first of two in the game. Brandon Saigeon, who had both Hamilton goals in a 3-2 shootout loss to Niagara Saturday, got the other one early in the third.
The standouts, however, were Nurse, who scored the tying goal unassisted with just over seven minutes to go, and netminder Kaden Fulcher. Despite allowing four goals on 17 shots in the first period, he gave the Bulldogs a chance by stopping all but two of the 29 shots he faced after that. Slovakian import Adam Ruzicka scored the overtime winner.
So, no, it’s not a good sign that the Bulldogs lost a third straight game, gave up six goals and continued to look disorganized on the power play
(on top of giving up a shorthanded marker, it was 2-for-8 on the day and is now operating at just over 11 per cent — fourthworst in the league). Nor is it a good sign that their usually stellar defensive game has run into some trouble over their last couple of contests.
But it does show they can score against the OHL’s hottest team and top penalty kill (Sarnia, which has now won five in a row, finished the game with a kill rate just shy of 90 per cent) — and that is a good sign, especially with two of their biggest offensive guns in Mackenzie Entwistle and Matt Strome sidelined with injuries.
Following Saturday’s loss to Niagara, head coach John Gruden said the Bulldogs are not built to win games 7-5. “We’re just not,” he added. “We’re built to win 2-1, 1-0, 3-2.”
Maybe he’s right. After all, they didn’t win Monday. Or maybe, just maybe, their fivegoal, come-from-behind effort shows they at least have the potential to be built for both. NOTES: Ben Gleason made his season debut Monday after missing the first five games recovering from wrist surgery. Another blueliner, Jack Hanley, was also back on the ice after suffering a concussion in a game against Barrie early this month. … Together, the Bulldogs and Sting managed 86 shots — 40 and 46, respectively. That’s the most Sarnia has managed so far this season. … Following Saturday’s clash with Niagara, Gruden said the only positive take-aways were that the Bulldogs earned a point and Nick Donofrio played well. The 18-year-old netminder had 23 saves, including one on a midgame penalty shot, in his OHL debut.