Bulldogs Playoff Preview
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BULLDOGS PLAYOFF PREVIEW Thursday, June 28, 2012 The Independent & Free Press Special pullout section 8 Pages Bulldogs primed for another playoff run By EAMONN MAHER been able to accomplish is a real feather Staff Writer in their caps,” said McCauley, in his sev- enth year as Bulldog bench boss. If the Halton Hills Bulldogs are going “It’s great to see that they put the to make it to the Ontario Jr. B Lacrosse sweater fi rst. You look at the number of League championship series for a third our players who could be playing else- consecutive year, the road to get there where or getting more minutes with an- will probably be tougher than they’ve other team, and they suck it up because ever faced. they do what’s best for the team.” A franchise-best-tying 17-2-1 regular- General manager Mike Hancock season record that included a 14-game made several moves at the trade deadline unbeaten streak heading into the play- to put the club in position for another offs was only the third best record in championship run and there’s a certain the league’s East Conference behind swagger about this year’s squad. front-running Akwesasne and the sec- Losing to the Six Nations Rebels ond-place Green Gaels, so, barring an in the fi fth-and-deciding game of last upset elsewhere, the Bulldogs won’t year’s Ontario championship after fail- have home-fl oor after the fi rst round. ing to clinch the title at home in game Goalie Dustin Hanzelka shrugs aside a scoring attempt by a Kahnawake shooter during And just getting through the fi rst four probably has a lot to do with that game two of their OJBLL East Conference in Georgetown last Sunday. The Bulldogs lead round against 10-10 Kahnawake hasn’t determination. the best-of-5 series 2-0 heading into Kahnawake for what they hope will be just one been easy, even though the Bulldogs In a game here on June 2 against their game this weekend. Photo by Eamonn Maher won the fi rst two games at home last chief rival, the then-unbeaten Gaels, weekend. The hard-charging Hunters Halton Hills trailed 9-5 with seven min- Ontario Jr. B Lacrosse League nearly won game two before the ’Dogs utes to play in the third but rallied to East Conference prevailed in overtime and the series tie the game and eventually win 10-9 in Halton Hills leads best-of-fi ve quarterfi nal series 2-0 now switches to Kahnawake this week- overtime. Game 1 end for the next two games. It marked the fi rst regular-season vic- June 23: Halton Hills 12, Kahnawake 7 If a fi fth-and-deciding game is re- tory for the Bulldogs against the Gaels Game 2 quired, it will be played in Georgetown since 2005 and sets the stage for anoth- June 24: Halton Hills 10, Kahnawake 8 (OT) Monday night. er classic matchup in the next round be- Game 3 Coach Blaine McCauley’s side doesn’t tween the two teams for the sixth con- Saturday, June 30 @ Kahnawake, 8 p.m. mind the underdog role, however, and secutive post-season. x-Game 4 a good core of the team that won the In past years, getting past the Gaels Sunday, July 1 @ Kahnawake, 2 p.m. Founders Cup Canadian championship usually was the biggest obstacle in win- x-Game 5 in 2010 remains, including the Mac- ning the OJBLL East Conference, but Monday, July 2 @ Georgetown, 8 p.m. Donald brothers, Brendan and Mike, there’s a new contender in the picture. x-if necessary along with the Laidlaw clan, consisting After dropping to Jr. B from Jr. A in of siblings Peter, Seth and cousin Luke, the off-season, the Akwesasne Indians For the latest news and scores from the Hal- the team’s leading scorer. have emerged as the East’s top team, Follow ’Dogs ton Hills Bulldogs during the Ontario Jr. B La- “Sometimes we hold our group to posting a 19-1 record, with their only crosse League playoffs, visit our website www. a high expectation, but in the end, the loss of the year coming to the Gaels. on the web theifp.ca for updates after the game. character and what these guys have See NO, pg. 3 Wow THIS SATURDAY ONLY 9 AM - 5 PM Wow Wow Wow Wow Price! Price! Price! Price! $10,500 + $ + $ + $ + Stk# 02261 HST Stk# 02256 18,500HST Stk# 02257 15,500HST Stk# 02250 13,500HST 2008 FOCUS SE 2012 FOCUS TITANIUM 2011 FIESTA SES 2008 ESCAPE XLT Auto, fully loaded, 4 door, auto, fully loaded, Auto, fully loaded, alloys, FWD, 4 cyl., fully loaded, 70,587 kms. 36,723 kms, daily rental. 37,053 kms, daily rental. w 77,897 kms. CONCEPT 361 Guelph St. (Hwy. #7), Georgetown More vehicles online at: www.conceptford.com 905-873-1626 Discloser: All sale prices are plus HST, and Licensing, O.A.C.