Scott Radley: Bulldogs sweep their way into OHL final
How do you properly tell the story of the Hamilton Bulldogs' playoff run thus far? The one that earned them the Bobby Orr Trophy as Eastern Conference Champions on Friday evening?
You keep it simple.
Win.
Win.
Win.
Win.
Win.
Win.
Win.
Win.
Win.
Win.
Win.
Win.
That's the essence of it right there. Twelve games. Twelve wins.
The last one was a 6-0 win over the North Bay Battalion which was just another tidy, never-in-doubt victory that included four even-strength goals (three by Jan Mysak and one by George Diaco), a power-play goal (Arber Xhekaj), a penalty shot goal (Avery Hayes) and a shutout (Marco Costantini). In other words, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Mixed into a whole lot of dominance.
The whole thing is a picture of excellence. Through a month of post-season play, there simply hasn't been a blemish to be found. Which is shocking. Even Apple swung and missed with its hideous hockey puck mouse, Tom Hanks starred in the forgettable Cloud Atlas and the Beatles recorded the unlistenable Wild Honey Pie. Point is, the best falter occasionally. Yet this team never seems to burp.
They just don't have any mistakes," says North Bay coach Ryan Oulahen. Or any holes. They've got really good depth. They've got a bunch of older pieces ... and they're built really, really well. I think they're going to be really hard to beat."
In these playoffs, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 60-21. Seven times they've potted at least five goals. Only once have they given up as many as four goals in a game. Three times they've posted shutouts.
Simply put, they've been as good as they possibly could be. Probably better. After all, who seriously believes in their heart of heart they could run the table through three rounds?
Especially when two of the teams they've rubbed out - the Mississauga Steelheads and the Battalion - spent time on the Canadian Hockey League's top-10 rankings list this season. The Bulldogs aren't beating up on some house league teams whose best player is away with his family on March break. These are really good squads.
Yet so far, it hasn't been close.
Their special teams have been great. The power play is operating at 37.9-per-cent and their penalty killing is at 86.7-per-cent. The goaltending of Costantini, who leads the playoffs in goals against average (1.91) and save percentage (.929), has been incredible.
And the number of outrageous individual offensive achievements is long. Too long to be covered here. Funny thing, though. None of their players are going to win the playoff scoring race because they've played the minimum number of games.
It's been something to see.
It's definitely a great feeling," says Hamilton captain Colton Kammerer. We knew before the series it was going to take everyone in that locker room. I think that's what we did all series. Every game you saw different guys step up. And that's what it takes to win a championship."
They've now won 22 games in a row - a dozen in the playoffs and 10 to end the regular season - at a time when it's supposed to be the most difficult to do that. And by doing so, they've joined some exclusive company. The 1988 Windsor Spitfires and the 2019 Ottawa 67s both made it to the final series without absorbing a loss along the way.
That's where those two teams' stories went in different directions. Windsor kept it rolling and won the championship. Ottawa couldn't maintain the magic and ultimately lost.
That last note should hold the Bulldogs' attention. Nothing is done yet. Nothing is guaranteed. What comes next in the OHL finals - against either the Spitfires or the Flint Firebirds who are tied 2-2 - could put an exclamation point on a legendary season or it could lead to an absolutely crushing disappointment.
Based on the way they've played, bet on the former.
Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com