HAYES LEADS THE WAY WITH 4 POINTS IN GAME 1 WIN
HAMILTON, ONTARIO. Facing off for the first time since March 24th and both coming of strong showings in the first two rounds, the Bulldogs met the Battalion in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final chasing the Bobby Orr Trophy, which the Bulldogs look to capture for the first time since 2018.
Starting off the opening frame strong the Bulldogs struck first in the Conference Final off a back-door goal for his 4th of the playoffs with Colton Kammerer stepping down from the right point and feeding Avery Hayes who found Humphrey all by his lonesome at 1:15. Looking to get even the Battalion looked to go backdoor on Marco Costantini who came up big finding the puck while laying on his stomach, stealing what looked like a sure goal from Brandon Coe to keep the Bulldogs ahead. The Troops took full advantage of their first power-play of the series with Brandon Coe walking in from the blue line on the left wing and squeezing a shot past Costantini to tie the game 1-1 at 17:50. Answering right back with the Bulldogs on a power-play of their own Nathan Staios moved the puck to Logan Morrison on the left who saw an open Hayes below the goal-line, his no look pass to Mason McTavish connected for the initial shot and Ryan Winterton, stationed the doorstep, picked up the loose puck to put the Bulldogs up 2-1 at 19:12 and to send the Bulldogs down the tunnel with the lead.
The Bulldogs opened the second frame with a shorthanded opportunity as Hayes and Ethan Sims had a little give and go action but the opportunity was taken away by Ty Nelson sliding across the ice to break it up. The Bulldogs were right back at it with a tic-tac-goal action from Hayes going down the wing dropping over to Arber Xhekaj who fed Morrison with an outstanding backhand pass, at the top of the slot to go upstairs on Joe Vrbetic for his 10th of the playoffs at 6:45. Back to back plays from the dynamic duo Hayes and Morrison, with the a spectacular no look back hand pass from Morrison to Hayes to go post to post for his 3rd of the playoffs at 10:03 and Humphrey picking up the secondary helper to put the Dogs up 4-1. With 4 minutes left of the second the troops set up a give and go play and coming out with a goal from Dalyn Wakely from Kyle MacDonald to cut the Bulldogs lead in half at 4-2 through 40 minutes.
The Bulldogs took control of the third period after the first few minutes of the final frame, spending most of their time in the Battalion zone cycling and creating chances on Vrbetic’s goal. With the Bulldogs shorthanded approaching the halfway point of the third, Costantini came up big, turning aside a series of chances to keep the Bulldogs ahead by a pair. In a near mirror image of the overtime winner in Game 4 in Mississauga, Lawson Sherk shoveled the puck to the right corner for George Diaco, swinging the puck to Arber Xhekaj striding late on the left side and firing a rocket past Vrbetic for his 4th of the playoffs at 10:13, giving the Bulldogs a 5-2 lead. Thanks to a 20-save performance from Marco Costantini, the Bulldogs held their 5-2 lead at the final buzzer taking Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Bulldogs are back for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals for a 7:00 p.m. showdown at the FirstOntario Centre.
For more information on Hamilton Bulldogs 2022 playoff tickets or playoff flex packs call 905-529-8500 or visit hamiltonbulldogs.com.
