THOMAS HAS TWO HELPERS AS BULLDOGS EARN A POINT
HAMILTON, ONTARIO. The Hamilton Bulldogs entered another weekend back-to-back in October looking to bump a spooky-season slump, squaring off with the Oshawa Generals at the Tribute Communities Centre. Friday night marked the first meeting of the rivals since the Bulldogs skated to a 5-3 win in the home opener on October 8th.
Both teams tested the waters early in the opening frame with darting rushes on each of Matteo Drobac for the Bulldogs and Patrick Leaver for the Generals with both netminders holding their respective doors shut. The Generals struck first as Cameron Butler took advantage of a rolling puck in neutral ice and a Bulldog defender losing an edge to step to the middle of the ice and best Drobac low at 12:14 of the opening frame. The Bulldogs wouldn’t trail long however, with the power-play picking up the pace at 14:21, Lucas Moore moved the puck through the center circle left for Patrick Thomas who dealt it further left to an in-stride Lawson Sherk. Sherk beat a defenser through the left circle and fired a shot through the pads of Leaver to tie the game 1-1 on his 1st of the season, tying the game 1-1.
The middle frame was a scoreless one, controlled by Matteo Drobac and Patrick Leaver with each making a show stopping save in the period. For Drobac it came with the Generals shorthanded, a breakaway developed for Luke Torrance who tried to pick the top corner only to have Drobac comeup with a brilliant glove save. For Leaver it was with the Bulldogs on the power-play and Lucas Moore firing a shot from the middle of the blueline that took a pair of deflections before Leaver, laid out in his crease was able to get on top of it, making a snow angel in the process to keep the game tied 1-1 through 40 minutes.
The offenses picked up in the third. With the Bulldogs shorthanded, Patrick Thomas stole the puck in neutral ice and worked his way to the left circle of the Generals zone, feeding back for Avery Hayes who worked around Lleyton Moore to fire the puck past Leaver for his 8th of the season giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead at 3:17. The Generals responded at 10:50, as Lleyton Moore found himself alone on the backdoor to cash a Stuart Rolofs pass off the rush tying the game 2-2. Thanks to Matteo Drobac’s 20 stops and Patrick Leaver’s 29, we went to overtime for the second time for each of these teams on the season.
In the extra frame the Bulldogs had the first glorious chance as the rotation out high saw Logan Morrison open up Jorian Donovan at the front of the goal and starring at an open net it was just Leaver’s toe that thwarted the Bulldogs slump buster. The stop created a 3-on-1 the other way with Dylan Roobroeck feeding back for Callum Ritchie to end the game at the 0:42 second mark sending Oshawa to a 3-2 overtime win.
The Hamilton Bulldogs return home for a Saturday, October 29nd matinee, hosting a Halloween meeting against the Sarnia Sting with a 4:00pm puck drop at FirstOntario Centre.
For more information on Hamilton Bulldogs 2022-23 Season Ticket packages call 905-529-8500 or visit hamiltonbulldogs.com
