Bulldogs beat Cataractes in OT, move on to Memorial Cup Final

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — Jan Mysak scored 10:08 into overtime Monday as the Hamilton Bulldogs clinched a berth in Wednesday’s Memorial Cup final with a 4-3 victory over the Shawinigan Cataractes at TD Station in Saint John, New Brunswick.

The dramatic semifinal win propels the Bulldogs into the championship game against the host Saint John Sea Dogs.

Artem Grushnikov, Mason McTavish and Logan Morrison scored in regulation for the Bulldogs, who went 16-3 in the playoffs to capture the Ontario Hockey League crown, defeating the Windsor Spitfires in a seven-game championship series.

Mavrik Bourque, Olivier Nadeau and William Veillette scored for in regulation time for the Shawinigan Cataractes, who set a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League record with seven overtime victories en route to the President Cup title, their first in the franchise’s 53 years of existence.

Marco Costantini made 33 saves in goal for Hamilton on Monday, while Antoine Coulombe stopped 39 of the 43 shots he faced.

In the preliminary round, the Cataractes used three power-play goals on seven chances to edge the Bulldogs 3-2.

Hamilton made significant changes to their approach for this rematch, allowing just one power-play opportunity while outshooting Shawinigan 38-30 in regulation time.

In an evenly played first period, each team hit a post early on and the shots were tight, as Hamilton led 9-8 in that department.

Bourque opened scoring when he redirected a Nadeau feed past Costantini at 14:39. Nadeau gained control of a loose puck in the left corner, and hit Bourque, whose shot found the net under Costantini’s glove.

Grushnikov tied it less than two minutes later when he joined the rush on a 4-on-4 situation and finished off a slick pass from the right wing by