Bulldogs get a little bit of luck, and two wins
In the midst of a four-game losing skid last week, Hamilton Bulldogs’ general manager Steve Staios suggested his team’s record, then 6-4-1-3, might be different with a little bit of luck.
It looks like he got his good fortune.
On Sunday, the Bulldogs skated to a 2-0 win over the visiting Windsor Spitfires, despite registering just 17 shots and missing key players, such as Mackenzie Entwistle and Marian Studenic, to injuries. Less than 24 hours earlier, they also downed the Oshawa Generals to end that aforementioned slide.
“They deserve it,” said head coach John Gruden. “They played their butts off and it was a successful weekend because of how they played.”
One big factor in the win was the team’s ability to contain Aaron Luchuk and Logan Brown, who have been piling up points since the Ottawa Senators sent the latter back to Windsor in late October. Coming into Hamilton, the pair had combined for 12 goals and 13 assists in their past four games.
Along with Connor Walters and Jack Hanley, the line of Brandon Saigeon, Connor Roberts and Isaac Nurse did much of the heavy lifting against Windsor’s big two.
“I think we did a good job with that, and to get a goal on the power-play was nice as well,” said Saigeon, who ripped a pass from Matt Strome past Spitfires goalie Brock Baier to put the Bulldogs on the board midway through the game. Arthur Kaliyev had the other one — an empty-netter in the third.
Nick Donofrio, who usually backs up Kaden Fulcher, was calm and confident, stopping 23 shots in his first OHL shutout. Baier stopped 15 at the opposite end.
The loss was the first for Windsor in five games — a span that included a 4-1 win at home over Hamilton Thursday. Head coach Trevor Letowski said Sunday’s game could have gone either way.
“We just couldn’t seem to convert,” he added.
“I give them credit — they played pretty hard, they defended really hard on us and didn’t give us a lot of space, especially in the third.”
Staios has admitted a little good fortune goes a long way and can sometimes make the difference between winning and losing.
Facing the Spitfires on a day when regular starting goalie Michael DiPietro — arguably the best in the league — is getting an afternoon off might fall into that category. As would the numerous shots Windsor took that missed the net by not very much.
But Gruden wasn’t interested in talking about luck after it was over. He says it had nothing to do with the outcome.
“I don’t think we got lucky in this one at all, because I think we missed the net and I think if you go back on the tape and look at all those scoring chances, the Grade A’s, we had a lot more than they did. That’s how I’m going at it,” Gruden said. “You don’t want to question any time you win hockey games.”
The previous night, Ben Garagan, Zack Jackson and Justin Lemcke each had a goal and an assist as Hamilton dropped the visiting Generals, 4-2.
Riley McCourt also scored in that the win, a decisive one in which the Bulldogs outplayed Oshawa for all but three minutes at the start of the second period — a span in which the Generals scored both of their goals, including one short-handed.
Later in the frame, Garagan split the Generals defence to notch the game’s final goal and his first since being dealt to Hamilton at the deadline last season. It was a timely one — for him and the team.
“I’ve been waiting for that one,” he said. “It kind of felt comfortable out there tonight. I wanted the puck because I felt confident and stuff, so I wanted it out there and I finally got one to go in.” NOTES: Hamilton was without Entwistle and Studenic as well Owen Burnell, Connor McMichael and T.J. Fergus against the Spitfires. Entwistle is sidelined with a boxer’s fracture on his left hand, while Studenic and Burnell have head injuries. McMicheal, meanwhile, is away at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and Fergus was an overage scratch . ... Fulcher had 21 saves Saturday, while former teammate Cole Ceci had 29 at the opposite end. It was the first time Ceci had faced the Bulldogs since being flipped to Guelph and then Oshawa early this season. It was also his first start with the Generals, where he’s now suiting up in the backup role.