SHERK SCORES 2, BULLDOGS WIN 17th STRAIGHT OVER NIAGARA
ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO. The Hamilton Bulldogs travelled to the Meridian Centre on Thursday night for the first half of a home and home against the Niagara IceDogs having won each of the last 16 meetings between the QEW rivals since the 2019-20 season.
Tristan Malboeuf made the first big stop of the game early on denying Niagara’s Alex Assadourian on a breakaway with a tremendous positional stop. Chances were exchanged for the next few minutes of the opening frame. At the 7:33 mark, Andrew LeBlanc skated the puck over the blueline and attempted to split the defense which led to a textbook hip check courtesy of Artem Grushnikov. Before being hit however, LeBlanc dished the puck back to Declan Waddick who picked it up and fired it far side past the glove of Malboeuf, opening the scoring, making it 1-0 for the IceDogs. The Bulldogs responded quickly at the 10:09 mark with Lawson Sherk being sprung ahead on the right side by Patrick Thomas and brining the puck into the offensive zone where the veteran centerman flipped a backhand pass behind the IceDogs defense to Florian Xhekaj. Picked up the pass with perfection and chipping it over the shoulder of the sliding Owen Flores, Xhekaj recorded his 11th of the campaign, tying the game at 1-1. Masen Wray nearly gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the night shortly before the period ended, ringing the puck off the underside of the front crossbar followed by Cole Brown cutting in attempting to snap the puck through the arm of Flores but was also denied and the game hit the first intermission all knotted up 1-1.
The IceDogs opened the scoring in the middle frame at 5:37 off an offensive zone faceoff as IceDogs defenseman Andrew Wysick sent a wrist shot towards the net, eluding a screened Malboeuf, giving the IceDogs a 2-1 lead. The Bulldogs bounced back to the tie the game again, off an offensive zone faceoff win Noah Van Vliet fired a hard, low shot to the net where Lawson Sherk tipped the puck which Flores denied, but Sherk got to his own rebound and backhanded it behind Flores tying the game at 2-2 at 9:42 on Sherk’s 9th of the season. After a successful penalty kill for the Bulldogs, the visitors took their first lead of the game at 16:42. After Cole Brown battled the puck to Sahil Panwar, the veteran found Nick Lardis open at the left faceoff dot and sent him a wheelhouse pass for Lardis to wire on the one-timer far side under the glove of Flores for his 33rd of the season.
Niagara had thought they tied the game at 3 just 37 seconds in courtesy of a deflection by Christopher O’Flaherty. The goal was reviewed and called back for an offside. Juan Copeland capitalized on the man advantage at 5:01, earning his 10th goal of the season tying the game for the IceDogs converting on an extended shift in the offensive zone. Lawson Sherk led by example once again, regaining the lead for the Bulldogs at 8:34 as Florian Xhekaj stole an out-pass attempt at the right point and fed Sherk down the middle who shelved the puck over Flores for his 2nd goal, and 3rd point, of the game and 10th of the season putting the Bulldogs up by a 4-3 goal which they would carry to the end, taking their 17th in a row over the Niagara IceDogs.
The Bulldogs are back in action tomorrow evening back home hosting Niagara for the second half of their home and home series. The puck drops at 7:00pm the FirstOntario Centre.
For more information on Hamilton Bulldogs 2022-23 single game tickets call 905-529-8500 or visit hamiltonbulldogs.com.
