Creighton Cup, Game 4

Congratulations to the Bulldogs on winning their first Creighton Cup! Check out the recap below for all the thrills and chills!

With their season on the line, the Victorias struck first. Cyclone Taylor tallied an early goal, but the injury bug bit the Vics again when captain Hobey Baker headed back to the locker room in pain. Baker had already shifted from right wing to defense to cover for the injured George McNamara, so forward Dubbie Bowie spent much of the first period camped out in front of Bowse Hutton as a defenseman. Remarkably, the Vics managed to escape the first period with a 1-0 lead.

The courageous, gallant Baker (read up on his real-life story!) returned in the second to give his lads an emotion lift, but it didn't translate to the scoreboard. Tommy Dunderdale and Scotty Davidson scored to make it 2-1 in favor of the Bulldogs at the end of the second.

Taylor scored his second goal of the game to knot the score at two in the early stages of the third period. Bruce Stuart, however, restored the Dogs' lead a few moments later. Then, midway through the frame, Davidson took an ill-advised penalty to give the Vics a power play and a golden opportunity to tie the game once more. Penalty killing had been the Dogs' bugaboo throughout this postseason, and this game was no different; the hobbled Hobey Baker scored to make it 3-3 with just moments to go in regulation time. The Vics made a furious push in the final minute, and it all came down to Paddy Moran stonewalling Cyclone Taylor on two point-blank shots as time expired.

Overtime! The Bulldogs had needed OT to get past the Thistles in the wild-card game, and now they had a chance to win the Creighton Cup with a sudden-death goal. If the Vics scored, on the other hand, the series would culminate in a winner-take-all Game 5. The overtime period began with a scare for the hometown Bulldogs, as Gord Roberts took yet another penalty. Roberts is a superstar in this league and will take home multiple trophies at the awards ceremony, but damn, it seemed that this guy spent more time in the penalty box than on the ice here in the postseason. (He was, in fact, the league leader in both points and penalty minutes during these playoffs!) Given the Dogs' penalty-killing woes, I was expecting the Vics to strike for victory on the ensuing power play, but the Bulldogs held strong and the period continued. 

And then, before I knew it, the game was over. Rookie defenseman Jack Laviolette led the rush out of the Dogs' defensive zone and flipped a pass to Stuart. Stuart connected with Roberts, who skated in and knifed the puck past Hutton. Game over, series over! The Bulldogs had won the Creighton Cup! After four seasons of futility, the Dogs racked up more wins over the Victorias (three) in this one series than in all previous regular-season and playoff games combined (two).