Under-'Dogs stymied by Buzz in game one Series continues here Thursday night

The Halton Hills Bulldogs proved once again on Monday night that they can give the top-ranked Jr. B lacrosse team in Ontario all it can handle. But until the underdog Bulldogs can get a win to show for their efforts, their season could be over this weekend and veteran Halton Hills' goaltender Kyle Kennery isn't interested in scoring any more moral victories. The Eastern Conference-champion Oakville Buzz scored three times in the final seven minutes to earn an 11-8 win over the very game Bulldogs in the opening game of their best-of-5 first-round playoff series at the Maple Grove Arena. Halton Hills led on a couple of occasions, yet the 19-1 Buzz prevailed over the 10-10 'Dogs for the fifth time this season, maintaining its unbeaten home record in 2006. "There's no consolation in just keeping it close. It's go big or go home," said the 21-year-old Kennery, in his fifth and final campaign with the eighth-place Bulldogs. "On paper, all you see is a win or a loss. If it's close, it's close, but in the end that doesn't matter. We're just trying to focus on the positive things. If we happen to lose the game, that sucks, but we look at what we can improve upon. The way we played tonight showed this is far from over." Game two of the series will be played Thursday at Georgetown's Mold-Masters SportsPlex beginning at 8 p.m., with game three in Oakville Saturday evening. As has been the case many times this season, the Bulldogs allowed their opponents to get a good start, with the Buzz grabbing a 3-0 lead just six minutes into Monday's spirited contest, played in front of about 400 fans in the sweltering Maple Grove Arena. But Halton Hills would rally, taking leads of 5-4 and 8-7, before the hosts turned the tide in their favour. Oakville's Sean Thomson took advantage of a defensive breakdown by the Bulldogs, walking in from the half-boards and deking Kennery for the winner. "It always seems to be that we've got them, then sometimes it's a call or we just let off, and even though we have a foot on their throats, we can't finish it," Kennery added. Nole Coutrouzas, Cameron Flint and Travis Bland had two goals each for the visitors, with Matt Laidlaw and David Brock adding singles. If a fourth game is required, it would be played in Georgetown Sunday at 6 p.m.