Bulldogs step up for the coach
Dave Matsos feels good. Really, really good.
A little more than a week after collapsing behind the bench during a game in Barrie, the Burlington native was smiling and cracking jokes on Sunday when his Hamilton Bulldogs hosted the Ottawa 67’s.
He looked well, and is eager to get back to work after his health scare. But he’s not quite ready. He still has a few more tests to get through early this week, and said he owes it to himself to be careful. Cautious. Sure. “I’ve got to respect the process,” he said. “I should be back by the weekend if everything goes well.”
Matsos, 44, watched from ice level as three banners — one each for the division, conference and OHL champions — were slowly raised to the rafters before the home opener. The game itself, a 4-3 overtime loss, he took in from the press box.
That wasn’t easy for him, but he knows he has to be patient. Especially because he got into this mess by pushing himself too hard.
Matsos wasn’t feeling well in the lead up to that game in Barrie. He had the flu, wasn’t sleeping much and wasn’t hungry. Even if he had been, it wouldn’t have mattered — he couldn’t keep anything down.
“I think I just pushed myself to the brink and finally my body just pretty much had enough,” he said.
“It’s definitely a learning experience for me and it allows me to reset the way that I attack every day.”
The fact that Matsos was in the building at all on Sunday meant something to his players. Some are still processing what happened — he seized and lost consciousness, and it was scary — and his presence helped ease any lingering concerns.
“Everyone is obviously still a little shocked,” said forward Matt Strome.
“It was something crazy you don’t see everyday and to just see him at the rink lifted our spirits.”
With Matsos out of commission, associate coach Vince Laise has been put in charge of head coaching duties. It was a smooth transition, he said. Like the players, each member of the coaching staff is prepared in case they ever have to step up into someone else’s role.
Matsos approved. Everyone on his staff speaks the same language and has the same belief systems when it comes to how the team plays, he said. “So these guys are more than capable. I didn’t fear for one second with me not being on the bench that these guys wouldn’t manage. They’re incredibly intelligent guys, they’re intense, they’re doing a great job.”
Laise, meanwhile, gave his players credit, saying they were enthusiastic and practised hard throughout the week. He also said that translated to “a really positive weekend.”
Sure, the overtime loss was a bummer, but the Bulldogs still earned three of a possible four points by dismantling Peterborough 7-1 on the road Saturday. Liam Stevens and Arthur Kaliyev both scored twice against the Petes, while Tim Fleischer, Isaac Nurse and Strome added singles.
“It’s exciting,” said Laise. “I think there’s a lot of energy in our coach’s room and among our players.” NOTES: Tim Fleischer’s goal on Saturday was his first in the OHL. The import forward said he kept the puck — that’s also a tradition in his native Germany — and plans to stow it in his room for now. … Arthur Kaliyev and Brandon Saigeon went into the home opener tied with Barrie’s
Ryan Suzuki for the league scoring lead with nine points each.