The Hamilton Bulldogs tied their franchise record for consecutive wins and inched closer to sewing up a playoff spot Tuesday night.
The Dogs overcame two one-goal deficits to beat the Toronto Marlies 3-2 in overtime.
It was the ninth straight win for the Dogs, tying their franchise mark for consecutive victories.
They can break the record with a win at home Friday night over the Grand Rapids Griffins.
With the win, the Dogs’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now down to three points.
The Dogs didn’t have their “A” game by any stretch of the imagination but played well enough in the third period and overtime to get the win.
“We had a lot of shots and a lot of chances in the third and the guys battled through it to end up finally winning it,” said Bulldogs coach Guy Boucher, who admitted he was angry at his team in the first two periods because they had worked on a number of things in practice but wouldn’t put them into play. “I had to calm myself down after two periods to focus on the task at hand.”
The teams came out of the first period deadlocked at one.
The Marlies broke the ice and ended the Bulldogs’ streak of 36 straight successful penalty kills, which had stretched over nine games, with a power-play goal by Brendan Mikkelson at 4:57.
The Dogs got that back at 15:55 on a power play of their own. David Desharnais jumped on a loose puck in the crease and lifted it over Toronto goalie James Reimer.
The Marlies regained the lead at 19:20 of the second when Alex Foster turned Hamilton defenceman Chad Anderson inside out to get in alone and then lifted a wrist shot over Curtis Sanford’s outstretched glove.
The Bulldogs’ equalizer, on a power play at 7:43 of the third, came when André Benoit’s blast from the left faceoff circle deflected off Ryan White and into the top of the net.
Yannick Weber gave the Dogs their only lead of the game when he banged his own rebound past Reimer a minute and 47 seconds into overtime.
The Bulldogs have two games left in their lengthy home stand. They host the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday night at 7:30 and Saturday at 7 p.m. before heading out on a seven-game road trip over two weeks.
Hits and Misses
Molson Cup Three Stars: 1. White, Hamilton. 2. Foster, Toronto. 3. Weber, Hamilton.
Flamboro Downs Workhorse of the Game (hardest working Bulldog): J.T. Wyman.
Scratches: Olivier Fortier, Greg Stewart, Max Pacioretty, Eric Neilson, Mathieu Carle.
Shots: Hamilton 36, Toronto 23.
Attendance: 3,470.
gmckay@thespec.com
905-526-3242
