MCTAVISH PAIR PUTS BULLDOGS ONE STEP FROM HISTORY
HAMILTON, ONTARIO. Returning home for an intense Game 5 on Sunday afternoon the Bulldogs looked to follow Friday night’s stunning overtime comeback victory and gain a 3-2 series lead putting the Robertson Cup within reach.
Starting the first frame with multiple chances for the Bulldogs from puck drop, seeing a sure goal as Mason McTavish rolled the puck to Jan Mysak on the goal line but the Spitfires defense were right on his tail swiping the puck away keeping the game at 0-0. Battling back and forth pushing. After a successful penalty kill, it was a bad bounce that would bite the Bulldogs with Wyatt Johnston’s shot bouncing off the glass, top of the net and off Marco Costantni’s back giving Windsor the 1-0 lead at 8:42. Avery Hayes had a near immediate response, breaking down the right wing and ringing the short side post. With the Bulldogs on the power-play the team answered with Ryan Winterton striking for his 7th of the playoffs on the doorstep tap in off the scramble in front from the work of Hayes and Logan Morrison at 14:12 tying the game 1-1. After late chances at both ends of the rink, the game hit the locker rooms all knotted through 20 minutes.
Windsor got the start they wanted to the middle stanza, with early zone time and an offensive zone cycle leading to Ryan Abraham deflecting his 4th of the playoffs in at 3:13 giving the Spitfires a 2-1 lead. Despite chance after chance for the Bulldogs, it was a power-play drawn by Lawson Sherk that would make the difference. With Avery Hayes & Logan Morrison combining on a high cycle to get the puck to Mason McTavish at the top of the left circle; McTavish let loose a laser beam over the shoulder of Mathias Onuska, bar down for his 13th of the playoffs at 12:58 tying the game once more 2-2 and igniting the 7,690 in attendance at FirstOntario Centre.
Starting the final frame, the Bulldogs got right to work with Patrick Thomas tossing the puck out front of the Windsor goal where Mason McTavish batted it out of the air to himself and turning the second opportunity to the back of the net giving the Bulldogs their first lead of the hockey game 3-2 at 1:59. From there it became the Marco Costantini show as the Bulldogs star netminder turned aside 11 third period shots from the Spitfires including perhaps the save of the year. With just 1:30 left in the final frame, and a scramble in front of the Bulldogs net, the puck fell to Matthew Maggio who was robbed by a splitting Marco Costantini, keeping the Bulldogs in the 3-2 lead which they would hold to the final buzzer. With the 3-2 victory in Game 5, the Bulldogs take a 3-2 series and put themselves to within one win of the franchise’s second J. Ross Robertson Cup.
The Hamilton Bulldogs will look to hoist the J. Ross Robertson Cup on Monday night as the Windsor Spitfires host Game 6 with a 7:00pm puck drop at the WFCU Centre.
For more information on Hamilton Bulldogs 2022 playoff tickets or playoff flex packs call 905-529-8500 or visit hamiltonbulldogs.com.
