Dogs stun Amerks in season opener
October 7, 2007 - Eastern Basketball Development League () News Release
ROCHESTER, NY - Maxim Lapierre had two goals and an assist, including the game-winning tally just 39 seconds into overtime to lead the Hamilton Bulldogs to a 3-2 win over the Rochester Americans in their 2007-2008 season opener on Sunday night at Blue Cross Arena. The Bulldogs also erased two one-goal deficits in the game (1-0 and 2-1) to earn the win.
Rochester opened the scoring at 13:41 of the first period when Clarke MacArthur notched his first goal of the season. Marek Zagrapan and Mike Card earned assists on the goal.
Matt D'Agostini evened the score 1-1 for Hamilton at the 15:28 mark of the opening frame. D'Agostini's goal, assisted by Corey Locke and Lapierre, was the 50th point of his American Hockey League career in just his 64th game. The point also made D'Agostini the 50th player in franchise history to record 50-career points in a Bulldogs jersey.
The Americans restored their one-goal lead at 2-1 with only 16 seconds left in the first period. Kenndal McArdle and David Brine combined to set up Mark Mancari for his first goal of the campaign.
At 11:52 of the middle stanza, Lapierre intercepted a pass from Amerks goaltender David Shantz and buried the puck into an empty net to tie the game 2-2. Lapierre's unassisted goal was the lone scoring play of the second period.
After a scoreless third period, Lapierre notched his second goal and third point of the night just 39 seconds into overtime to lift Hamilton to a 3-2 win over Rochester. Sergei Kostitsyn, who earned his first-career professional point, and Ryan O'Byrne drew helpers on the game-winning goal.
Between the pipes, Jaroslav Halak turned aside 27 of the 29 shots he faced for the Bulldogs while David Shantz made 18 saves on 21 shots for the Americans in a losing effort.
The defending Calder Cup Champion Hamilton Bulldogs 2007-2008 home opener will take place on Friday, October 12th, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. versus the Rochester Americans at Copps Coliseum. Tickets for all 'Dogs home games are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.ca, or through charge-by-phone at 905-527-7666. For more information or to purchase season tickets call 905-529-8500, e-mail tickets@hamiltonbulldogs.com or visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com.
Fans can listen to every Bulldogs game on the flagship station of the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network, 820 CHAM. Fans can also listen or watch at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the 'B2 Networks' or '820 CHAM' icon on the 'Dogs website. All regular-season radio and online broadcasts will begin with a pre-game show 20 minutes prior to each scheduled game-time.
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Eastern Basketball Development League Stories from October 7, 2007
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