Mysak's OT winner helps Bulldogs past Cataractes, advance to Memorial Cup final

Jan Mysak of the Hamilton Bulldogs picked the perfect time to score his first goal of the 2022 Memorial Cup.

The 20-year-old native of Litvinov, Czechia, expertly tipped defenceman Nathan Staios' point shot past goaltender Antoine Coulombe 10:08 into overtime to lift the Bulldogs past the Shawinigan Cataractes 4-3 and into Wednesday's Memorial Cup final.

"I was waiting for that and I picked the right moment," said Mysak, selected 48th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2020 NHL entry draft. "We are really happy we can play in the final and we are really excited."

Morrison, the OHL playoff's MVP, tied the game with 6:04 remaining in regulation when he drifted into the slot and drilled a quick feed from Ryan Winterton past Coulombe.

"He says `Wints, Wints, I am open'. So you have to find guys like that when they are open," said Winterton, who picked up a pair of assists and was plus-3 on the night.

WATCH | Bulldogs outlast Cataractes in OT to advance to final:

The dramatic semifinal featured big hits, outstanding goaltending and the timely tip from Mysak to propel the Bulldogs into the franchise's first Memorial Cup final. They'll face the host Saint John Sea Dogs who beat them 5-3 to open the tournament on June 20.

On the winning goal Monday, Staios gained control of the puck in the Shawinigan zone, circled the net and then skated back to the blue line before he fired a shot toward the goal, where Mysak broke free to get his stick on the puck for the winner.

"If you want to score a goal, you need a net front (presence)," Mysak said. "The whole game, we knew they were hard around the net, so I just tried to spin around to create a space for me to screen the goalie. I knew he was going to shoot it when he had the puck on his stick and when he picked the right moment, I picked the right moment."

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

"It has been a great year," said Shawinigan coach Daniel Renaud. "Bottom line, we are champions. That is the message to the players — `Keep your heads-up, be proud of yourself, be proud of your team. It has been a hell of a year and you will be champions forever, no matter what."'

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

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

"It was a point of focus for sure," said Hamilton coach Jay McKee. "Their power play is fantastic, we made some adjustments in what we did and I thought we did a good job with the one kill. If we were going to win the game tonight, we had to stay out of the box."