Stillman remains perfect against pop

It’s a sweep for Riley Stillman.

With Saturday’s win over Sudbury, the 19-year-old Bulldogs defenceman improved to a perfect 5-0 in career matchups against his dad, Cory Stillman, who coaches the Wolves.

The two faced off twice while Riley was playing for the Oshawa Generals and three times since he was traded to Hamilton midway through the season. He notched at least a point in every game.

“We both want to win really bad and there’s no hard feelings when we play, like, I want to beat him just as much as he wants to beat me,” Riley said after setting up an empty netter by Nick Caamano. “It’s the same as everything else we do, whether it’s ping-pong or skiing or whatever.

It’s fun, but in the same breath, there are no friends.”

A two-time Stanley Cup winner, Cory replaced Dave Matsos behind the bench in Sudbury at the start of the season — his first coaching gig after spending several seasons working in player development for the Carolina Hurricanes. Matsos, meanwhile, is now an associate in Hamilton.

When asked what it’s like to play against his son, the Peterborough native said it’s “not tough,” although his players “do chuckle every time they run over him.”

“To me,” the 44-year-old added, “he’s another player out there and we’re going to play him the same way we play everyone else.”

If Riley, a Florida Panthers prospect, doesn’t return for an overage campaign, Saturday’s game would be the last between the two Stillmans — at least at the Ontario Hockey League level. And he’d love to move on with his undefeated streak intact.

“I have yet to lose to him, which is fun,” he said.

“It makes me happy and makes him not happy.”