Hamilton upended in Owen Sound

Owen Sound isn’t kind to the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The club was held to just 23 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Attack on Wednesday, its fifth in a row at Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. The last time the Bulldogs won at the rink was 2012, when they were still the Belleville Bulls.

Players and coaches often talk about how tough it is to play at the bouncy-boarded barn in Owen Sound — a small, aging and sometimes raucous space. For Matt Strome, though, that’s no excuse.

“Wherever we play, whatever rink we’re in, we have to play better than we did tonight,” said the lone Bulldogs scorer.

It took less than four minutes for Jackson Doherty, an Ancaster native, to put the Attack on the board against his hometown team — the rookie’s third goal of the season. But the lead didn’t last long.

Before the end of the frame, Markus Phillips turned the puck over in his own zone to Ryan Moore. He took a shot, which was tipped past Mack Guzda by Will Bitten and then poked over the line by Strome.

Nick Suzuki put Owen Sound, the eighth-place team in the Western Conference, back on top midway through the second with a wrist shot that fooled Kaden Fulcher. Suzuki’s first goal in seven games stood as the winner.

“I think we just let our foot off the gas,” said Strome. “We couldn’t really get back into it until the third and by that time it was too late.”

Despite the loss, the Bulldogs maintained their seven-point lead at the top of the Eastern Conference. They continue their road trip in Kingston on Friday evening before closing out the weekend in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. Here’s a look at what they’re up against:

Kingston

Friday, 7 p.m. The storyline: The Frontenacs have lost more than they’ve won lately despite loading up on elite talent in the lead up to the trade deadline. Player to watch: Finnish import Linus Nyman leads the team with seven goals in the past six games. Neat stat: Kingston has allowed fewer goals in the first and second periods than any team in the league.

Ottawa

Saturday, 2 p.m. The storyline: The struggling 67’s had lost seven of their past 10 games to start the week, including four by a single goal. Player to watch: Sam Bitten, the younger brother of Bulldogs forward Will, recently recorded the first multi-goal game of his junior career.