Bulldogs lose Strome
Top playoff scorer to miss at least tonight’s Game 4 in Niagara
The Hamilton Bulldogs will be without their top playoff scorer for at least the next game of their OHL conference semifinal against the Niagara IceDogs.
Matt Strome was taken to the hospital to have his neck assessed after colliding with Akil Thomas midway through Game 3 Monday. The good news, said head coach John Gruden, is his X-rays came back negative and he won’t be sidelined for long.
“I think it was a stinger,” he added — that is, the intense stinging sensation that can follow a sudden impact to the head or neck. “He’s going to miss probably one game and we’ll re-evaluate it for the next.”
Strome, 19, leads the Bulldogs in playoff scoring with 13 points, going into Game 4 Wednesday. He has a goal and two assists in the best-of-seven series so far.
Gruden said the left winger will be missed most on the power play, where he skates on Hamilton’s top unit and has six points in eight games. Four of the 11 goals the Bulldogs have scored against the IceDogs have come with the man advantage.
With Strome sidelined, Arthur Kaliyev is expected to move up to flank Mackenzie Entwistle and Isaac Nurse, while either Navrin Mutter or Liam Van Loon will be inserted into the rookie sniper’s spot on the fourth line.
“I think five-on-five it really shouldn’t hurt that much,” Gruden said. “He’s a good player, but Artie’s got 31 goals.”
After taking the first two games of the series in overtime, the Bulldogs dropped Game 3 to the IceDogs. The 3-2 contest also went to OT, with Kirill Maksimov scoring the winner.
“We weren’t doing the little things right, but we gathered ourselves and we started to play really well,” said Gruden. “We’ve just got to watch some film, get some rest and get back to work.”
The most perplexing and persistent problem for them in Game 3 and through the series has been discipline. Monday they let the IceDogs to tally twice with the extra man, which means they’ve now allowed two power play goals in three straight games.
It also means Hamilton has been short-handed for 6 of the 10 Niagara goals in the series and more than 45 per cent of the 22 goals it’s given up in the playoffs.
After nearly every matchup either Gruden or his players have talked about the importance of discipline, particularly with the penalty kill operating at just 72 per cent. Gruden said they need to improve on it in Game 4.
The Bulldogs return to St. Catharines Wednesday with a 2-1 lead in the series. The conference semifinal shifts back to Hamilton Thursday for Game 5.
NOTES: The OHL is holding its second under-18 midget draft Wednesday. The Bulldogs will choose 18th, 38th and 58th, if they decide to take a goalie with one of their first two picks. Last year, the inaugural draft was four rounds, or five for teams that selected a netminder.