HAMILTON, ONTARIO. Coming off a 5-1 win in Mississauga on Friday, the Bulldogs made their way to Tim Hortons Field in front of almost 13,000 fans to face off against the Oshawa Generals in a celebration of community and the game in the Outdoor Showcase, looking for the team’s 12th straight victory.
Hamilton jumped into control of the game early, sieging the net of Patrick Leaver and rolling all four lines in waves. The extended pressure would pay off Mason McTavish found George Diaco open on a sneak away pass through two Oshawa defenders. Coralling the puck, Diaco deked Leaver down and lifted backhand upstairs for his 19th of the season at 5:28 to put the Dogs up 1-0. With 10 seconds left in the opening frame Brenden Anderson tried a wrap-around, utilizing his long reach but Patrick Leaver jammed pad to post to keep the puck out and keep his Generals close after the opening 20. Despite Leaver making 20 saves in the Oshawa goal, the Bulldogs ended the period up 1-0 with Marco Costantini stopping all 6 shots he faced.
The Bulldogs doubled their lead, striking early in the second period as Logan Morrison rifled home a rebound shot from Gavin White’s point blast for his 28th of the season with Avery Hayes picking up the secondary helper at 4:16. Hamilton’s momentum continued through the middle part of the frame, as the Bulldogs successfully turned aside a pair of power-plays nearly back-to-back for the Generals. With the Bulldogs on the power-play and nearing the end of the second Leaver made his finest stop of the night, with Logan Morrison bearing down on the Oshawa net, Leaver went post to post, nearly cartwheeling to make a spectacular glove stop. The tremendous save wouldn’t be enough to get Oshawa out of the second period however as on the same power-play Lawson Sherk shovelled the puck back to Gavin White at the blueline, his shot was handled by Leaver but the rebound leaked out to a waiting George Diaco to record his 2nd of the game and 20th of the season at 18:38, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead through 40 minutes.
It was a lockdown defensive style in the third period for the Bulldogs, only allowing 5 shots in the last 20 minutes with Oshawa trying to push back and cut into the lead. Despite the lack of shots allowed, Marco Costantini still has to be marvelous before the night was out, with the net empty and a 6-on-5 advantage, the Generals shifted the puck from the right circle to the left, for a one-timer towards a yawning cage only for Costantini to come flying across the crease and make the ridiculous stop. As the final horn blared and the fireworks set off, the Hamilton Bulldogs had run their win streak to 12 with a 3-0 Outdoor Showcase victory, Costantini tying for the league lead in shutouts in the process.
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