BULLDOGS 4, ICEDOGS 2
Hamilton stages third-period comeback to take 3-1 series lead; Game 4 tonight
ST. CATHARINES —
There are a lot of ways to describe Hamilton’s come-from-behind win over the Niagara IceDogs, but Bulldogs coach John Gruden probably captures it best: “Good teams in desperation moments on the road know what’s at stake and they go and get it done,” he said.
Did they ever.
The Bulldogs scored twice in a minute to overcome a late-game deficit and take a 3-1 lead in their OHL conference semifinal against the host IceDogs on Wednesday.
The final tally was 4-2.
“It wouldn’t have happened without Kaden Fulcher’s play,” Gruden said of his netminder, who turned aside 24 shots. “I thought he was outstanding, our D was outstanding — not the prettiest of games for us, but at the end of the day we got ’er done. That’s huge for us.”
Hamilton was missing top playoff scorer Matt Strome, who injured his neck when he collided with Akil Thomas in Game 3. But his absence meant an opportunity for Arthur Kaliyev, who was moved up to flank Mackenzie Entwistle and Isaac Nurse on Hamilton’s third line. He made the most of it. With the score knotted late in the first, the rookie sniper went high on Stephen Dhillon to score the go-ahead goal — but it was called off on review. The officials ruled Entwistle had made contact with the IceDogs goalie. He made up for the missed chance later. With the Bulldogs trailing early in the third, Kaliyev found Connor Walters who threaded the needle to Nurse in front of the IceDogs net.
The Hamilton native notched the tying goal before Marian Studenic put the Bulldogs out front 57 seconds later. Robert Thomas added an empty netter as the clock ticked down, while Kirill Maksimov and Justin MacPherson had the Niagara markers. The waved-off goal wasn’t the only call that didn’t go Hamilton’s way Wednesday, and the players’ frustrations swelled. For the most part, though, they managed to stay disciplined, which was their top priority going into Game 4.
Why? In each of their first three games, the Bulldogs allowed the IceDogs to score twice
on the power play and were short-handed for a whopping 60 per cent of the Niagara’s 10 goals.
The Bulldogs can finish off the series at home Thursday. Game 5 gets started at 7 p.m. at FirstOntario Centre.
NOTES: Liam Van Loon made his OHL playoff debut. The speedy winger, who the Bulldogs called up when the Jr. B Ancaster Avalanche were ousted from the playoffs, skated on the fourth line with Ben Garagan and Zack
Jackson. … The Bulldogs picked up three new prospects in the OHL’s second annual under-18 draft Wednesday — Whitby Wildcats goalie Damon Beaver, Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs winger Sean
Chisholm and Mississauga Rebels centre Nick Cordeiro.