Winning one the coach’s way
In the wake of a too-close-for-comfort win over the OHL’s last-place Flint Firebirds Saturday, Dave Matsos had a message for his Hamilton Bulldogs.
“Preparation is paramount, no matter what, no matter where you are, no matter what league you’re in,” the head coach said.
It looks like they took it to heart, because less than 24 hours later the Bulldogs easily disposed of another one of the league’s basement dwellers, the North Bay Battalion, 5-1.
The team that won that game was a dramatic departure from the one that took the ice against Flint — “night and day,” as Matsos put it.
From the opening faceoff, it dominated in all three zones and didn’t quit until the final buzzer. It was as good as it’s been pretty much all campaign.
A day earlier, the Bulldogs came out completely flat and struggled to stay above the puck in a 4-2 win over the Firebirds that was tied with less than five minutes to play. For all but a few minutes of the game, they were outworked.
The Bulldogs won for two reasons: Their power play, which was responsible for three of four goals — the other one being an empty netter — and goalie Nick Donofrio, who was also fantastic against the Battalion.
They earned two points, but Matsos and his players agreed it felt more like a loss.
“Games like these are wake-up calls,” said Josh Wainman, who was on the ice for both Flint goals. They’re also not entirely unusual. Even last season, when they went on to win their first OHL title, the Bulldogs had a habit of playing up to the best teams in the league and down to the worst. In two games against Flint — which missed the playoffs and finished second-last in the loop — they eked out a 4-3 win and lost in overtime.
They also beat the Sault Greyhounds, which were topranked team in the country for virtually the entire campaign, 5-2.
The difference this year is the Bulldogs can’t afford to play down, because they’ve had less success hanging with the league leaders. Going into their game Sunday, they were sitting in seventh place in the eastern conference, just six points ahead of North Bay, which was out of playoff position in ninth.
So do they get that? Do they understand that if they don’t show up for every game, they might have trouble holding on to a playoff spot?
“Hopefully,” said Arthur Kaliyev, who had a goal against Flint, two against North Bay and eight points in the two games combined.
“I think we play great against hard teams, but against these ones, we come out way too loose and they push it.”
He was in a better mood the following afternoon. Matsos, too.
“This is how we’ve got to play in order to be successful,” the bench boss said. “It was just so structured.”
In addition to Kaliyev, Mackenzie Entwistle
scored twice against Flint and Brandon Saigeon once, while Jake Durham and Hagersville native Jack Phibbs tallied for the Firebirds. Matt Strome, meanwhile, chipped in a pair of goals against North Bay, Tim Fleischer had a single and Matthew Struthers had the lone Battalion marker. Donofrio had 22 saves each against North Bay and Flint.
The Bulldogs have three more outings before the holiday break, starting with a visit to Niagara on Thursday. They are also in Oshawa on Friday and at home against Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday for a teddy bear and toque toss game that will be broadcast nationally on Sportsnet. Puck drop is half an hour earlier than normal at 3:30 p.m. NOTES: The Bulldogs honoured Aaron Walsh with a video tribute before their game against Flint. It marked his 10th
anniversary as the team’s in-game announcer . ... Nic Mattinen celebrated his 200th OHL game against North Bay on Sunday . ... Mackenzie Entwistle is bound for Hockey Canada’s world junior selection camp in B.C. The Bulldogs captain was scheduled to be on a flight at 6 a.m. Monday . ... Liam Van Loon is expected to be back in the lineup late this week after missing the past dozen games with a knee injury. Logan Morrison, sidelined since mid-October with an injured shoulder, will likely be back in the wake of the holiday break . ... Jake Gravelle was a healthy scratch against the Battalion and Dylan
D’Agostino was added to the lineup in a fourth-line role. Michael Renwick is also long term with a shoulder injury.