MORRISON’S HAT-TRICK SENDS BULLDOGS TO 2-0 SERIES LEAD
HAMILTON, ONTARIO. The Hamilton Bulldogs and Peterborough Petes renewed acquaintances for Game 2 on Monday night after a weekend hiatus in the series with the Bulldogs looking to hold home ice advantage and take a 2-0 series lead.
The Petes jumped out to a fast start in Game 2, at 2:57 Joe Carroll collected the puck in behind the Bulldogs defence with speed and flew into the Bulldogs zone to give the Petes the 1-0 lead on the breakaway finish. With the Bulldogs on the powerplay at 9:17 a loose puck in the Peterborough zone was taken by Tucker Robertson and Emmett Sproule who were away on a 2-on-1 and pushed their lead to 2-0. With 2:59 left in the opening frame Colton Kammerer looked to score the Bulldogs first goal and Michael Simpson came out with the glove save to keep the Petes lead at a pair. At 18:12 Giordano Biondi captured a Petes’ turnover in the right circle, carrying across the front of the Peterborough net, outwaiting Simpson and going top shelf to put the Bulldogs on the board. Feeding off the momentum of the Biondi goal, the Bulldogs struck again before the end of the period. With 5 seconds left and Hamilton on the power-play Nathan Staios flipped a shot from the blueline, initially deflected by Jan Mysak and onto Logan Morrison to fire the puck passed Simpson to tie the game at 2-2. Despite a 24-7 shots edge for the Bulldogs, Michael Simpson had the Petes firmly in the hockey game after 20 minutes.
Tempers rose in the second period while the parade to the penalty box for both sides continued in a series that has quickly become an intense physical battle. Just passed the halfway point of the period while 4 on 4 Staios danced around the perimeter of the Petes end and sent the puck out for Morrison only to have Simpson stand tall once again. At 14:37 of the second period Avery Hayes strode onto a loose puck in neutral ice, creating a 2-on-1 with Gavin White who Hayes delivered the puck to and fired into an open side of the Petes goal putting the Bulldogs up 3-2 and giving the hosts their first lead of the game. Tensions continued to ratchet up to a boiling point following Avery Hayes having to temporarily leave the game following a high hit from Artem Guryev late in the 2nd. The Bulldogs appeared to feed off the incident as Logan Morrison struck for his 2nd of the game at 16:28 on the power-play as White’s point shot was stopped by Simpson and a rebound attempt from Ryan Winterton deflected to Morrison to fire into the empty goal. At the end of two periods of play the Bulldogs held a 4-2 lead and a 53-15 edge in shots on goal.
Logan Morrison recorded his first career playoff hat-trick at 3:21 of the final frame, opening the final 20 with a bang for the Bulldogs. Colton Kammerer originated the play to George Diaco who dropped the puck to Morrison in the offensive zone for Morrison to rifle up high giving the Bulldogs a 5-2 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Despite another parade to the penalty box and several players sent down the tunnel for late 10-minute misconducts, the Bulldogs finished out Game 2 with a 5-2 final, with Marco Costantini stopping 18 shots in the victory putting the Bulldogs up 2-0 in the series.
The Hamilton Bulldogs are next in action in Peterborough on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. as the series shifts to the Peterborough Memorial Centre for game 3 against the Petes.
For more information on Hamilton Bulldogs 2022 playoff tickets or playoff flex packs call 905-529-8500 or visit hamiltonbulldogs.com.
