HAMILTON 4, MANITOBA 2
For the second straight game, Manitoba scored first. And for the second straight time, Hamilton rallied back to take the victory, this one by a 4-2 count at Copps Coliseum on Sunday afternoon as the Bulldogs earned a 2-0 series lead in the North Division Finals.
The series now shifts to the MTS Centre for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, with the Moose needing to win at least one of those two to ensure a Game 5 on Friday night.
Rookie forward Gabriel Dumont paced the Bulldogs with a pair of goals in Game 2, and Ryan Russell and defenseman Mathieu Carle also found the back of the net. Prior to Sunday, Dumont had not scored since posting a goal and an assist vs. Rochester on Feb. 21.
Hamilton came out of the gate with a 17-4 shots advantage in the first period, but it was the Moose who got on the board first when Kevin Clark scored only 2:43 after the opening face-off. Carle answered on the power play less than eight minutes later.
Russell netted the lone second-period goal for either side, and Dumont added a pair in the third frame, the latter into an empty net. Manitoba defenseman Chris Tanev closed the game’s scoring at the 19:30 mark.
Bulldogs goaltender Drew MacIntyre stretched his and the team’s winning streaks to four games by making 24 of 26 shots between the pipes.
Eddie Lack took the loss for the Moose after stopping 27 of 30 shots.
North Division Finals – Series “K” (best-of-7)
N1-Hamilton Bulldogs vs. N3-Manitoba Moose || Preview
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 28 – HAMILTON 4, Manitoba 1
Game 2 – Sun., May 1 – HAMILTON 4, Manitoba 2
Game 3 – Tue., May 3 – Hamilton at Manitoba, 8:30
Game 4 – Wed., May 4 – Hamilton at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 5 – Fri., May 6 – Hamilton at Manitoba, 8:30
*Game 6 – Sun., May 8 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 7:30
*Game 7 – Mon., May 9 – Manitoba at Hamilton, 7:30
