Scott Radley: Tired-looking Bulldogs drop Mem Cup opener

Last time they were in the Memorial Cup, the Hamilton Bulldogs got what looked like the perfect draw. Game 1 in 2018 was against the host Regina Pats who'd lost in the first round of their league playoffs and had been sitting around for 46 days getting stale.

Hamilton lost that night.

On Monday, the draw again seemed perfect. And somewhat familiar. Hamilton's opening game was against the host Saint John Sea Dogs who'd lost in the first round of their league playoffs and had been sitting around for 39 days getting stale.

Same story. Final score this time, 5-3.

Turns out the Sea Dogs weren't stale. They were rested and fresh.

Hamilton, meanwhile, looked tired.

The Bulldogs gave the puck away far more than usual, were off kilter offensively and most uncharacteristic of all, weren't first to most loose pucks and were the slower group. It looked like that seven-game Ontario Hockey League championship series with Windsor that ended just five days before had taken a toll.

Hamilton isn't practising on Tuesday. Rest is more important than another workout. That was announced long before the game, as if head coach Jay McKee could see what was coming.

By the end of the second period, it was 4-1 and his side was being outshot 31-14. The last time that happened? It's been so long it's hard to remember. This is a team that controls games. This night, it was controlled. It was some excellent work by goalie Marco Costantini that kept this in reach.

Hamilton showed fight and made it close in the end with two goals in the second half of the third period (Ryan Winterton had two of Hamilton's goals while Avery Hayes had the other) but it wasn't enough. An empty-net goal sealed it.

While this was clearly an upset, Saint John's underdog status here is more than a little misleading.

While it's true that the hosts get an automatic entry which means they can sometimes be the soft touch of the four teams playing - only twice in the past dozen tournaments has the host won - the Sea Dogs are a really good team that suffered an upset in the first round.

Truth is, they should've won that series. Probably more. With a record of 47-17-1-3, they finished third overall in the Quebec league. They scored more goals than any other team in the Q and allowed fewer goals than all but four teams. Oh, and they have the league MVP (William Dufour) who scored 56 goals this year.

As for that long layoff, turns out it not only offered rest but also means they came in with no injuries. Which brings up another similarity between this year and the last time for Hamilton.

Back in 2018, OHL playoff MVP Robert Thomas had an injured foot and the team's top goal scorer, Brandon Saigeon, wasn't anywhere close to right with a shoulder injury. That seriously affected Hamilton's attack.

This time, captain Colton Kammerer is out with a knee injury which is a massive loss. Not having him hurts. Lawson Sherk and Ryan Humphrey were also out which cut into the Bulldogs' depth. Which becomes an issue when fatigue comes into play.

The Bulldogs now have two days to find some energy. On Thursday they face the Shawinigan Cataractes, the team that won the Quebec title. Then on Friday, it's the Edmonton Oil Kings, which are probably the favourite coming into this event.

Two wins gets them into the playoffs. One victory might. But because the Canadian Hockey League changed the points format for this tournament - it's now three points for a regulation time win, two for a win in overtime and one for an overtime loss - nearly anything could happen.

The bad kind of history has now repeated. Hamilton has to hope the good part does, too. That would be the two wins it got in its second two games of the round robin in 2018.

Otherwise, this could be a short tournament.

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com