HAMILTON 3, TEXAS 1
Captain Alex Henry’s goal 4:52 into the second period proved to be the difference as Hamilton earned a 3-1 win over Texas on Sunday afternoon at Copps Coliseum in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
The Bulldogs, who have now won four straight and six of their last seven games overall, grabbed a 2-0 lead in the series, which will shift to suburban Austin for Game 3 on Wednesday night.
Henry’s second goal of the postseason was assisted by Brock Trotter, who picked up his second helper of the afternoon. Trotter also assisted on a Ryan Russell power play marker 28 seconds into the middle stanza, which broke the teams’ scoreless deadlock.
Warren Peters brought the Stars within 2-1 with under three minutes left in the second frame, but Bulldogs forward Mike Glumac restored the two-score advantage with his team-best ninth goal of the playoffs, converting a two-on-one cross-crease pass from Grant Stevenson.
Glumac extended his scoring streak to four games (4-1-5), while Trotter now has a point in his last three contests (3-2-5). Hamilton prevailed despite the fact that leading playoff scorer David Desharnais (7-9-16) was held off the scoresheet for just the third time in 14 playoff outings.
Bulldogs goaltender Curtis Sanford, who has been between the pipes for all four games of Hamilton’s current winning streak after returning from injury, stopped 22 of 23 shots on Sunday.
Hamilton finished 1-for-2 on the power play while holding Texas to an 0-for-4 showing.
Western Conference Finals – Series “N” (best-of-7)
N1-Hamilton Bulldogs vs. W2-Texas Stars
Game 1 – Fri., May 14 – HAMILTON 3, Texas 2 (OT)
Game 2 – Sun., May 16 – HAMILTON 3, Texas 1
Game 3 – Wed., May 19 – Hamilton at Texas, 8:30
Game 4 – Fri., May 21 – Hamilton at Texas, 8:30
*Game 5 – Sat., May 22 – Hamilton at Texas, 8:00
*Game 6 – Mon., May 24 – Texas at Hamilton, 7:30
*Game 7 – Wed., May 26 – Texas at Hamilton, 7:30
