Bulldogs' season ends Friday after close 3-2 loss to Wingham

By: John Adams March 1, 2015 1940

Bulldogs' season ends Friday after close 3-2 loss to Wingham

The Nicol Insurance Kincardine Junior "C" Bulldogs saw their 2014-15 season end Friday night at the Davidson Centre, when they lost to the Wingham Ironmen, by a close 3-2 score in Game 6 of their semi-final series.

Friday night’s contest was a tight game, and Kincardine made Wingham earn every inch of ice during the 60-minute battle.

Wingham opened the scoring at the 6:48 mark of the first period, but the 'Dogs kept up the pressure. Kincardine stepped up its physical play, dominating battles along the boards and in open ice, forcing Wingham to take a penalty.
The powerplay for Kincardine required only one minute to notch the equalizer. Patrick Wiejak hammered home the finisher, after some sharp passing from Dalton Hnatko and Alex Labrosse left him with a large portion of empty net to hit, which he did at the 9:01 mark of the first.
The Bulldogs continued to press, but Ben Nelson stood tall in the Ironmen net, thwarting their best efforts.

The physical tone set by Kincardine continued into the second frame, and once again, resulted in a penalty call against the Ironmen. The powerplay unit for Kincardine clicked again when Chad Simpson tucked the rubber into the twine with Luke Inglis and Wiejak drawing the assists, staking the Bulldogs to a 2-1 lead at the 13:09 mark.
Wingham tied the game just under three minutes later, sending the game to the third period deadlocked at 2-2.

Wingham scored the eventual winner at the 6:51 mark of the third, but the Bulldogs never gave up, pressing for the equalizer until the final buzzer sounded on the game and their season.

With the victory, the Ironmen now move on to the Western Junior "C" league final where they will face the Walkerton Hawks.

Deserving of special recognition are outgoing Bulldogs Mitch Campbell, Sam Feagan, Mike Smailes and Colin Whitfield. The four have a combined 549 games in the Western League. On behalf of the club and our fans, thank you all for your efforts and work for the team and our community. From the organization, coaches, teammates and fans, best of luck to all of you in the future.
To our fans, thank you for another year of amazing support for your Nicol Insurance Kincardine Junior "C" Bulldogs, and we’ll see you next season!