By Dale Lamontagne, Hamilton Bulldogs Correspondent, Bulldogs Hockey Report 

HAMILTON, ON – The Hamilton Bulldogs playoff race took a little detour on Thursday night, as the Chicago Wolves defeated the ‘Dogs 4-2 at the FirstOntario Centre.

Midway through the first period, the Wolves scored after a shot from the blueline deflected off the backboard and Magnus Paajarvi tapped in the loose puck behind Mike Condon. The ‘Dogs were not able to get on the board in the first period, and trailed the Wolves 1-0.

In the middle frame, the Wolves made it 2-0.

Forward Paajarvi deked around a Bulldog defenceman shooting the puck on net, where he was able score his second goal of the night.

The Bulldogs night continued to go downhill five-minutes into the third period, as Chicago went up 3-0.

Shane Harper extended the Wolve’s lead to 3-0 after he sniped the puck over Condon’s shoulder.

The Bulldogs, however, showed a little bit of life.

Just about half way into the third, T.J. Hensick put the Bulldogs on the board with a backhand shot that beat Matt Climie glove side.

However, Chicago got a goal back quick.

The Wolves made it 4-1 on the power-play during a two-on-one, with Pat Cannone tapping the puck in.

With 3:00 minutes to go, Charles Hudon shot Darren Dietz’s rebound out of mid air and over Climie’s glove side to cut the Wolves lead in half. It was a very pretty goal, but it would not be enough for the ‘Dogs as they fell to the Wolves.