Less than two minutes into the game, Tommy Dunderdale took a pass from Bulldogs captain Si Griffis and rifled the puck past Comets netminder Percy LeSueur. The Bulldogs had a goal on their very first shot! Midway through the frame, penalties to Frank McGee and Blair Russell gave the Dogs back-to-back power plays, and Bruce Stuart scored on both occasions. It was 3-0 in favor of the Bulldogs and the Comets were reeling, but they managed to escape the first period without any further damage.
The second period was uneventful until the closing moments. The game's trajectory changed in a heartbeat when star defenseman Mike Grant, a former Playoff MVP winner, whipped the puck to Russell, who found a wide-open George Richardson for an easy score. The Comets' new captain -- Harry Trihey resigned his post a couple of weeks ago -- had given his team a jolt of energy before the break. The Dogs, meanwhile, learned that blueliner Jack Laviolette had sustained an injury late in the period that would keep him out of the rest of the game. Gord Roberts, one of the team's best defensive forwards, shifted back to defense to take Laviolette's place.
It was 3-1 in favor of the Bulldogs as we entered the third. The Comets were down by two and finding themselves in a situation that was eerily similar to when the two teams last met a week ago; in that contest, the Comets had rallied from a two-goal deficit to force a tie. Would history repeat itself? Would the Comets stage another third-period rally?
They sure did. Early in the period, Grant found Dick Irvin in the slot. Irvin managed to get two quick shots on Paddy Moran before the puck caromed back to defenseman Jack Marshall, who threw it on goal and it somehow found its way through the traffic and past Moran's glove. Now it was 3-2 and the Dogs' fans sat in stunned silence.
Their shock turned to outright dismay mere moments later. Who else but Mike Grant would orchestrate another Comets comeback? Grant to Frank Foyston to Dick Irvin to the back of the net. The score was tied at three, and Grant had assisted on all three tallies.
Overtime.
Tensions were high on the Bulldogs bench, and it spilled over onto the ice. Tommy Dunderdale took a bad penalty, forcing Moran to bail him out with some spectacular saves. Then mild-mannered Oliver Seibert went off the box, but the Dogs killed that penalty too. Even so, the Comets dominated play in the overtime period and the Dogs were lucky to escape.
DOUBLE overtime.
I'm an old-school fan of ties, so we have ties aplenty in regular-season games. I only use OT to settle playoff games. Tonight was the first time in postseason history that a game went to double overtime.
Once again, it was all Comets from the get-go. Grant had the game on his stick but Moran flat-out robbed him. Moments later, it was Foyston with a chance to end it, but his shot vanished into Moran's glove. At that moment, I had to put down the cards and dice and whip out the calculator. Moran had only a 21.16% chance of making both saves on those two consecutive high-danger shots. Wow! The Dogs got some good puck-luck there.
Enter Tom Hooper. The Dogs' second-line left winger was a team-worst -3 in this game and was looking for his shot at redemption. When Gord Roberts started a rush and flipped the puck to Ernie (no relation to Blair) Russell, Hooper crossed the blueline and headed for the left circle. He one-timed Russell's pass and beat a diving LeSueur to the short side.
Bulldogs win, 4-3, double OT. After squandering a three-goal lead, the Dogs will be moving on to the best-of-five Creighton Cup Finals against the Victorias.
As for the Comets, they've now lost the wild-card game two years in a row, both in overtime. In fact, all three wild-card games in league history (for seasons 4, 5, and 6) have gone to overtime. Ever since I expanded the playoffs to three teams after the Millionaires joined the league as our fifth franchise, the wild card has been an exciting way to determine the first-place team's opponent in the finals.
Sadly, this was the last wild-card game. Next year, after we add our sixth team, I will expand the playoffs to four teams, with two rounds of best-of-five play. Farwell, wild-card game! You certainly went out on a high note!
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