Bulldogs take a bite out of Battalion in 5-0 win

The Hamilton Bulldogs have taken a big bite out of the North Bay Battalion in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.

The Bulldogs defeated the visiting Battalion 5-0 on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final.

Avery Hayes scored twice for Hamilton, with singles added by Logan Morrison, Mason McTavish and Ryan Winterton. The Bulldogs’ special teams had a superb game with three power-play goals and one short-handed marker.

Bulldogs goalie Marco Costantini, a Hamilton native, made 28 saves to post the shutout in front of a crowd of 4,792 at FirstOntario Centre.

The Bulldogs won Friday’s opening game 5-2 with Game 3 scheduled for Wednesday in North Bay.

The Bulldogs finished first in the Eastern Conference this season with 51 wins and 107 points. North Bay was second with 43 wins and 93 points. Hamilton swept the Peterborough Petes and Mississauga Steelheads to reach the final, while North Bay swept the Ottawa 67’s and finished off the Kingston Frontenacs in five games.

The winning team will advance to the OHL final against the winner of the Western Conference final between the Flint Firebirds and Windsor Spitfires. Flint has a 1-0 series lead ahead of Game 2 in Windsor on Monday.

— The Canadian Press