Bulldogs and The Soo, again. Or is it?
The Hamilton Bulldogs visit the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on Saturday for the first time since last year’s OHL championship series.
But don’t call it a rematch. Since they last met in May, both teams have turned over substantial portions of their lineups. In fact, 20 players that suited up in that series — which Hamilton won at home in six games — have either graduated or been traded away.
“It’s going to be totally different,” said Bulldogs coach Dave Matsos.
Of the now departed players, nine are from the Soo, including the elite defensive pairing of Rasmus Sandin and Connor Timmins and five of the side’s top six scorers in Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh, Tim Gettinger, Jack Kopacka and Hayden Verbeek.
Hamilton, meanwhile, lost 11, including all but one of its starting six defenders, goalie Kaden Fulcher and Robert Thomas, the most valuable player in the OHL playoffs.
On top of that, both teams are also under the direction of new coaches. Matsos replaced John Gruden, who is now an assistant with the New York Islanders, and John Dean took over for Drew Bannister, who in June was named the head coach of the San Antonio Rampage — the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues.
Nic Mattinen, the lone holdover on the Hamilton blueline, said it doesn’t matter who is on the ice or behind the bench at the Essar Centre. The key for his Bulldogs lies within.
“We need to just go in there and focus on ourselves,” he said. “Not worry about who they have in the lineup and whatnot.”
Because it doesn’t matter who
plays for the Greyhounds year after year.
It just matters that they’re good. Very good.
Going into their game against Kingston on Friday, the Soo — which retained 112 point scorer Morgan Frost and Matthew Villalta, who is among the best netminders in the league — was on top of the Western Conference standings. It was thriving at home and defensively, especially on the penalty kill.
It was also allowing just 2.73 goals against per game — the third fewest in the OHL — while giving up an average of nearly 35 shots.
“We know what we’re getting into with these guys,” Matsos said before echoing Mattinen. “They’ve got lots of great things going on, but I think it’s more about us and how we play.”
Saturday’s game wraps up a three-game road trip for Hamilton. The Bulldogs downed the Owen Sound Attack 7-6 in the OHL’s first shootout of the season on Wednesday — their first-ever win at Harry Lumley arena — before heading to Sudbury on Friday.
The Wolves went into that matchup looking to snap a twogame losing skid and trailing the fourth-place Bulldogs by three points in the Eastern Conference standings.
Hamilton had won its last three straight.
Notes: Arthur Kaliyev scored his first OHL hat trick in Owen Sound. He now has 12 goals in 10 games this season, which was the second-most in the league to start the weekend ... Hamilton’s next game against Sault Ste. Marie will be broadcast to a national audience. The Dec. 15 game at FirstOntario Centre will be featured on Sportsnet’s CHL Saturday Showcase.