Bulldogs start the season with no trouble finding the net scoring 14 goals in first two games
Over the past few seasons, the Hamilton Bulldogs — and before them, the Belleville Bulls — had a problem scoring goals.
It sure didn’t plague them over the weekend.
After trouncing the Mississauga Steelheads 7-0 in their season opener, the club doubled down with a 7-2 win at home against the Kingston Frontenacs on Saturday. Including Matt Luff, who had a hat trick Friday, seven players scored for the Bulldogs, while Kaden Fulcher made 33 stops.
“We’re hitting the net and taking away the goalie’s eyes like we always talk about doing,” said head coach John Gruden. “It’s a start, and it’s good start, when you only give up two and score 14, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
The good start, however, comes with an asterisk. Both the Fish and the Fronts were missing some of their best players to NHL training camps — that includes Lawson Crouse, Stephen Desrocher and Jeremy Helvig, Kingston’s starting goalie.
Gruden downplayed the absences, saying “a win’s a win” and his roster is likewise depleted. Hamilton was without Ben Gleason, Cole Candella and Connor Hicks — all of whom are still away at pro tryouts.
“At the end of the day, I don’t care who’s in that locker-room, whether it’s Mario Lemieux or Sidney Crosby,” he added. “We have to play a certain way and I liked our push back tonight.”
Regardless of who was or wasn’t on the ice this weekend, the fact that the Bulldogs managed seven goals in back-to-back games is exceptional, particularly compared to some of their previous results. In each of the past three seasons, they’ve never finished better than 16th in scoring in the 20-team Ontario Hockey League, and last year, it took them six games to hit the 14-goal mark.
When asked their early output, several players chalked it up to a change in coaching. They still have systems under Gruden — who replaced veteran OHL bench boss George Burnett in the off-season — but they’ve been given more freedom and encouraged to play a faster, more creative game.
“We want to play our systems and play the right way, but when we get into the offensive zone, coach says ‘just make a play, get pucks on net and have fun out there,’” said Matthew Strome, one of Saturday’s seven goal scorers. MacKenzie Entwistle agreed.
“Last year, we were kind of held to strict positions,” he said.
“This year we still are, but our goal is to play faster ... I think that’s what’s ultimately giving us success right now and guys are putting pucks in the back of the net,” he added.
On top of Luff and Strome, Brandon Saigeon, Fedor Gordeev, Niki Petti and Ondrej Kachyna all scored against Kingston.
Entwistle, who had a pair of goals in Friday’s win, also scored. In general, the scoring was distributed throughout the squad — by the end of the weekend, only three Bulldogs, including goalie Fulcher, had failed to register at least a point, while 12 had two or more.
Nathan Dunkley and Zack Dorval had the Frontenacs markers.
Next up for Hamilton is a trip to Owen Sound, where rookie first-rounder Connor Roberts will make his hometown debut. Game time is 7 p.m. Wednesday. NOTES: Fulcher recorded the first shutout of his OHL career on his 18th birthday Friday. He stopped 31 in Hamilton’s 7-0 win over Mississauga . ... Ancaster’s Nick Caamano had two goals and five assists in three games for Flint this weekend . ... Hamilton’s home-opener attendance was 4,315 — about 1,300 fewer than at 2015’s FirstOntario Centre debut.