Bulldogs stung as they draw blank for second week running

TOUGH GOING: Bulldogs line up ahead of their 9-0 defeat to Sutton Sting at Ice Sheffield. Picture: Joanne Gibson.

ANDY BROWN questioned the effort levels of his Bradford Bulldogs team after they came off a distant second-best when losing 9-0 to NIHL North Two leaders, Sutton Sting. 

The Bulldogs went into the game on the back of a 5-0 defeat on home ice against the same opponents the previous weekend. 

Head coach Brown had hoped his team would be able to close the gap on a quality Sting team, who have now started the season with a nine-game winning streak, having thumped Kingston Sharks the previous day 24-0 on the road.

But it wasn’t to be at Ice Sheffield, the Bulldogs finding themselves trailing 2-0 at the end of the first period before the game got away from them in the second as the Sting plundered five more goals, adding a couple more in the third.

“It was disappointing to say the least,” said Brown, who has hopes for his team securing a play-off spot this season. “I can accept losing to a better team, but I can’t accept players not being prepared to give their all to at least try and get the result. 

“I’ve coached the Bulldogs many years, and we’ve had far worse results than that, but one thing we’ve always done is give 100 per cent regardless of the outcome and I don’t think that can be said about that performance.” 

Similarly to the previous week’s game in Bradford it took a while for a dominant Sting to break the deadlock, Sam Bolwell eventually beaten by Cameron Kushnirenko at 16.46 before the lead was doubled just over a minute later by a Jacob Truswell strike.

But it was in the second period where most of the damage was done, Cameron Glasby making it 3-0 at 23.21 before grabbing his second of the game just under four minutes later.

Just after the halfway mark, player-coach Matt Jeffocok made it 5-0, with Mushnirenko piling on the agony for the Bulldogs at 36.04 before Cameron Akers got on the board with 70 seconds of the period remaining to make it 7-0.

A second for Jeffcock and a late strike from Sam Colton added some gloss to the score for the Sting, but of chief concern to Bulldogs’ coach Brown will be his team’ failure to find the net for two straight games, something he hopes will change when they take on Sheffield at The Pound on Sunday (face-off 5.30pm).