Bulldog forward Bobby Hamer skates with the puck during Wednesday’s encounter with the Port Hawkesbury Strait Pirates. The visiting team edged the Bulldogs 5-4. (Gail MacDougall photo)

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The Antigonish Bulldogs recorded two wins and a loss in Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League action last week.
The Bulldogs came out on the short end of a 5-4 score against the Port Hawkesbury Strait Pirates Wednesday at Antigonish Arena.
The win moved the Pirates five points in front of the Bulldogs in the battle for top spot in the Sid Rowe division.
Port Hawkesbury jumped on the Dogs off the opening face-off with Marc Bourgeois scoring just nine seconds from the drop of the puck. Nick Allard and Jeremy Sheppard picked up assists on the play.
“That was certainly a disappointing goal to give up,” co-coach Bill Garvie said.
“We opened up and let three of them go in – and that was against our checking line.”
The Bulldogs responded with a goal at 1:26 from Peter Topshee on a set-up from Colby VanOirschot and Steven MacGillivray.
Bourgeois gave the Pirates a 2-1 advantage heading into the first intermission with Allard and Mike Shannon picking up the assists. The goal came at the 11:54 mark.
“I thought they took it to us pretty good in the first period,” Garvie commented.
“They were skating hard and we didn’t have the same kind of jump.”
Matthew Miller gave the Pirates a two-goal cushion at 13:30 of the second when his shot from the right point eluded a screened Derrick Tait in the Antigonish net. The goal was a powerplay marker and drew assists from Allard and Dale MacIntosh.
The Bulldogs replied with a goal from David McCarthy at 17:54. The Antigonish captain jammed the puck home from the lip of the crease just after the Pirates killed off a penalty to Sheppard.
With 1:17 left in the period, Sheppard beat Tait with a shot from the slot for a 4-2 lead with Allard securing his fourth assist of the game.
“The play was pretty even in the second although we came out short on the scoreboard,” Garvie said.
A pair of goals by McCarthy in the third deadlocked the period at 4-4 by the midway point of the period.
The initial marker came at 3:39 with Fraser White and Stewart MacDougall earning assists. McCarthy struck again, this time on the powerplay, with Justin Chiasson and White in on the play.
“Offensively, the McCarthy line (White and Matt MacLaughlin) came up big, although defensively there were on for a few goals,” Garvie said.
“I think this was Dave’s first hat-trick of the year and it was nice to see him get that because he’s a real workhorse.”
Lucas Eshleman scored the game-winner at 12:20, taking advantage of some sloppy play in the Bulldogs’ zone. The Pirates player beat Tait glove side with Shannan and Randy Henley picking up the assists.
The Dogs had a glorious opportunity to send the game to overtime with Tim MacDougall sent in alone from the Port Hawkesbury blueline with 12 seconds left in regulation time. The Antigonish forward deked goaltender Brennan Laite but was stymied on his scoring attempt.
“I felt pretty good when I saw Tim going in there because he’s pretty good in tight,” Garvie said.
“In this case he got too tight. The goaltender then moved the post, which he is kind of famous for to get the shutdown on the play.”
Laite faced 26 shots in recording the win, while Tait was tested 27 times.
“We had some players step up and play well, while others didn’t bring their best game,” Garvie said.
“In order to get the win, everybody has to be there.”
Friday, the Dogs skated to a 6-4 road win over the Cumberland County Blues.
“To a certain extent we were pleased with the win,” co-coach John James Barter said.
“We had a solid effort in the first period and to be up 3-0 was great because we haven’t been doing that well on the road. In the second though we let our guard down and they got back into it. The boys had a good effort in the third for the win.”
Justin Chiasson put Antigonish on the scoreboard at 3:39 of the opening frame. The powerplay marker was assisted by Graeme Lodge.
Fraser White, from Chris Alguire and Bordian, increased the Bulldog lead to 2-0 at 6:51 and MacDougall gave Antigonish a 3-0 advantage after the opening period on a set-up from Seamus Boyle and Ricky Chisholm.
The Blues responded with two goals early in the second when Michael McLure and Jordie Shaw scored 15 seconds apart to cut the deficit to 3-2 before the three-minute mark.
McCarthy got the Dogs back on track with a powerplay marker at 9:36 from White and Chiasson but Marcel Amirault fired a late goal for Cumberland to leave the Dogs with a 4-3 lead heading into the third.
Chiasson notched his second of the game at 12:31 with Lodge and Topshee drawing assists and Ricky Chisholm beat goaltender Charles Dubuc with 6:33 remaining to provide the insurance marker. Alguire and MacDougall assisted on the marker.
Cumberland closed out the scoring in the game at 14:45 with Zack Carson the goal scorer.
The free-wheeling affair saw Bulldog netminder Tait face 47 shots, while Dubuc was tested 50 times.
“Chris Alguire picked his game up,” Barter commented.
“He was on a line with McCarthy and White and they played well. Also, the line with Topshee, Chiasson and MacGillivray was going very well.”
Sunday, at home, the Dogs claimed a 9-4 win over the Blues.
Antigonish got their offense rolling early, scoring five times in the opening frame.
Chiasson potted two goals with Alguire, White and Boyle also finding the net.
Jordie Shaw replied for Cumberland.
The teams traded goals in the second with Topshee and MacDougall the Bulldog marksmen and Geoff Burke and Matt Noiles replying for the Blues.
Topshee hit the scoreboard again in the third with Bobby Hamer notching his first of the game with 3:32 remaining.
Burke picked up his second of the game for Cumberland at the 18:16 mark.
MacGillivray chipped in with four assists for the Bulldogs with Chisholm and Chiasson each adding three. Two assist performances came from Topshee and VanOirschot.
Kyle Williamson was between the pipes for the Dogs and faced 31 shots in the game.
“We felt he had a strong game,” Barter said of the goaltender.
“The three top scorers in the league are from Cumberland but we did a good job on them. Their defense and goaltending may be a bit suspect.”
The Dogs conclude regular season action with a pair of games this week. Wednesday, the Bulldogs are on the road to take on Cumberland, while Saturday Glace Bay Miners will host the Bulldogs.
“We played Cumberland very early in the season and now we’re playing them three times in a week,” Barter commented.
The Dogs will end regular season play against the Miners and will face the same team in the opening round of the playoffs.
“Hopefully, this will be a good indication of what’s to come,” Barter said.
“We have to get some momentum going into the playoffs.”
Barter said the Topshee and Chiasson, who joined the Dogs in January, are fitting in quite well with the Antigonish club.
“They’re becoming more comfortable,” the coach commented.
“Chiasson is finding the net and Topshee is skating better every game. They’re starting to get their sea legs.”