The Hamilton Bulldogs have their backs against the wall.
Noel Hoefenmayer scored a power-play goal in the second period that proved to be the winner as the Ottawa 67’s edged the Bulldogs 2-1 in Hamilton on Tuesday night.
The victory gives the top-seeded 67’s a commanding 3-0 lead in their opening round Ontario Hockey League playoff series.
Mitchell Hoelscher gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead when he beat Bulldogs goalie Zachary Roy with 3:50 remaining in the first period.
Five seconds after Hamilton’s Kade Landry was penalized for tripping, Hoefenmayer fired a shot from the point that beat a screened Roy less than five minutes into the second period.
Bulldogs leading scorer Arthur Kaliyev’s first goal of the playoffs cut Ottawa’s lead to one with 5:26 left to go in the second.
Kaliyev took a pass from behind the net from teammate Matthew Strome and buried a shot past a sprawling Michael DiPietro for a power-play tally.
But that’s as close as Hamilton would get in front of their hometown crowd of 2,466 fans.
DiPietro was called upon to make only 18 saves for the 67’s while Roy ended the game with 22 stops.
Ottawa can complete the series sweep with a victory Wednesday night at the FirstOntario Centre.