Hamilton Bulldogs regain home-ice advantage after tying OHL final

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Published June 10, 2022 at 10:48 pm

Hamilton Bulldogs goalie Marco Costantini peers through net-front traffic in the OHL final. (Photo: Tim Cornett, OHL Images)

It was jubilation delayed, but not jubilation denied for Gavin White and the Hamilton Bulldogs.

White, who was in the middle of a controversial disallowed goal in the third period, scored 7:35 into overtime on Friday to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 victory against the Windsor Spitfires in Game 4 of the Ontario Hockey League final. The result squares the series 2-2 and creates a best-of-three, with the Bulldogs hosting Game 5 at FirstOntario Centre on Sunday (2 p.m., TSN, Bulldogs Audio Network). Game 6 is back in Windsor on Monday.

On an offensive-zone faceoff, Lawson Sherk drew the puck back and right wing George Diaco tapped it to White, moving up from his defence spot. White’s quick shot found the back of the net.

The Bulldogs came within two minutes of being on the brink of elimination before the back-from-injury-bay Nathan Staios scored a game-tying goal with 1:57 left in the third period. The shot found its way through traffic and past Spitfires goalie Mathias Onuska, who was stellar with 41 saves.

Hamilton had a 44-22 edge on the shot counter. That didn’t include at least four shot attempts that hit the goalposts and crossbar, or reflect that Onuska stoned Mason McTavish and Jan Mysak on a pair of second-period breakaways.

Had Staios not tied the game, the game story would have been Ryan Humphrey’s disallowed goal with a little more than five minutes to play in front of a crowd of 6,433 at WFCU Centrre. The goal was waved off for goalie interference since White had contacted Onuska after being cross-checked by Spitfires wing Alex Christopoulos. After a lengthy video review, referees Dave Lewis and Scott Ferguson confirmed the call.

Staios, the OHL defenceman of the year, was playing his first game of the series after being out with an injury since the Eastern Conference final. His game-tying goal came seconds after Bulldogs head coach Jay McKee yanked goalie Marco Costantini for a sixth attacker.

The Bulldogs are still missing captain and shutdown defenceman Colton Kammerer due to injury.

Logan Morrison scored his playoff-leading 15th goal for Hamilton, which became the first team in the series to score the first goal and win the game. Pickering native Josh Currie and New York Rangers draft choice Will Cuylle scored for the Spitfires. Dundas native Jacob Mailloet assisted on Currie’s marker.

Cuylle staked Windsor to the lead with 7:19 left in the period when he fired a shot that trickled through Bulldogs goalie Marco Costantini and over the goal line.

Costantini saved 20-of-22 shots, including a stellar split save in the second period on one-time Bulldog Michael Renwick.

Hamilton’s win guarantees the series will need at least a Game 6.

The last time the OHL final went the distance was in 2013. The London Knights beat the Barrie Colts after a last-second goal by current Vancouver Canucks centre Bo Horvat with one second left in the third period in Game 7. London also surmounted a 3-1 series deficit.

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