RECAP l McLeod with two points in 5-2 loss
The Mississauga Steelheads were on a four-game skid headed into tonight’s game against the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Steelheads looked to goaltender Jacob Ingham and the Steelheads’ vets to get them out of their slump. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on their side and they dropped their fifth game in a row 5-2 to the Bulldogs.
The Steelheads got off to a slow start in the opening frame. The Bulldogs had control in the Steelheads zone for the first half of the period which led to the opening goal three and a half minutes in. A deflected shot landed right on Brandon Saigeon’s stick at the side of the net and he scored his 18th goal of the season to give the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead. Then with just over eight minutes to go, Arthur Kaliyev put the Bulldogs up by two with his 20th goal of the season. A scary moment followed as Owen Tippett was blind sided by Matthew Strome at centre ice, but luckily Tippett was able to return to the game a couple of minutes after getting re-evaluated. 2-0 Bulldogs headed into the second period.
The second period didn’t start as the Steelheads planned, opening the second period on the penalty kill. The Bulldogs found the back of the net 1:41 into the frame on a power play goal from Saigeon, his 19th goal on the season and second goal of the game. The Steelheads were having trouble beating Bulldogs netminder Nick Donofrio, until halfway through the period when Ryan McLeod sniped his seventh goal of the season on the power play and got the Steelheads on the board. A little over a minute later, Kaliyev scored his second goal of the game and 21st of the season and retrieved the Bulldogs three goal lead. In the dying seconds of the period, the Steelheads were able to capitalize on the power play yet again on a Cole Carter deflection from an Owen Tippett shot with 15 seconds left in the frame. Carter’s 21st goal of the season. 4-2 headed into the third period.
The Steelheads were able to slow the Bulldogs down in the third period but couldn’t cut the deficit. Nicolas Mattinen sealed the win for the Bulldogs with an empty netter, Hamilton 5, Steelheads 2. The Steelheads are back at it again on Sunday when they take on the Wolves in Sudbury.
