SAINT JOHN, NB – Ian Misac of the Hamilton Bulldogs chose the perfect time to score his first goal of the 2022 Memorial Cup.
The 20-year-old from Litvinov, Czech Republic, expertly directed the point to defender Nathan Styos, shooting past goalkeeper Antoine Coulomb with 10:08 in overtime to lift the Bulldogs over Shauinigan Cataract 4-3 and on Wednesday in the Memorial Cup final.
“I was waiting for that and I picked the right moment,” said Misak, who was selected 48th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2020 NHL Draft. “We’re really happy to be able to play in the final and we’re really excited.”
Artem Grushnikov, Mason McTavish and Logan Morrison scored in the Bulldogs Regulations, which won 16-3 in the playoffs to win the Ontario Hockey League crown, defeating Windsor Spitfires in a lively seven-game league game.
Morrison, the MVP of the OHL playoffs, tied the game with the remaining 6:04 in the rules when he went to the slot and made a quick feed by Ryan Winterton past Coulomb.
“He says ‘Wints, Wints, I’m open.’ So you have to find guys like that when they’re open, “said Winterton, who took a pair of assists and was a plus-3 at night.
The dramatic semi-final included big goals, outstanding goalkeepers and timely advice from Mysak to advance the Bulldogs to the first final of the Franchise Memorial Cup. They will face host Saint John Sea Dogs, who beat them 5-3 to open the tournament on June 20th.
On Monday’s winning goal, Staios took control of the puck in the Shauinigan area, went around the net and then returned to the blue line before shooting for the goal, where Mysak broke away to make his stick on the puck for the winner.
“If you want to score, you need a net in front (presence),” Misak said. “We knew the whole game was difficult around the net, so I just tried to turn around to make room for the goalkeeper. I knew I would shoot when he held the puck on his stick and when he chose the right moment, I chose the right moment. “
Maurice Burke, Olivier Nado and William Veylet scored a goal for Shauinigan, who set a record in the Quebec Major Hockey League for juniors with seven wins in overtime in the playoffs on the way to the President’s Cup title, their first in the franchise’s 53 years.
“It’s been a great year,” said Shaunigan coach Daniel Reno. “After all, we are champions. This is the message to the players: “Stay up, be proud of yourself, be proud of your team. It’s been a hell of a year and you’re going to be champions forever, no matter what. “
Marco Constantini made 33 saves at Hamilton’s goal, while Coulomb stopped 39 of the 43 shots he faced.
In the preliminary round, the cataracts used three power goals with seven chances to beat the Bulldogs 3-2.
Hamilton made significant changes to his approach to Monday’s game, allowing only one opportunity for a powerful game as he overtook Shawinigan 38-30 in regular time.
“It was definitely a focus,” said Hamilton coach Jay McKee. “Their powerful game is fantastic, we made some adjustments to what we did and I thought we did a good job with a murder. If we wanted to win the game tonight, we had to stay out of the box. “
In an evenly played first half, each team hit the crossbar early and the shots were narrow as Hamilton led 9-8 in this division.
Burke opened the scoring when he redirected Nado’s floor past Constantini at 2:39 p.m. Nado grabbed a loose puck in the left corner and hit Burke, whose shot found the net under Constantini’s glove.
Grushnikov equalized less than two minutes later when he joined the attack in a 4 to 4 situation and finished a smooth pass from the right wing of McTavish at 16:29.
The game opened in the second period and as a result the chances of scoring increased.
McTavish put Hamilton ahead with 1:23 in the second period, when his instant strike beat Coulomb just seconds after one of their opportunities for strong play expired.
Nado returned the cataracts once more when he crossed Isaac Menard’s point past Constantini at 5:49. The advice came at a high blow, which led to a video review, but was quickly confirmed.
From there, the goalkeepers took control, as Coulomb made 17 saves in the second period, and Constantini was just as sharp, blocking 14 proposals for cataracts.
This marked the beginning of a tense and exciting third period.
The Bulldogs seemed to take a 3-2 lead with 12:27 left in the rules when Avery Hayes made a pass behind the net that went through Coulomb and over the goal line. However, this does not count, as the official failed the game before it crossed the border, a call that remained after a lengthy review.
Just 2:28 later, Vermet reached out and aimed Angus Booth’s wrist, shot high in the top corner past Constantini at 10:01.
This time the Bulldogs reacted quickly when Morrison entered the slot and gave a one-time pass from Winterton at 1:56 p.m.
Shauinigan, the 2012 Memorial Cup champion, finished second in the preliminary round, advancing with victories over Edmonton and Hamilton before losing 5-3 to host Sea Dogs in the final round.
Hamilton struggled early in the event, dropping out of St. John’s and Shauinigan before recording a 4-2 victory over Edmonton in his final preliminary round to win his place in the semifinals.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 27, 2022
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