The Hamilton Bulldogs opened their 2019-20 Ontario Hockey League season with a 4-3 victory over the Sting Friday night, their first-ever win in Sarnia.
Sam Bitten opened the scoring for the Sting with 1:14 left in the first period when he redirected a shot past Hamilton goalie Zachary Roy.
Arthur Kaliyev picked up where he left off last season by scoring Hamilton’s first goal of the year when he one-timed a shot past Sting goalie Ethan Langevin 2:58 into the second period.
Moments after the ensuing faceoff, Sarnia’s Jamieson Rees was given a match penalty and was ejected from the game after a headshot against Hamilton’s Logan Morrison along the boards.
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Rees, a Hamilton native, was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round (44th overall) in this summer’s NHL draft.
The Bulldogs grabbed their first lead of the game when rookie Lawson Sherk netted his first OHL goal after converting a tic-tac-toe passing playing with Kaliyev and Jake Gravelle.
With 1:58 to go in the second frame, Brayden Guy tied the game at 2 when he slipped the puck past Roy.
Hamilton regained the lead when Tag Bertuzzi potted his first goal as a Bulldog by flicking the puck, one-handed, behind Langevin 5:11 into the third.
Just over seven minutes later, Ryan Winterton scored his first OHL goal on the power-play that doubled the Dogs’ lead to 4-2.
Joseph Mack made it a one-goal game again when he beat Roy on a cross-crease one-timer with 5:12 left in the third period.
Hamilton hosts the Erie Otters in their home opener Saturday night at 7 p.m. at FirstOntario Centre.
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