Bulldogs become winningest Hamilton OHL team
Published March 31, 2022 at 10:40 pm
Every win the Hamiton Bulldogs net over the rest of the regular season will be a record setter.
The Bulldogs’ 3-2 win against the Oshawa Generals on Thursday night was No. 44 on the season, breaking the mark for the most by a Hamilton club in the Ontario Hockey League. The victory at FirstOntario Centre, on the margin of power-play goals from Jan Mysak, Nathan Staios and Mason McTavish that were all set up by team scoring leader Logan Morrison, broke the tie at 43 with the 2017-18 Bulldogs and the 1975-76 Fincups.
Both of those teams went on to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup as Ontario league champions. The ’76 Fincups also won the Memorial Cup.
With our 44th win of the season tonight, we've passed the 1975-76 Hamilton Fincups and the 2017-18 Bulldogs for the most wins in an OHL season!
44 AND COUNTING! 🎉 🎉 🎉 #DawgMentality | #BeTheHammer pic.twitter.com/Dl3q5eVHny
— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) April 1, 2022
ICYMI: Your Hamilton Bulldogs became the winningest team in Hamilton OHL/OHA history with their win tonight over the Oshawa Generals.#DawgMentality | #BeTheHammerhttps://t.co/aBtCqYOR7k
— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) April 1, 2022
The current Bulldogs are 44-12-3-2 this season, good for an OHL-most 93 points, which is also tied with the 2018 club’s tally. With seven games remaining, their magic number for clinching first overall and home-ice advantage throughout the OHL playoffs is down to three — a combination of Bulldogs wins and defeats by the Windsor Spitfires, who lead the Western Conference.
The Bulldogs, under head coach Jay McKee, have been the epitome of a balanced outfit at both ends of the ice. Hamilton is second in the 20-team OHL in both goals and fewest goals against, and are the only team ranked in the top four in both categories.
Hamilton also has an OHL-most seven players with at least 50 points, led by Morrison with 92. That group does not include McTavish, the Anaheim Ducks first-round draft choice who has 29 points in 18 games since being acquired in a swap with the Peterborough Petes.
Homegrown goalie Marco Costantini also leads the league in goals-against average (2.42) and is second in save percentage (.914), just one-thousandth of a point behind the league leader.
The Bulldogs are in their sixth season in Hamilton under Michael Andlauer’s management group. Andlauer purchased the Belleville Bulls in 2015 and moved them to Hamilton, while selling an American Hockey League minor pro franchise that was known by the same name.
The OHL declared at that time that the Bulls’ history and records would remain with the city of Belleville. The Bulls’ best win total was 48, and they also had another season with 47.
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