Hamilton Hosts Rockford This Week

Last week, Hamilton opened the season with a 3-2 shootout loss to their North Division rival the Toronto Marlies on Sunday, October 4th at Ricoh Coliseum.

HOME OPENER FESTIVITIES

In celebration of the 2009-2010 Hamilton Bulldogs home opener, the 'Dogs will be hosting several festivities before and during the game on Friday, October 9th at Copps Coliseum. Starting at 6:00 p.m. there will be a tailgate party outside of Copps Coliseum where fans can see a special performance by Suzie McNeil. The first 5,000 fans that enter Copps Coliseum will receive a calendar magnet. Throughout the game there will also be prizes, such as appliances and a trip, given away to lucky fans in attendance.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Sunday, October 4th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 2 @ TORONTO MARLIES 3 (SO)

Ricoh Coliseum - Toronto, ON

Hamilton Goals: J.T. Wyman, Brock Trotter Toronto Goals: Kyle Rogers, Ben Ondrus Shootout Winner: Alex Foster

Goaltending: Hamilton - Curtis Sanford (L - 29 shots, 27 saves) / Toronto - Joey MacDonald (W - 34 shots, 32 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 1-3 / Toronto 0-3

Attendance: 4,362

BULLDOGS NOTES:

- Bulldog rookie D P.K. Subban played in his first-career AHL game on Sunday in a 3-2 shootout loss to Toronto. Subban registered two shots and two penalty minutes in the game.

- After the loss, the Bulldogs now have a record of 6-6-2-0 (W-L-T/OTL-SOL) in season openers.

- D Andre Benoit returned to the Bulldogs line-up after spending the past two seasons playing in Sweden and Finland. Benoit last skated with the Bulldogs when they won the 2007 Calder Cup Championship.

UPCOMING GAMES: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9TH - HAMILTON BULLDOGS vs. ROCKFORD ICEHOGS - 7:30 P.M - COPPS COLISEUM

- Friday's game marks the first of just 2 contests between the two Western Conference foes

- Rockford IceHogs currently rank sixth in the West Division with an 0-0-1-0 record

- Hamilton did not play against Rockford in 2008-2009, but managed a 2-0-0-0 record vs. the IceHogs in 2007-2008

- The Bulldogs are 2-0-0-0-0 all-time against the IceHogs

- RW Danny Bois (1-1-2) and RW Derek Nesbitt (1-1-2) are currently leading the IceHogs with two points each in one game this season

- There are four Ontario natives currently on the IceHogs roster: C Evan Brophey (Kitchener), RW Derek Nesbitt (Egmondville), RW Danny Bois (Thunder Bay), LW Bryan Bickell (Orono)

ALUMNI WATCH: There were 42 former Bulldogs on 2009-2010 National Hockey League starting rosters last week. Over 60 percent of all former 'Dogs have played in at least one NHL game. Here are a few highlights and accomplishments of ex-'Dogs from this past week:

- St. Louis G Ty Conklin earned his first win of the season with a 30-save effort against Detroit (Oct. 3)

- Montreal C Tomas Plekanec picked up two assists, five shots on net, and was +1 as the Canadiens beat the Maple Leafs in each team's season-opener (Oct. 1)

- Boston RW Michael Ryder collected one goal and one assist on the power play in a victory over Carolina (Oct. 3)

- Nashville G Dan Ellis made 38 saves on 40 Dallas shots, backstopping the Predators to their first win of the season (Oct. 3)

- New York Rangers LW Chris Higgins assisted on the game-winning goal and finished +2 with two shots on net and two penalty minutes in a win over Ottawa (Oct. 3)

- Toronto C Mikhail Grabovski had one assist in an overtime loss to Montreal (Oct. 1), and contributed one goal and one assist in a 6-4 loss to Washington (Oct. 3)

- Montreal G Carey Price made 77 saves over two games to notch his first two victories of the season, prevailing over Toronto (Oct. 1) and Buffalo (Oct. 3) - both games were won in overtime

- Detroit RW Daniel Cleary had one assist in a loss to St. Louis (Oct. 2), and scored one goal as the Blues beat the Red Wings for the second time in as many days (Oct. 3)

TUNE IN TO Every Game on the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network:

Fans can listen to every 'Dogs game this season on the flagship station of the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network, TALK 820. Fans can also listen or watch at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the 'AHL Live' or 'TALK 820' icon on the Bulldogs website. All regular-season radio and online broadcasts will begin with a pre-game show 30 minutes prior to each scheduled game-time. Ellery Award-winning broadcaster Derek Wills calls the play-by-play of all 80 regular season games, while Al Craig provides the colour commentary for all home games and select road games.

GET YOUR TICKETS!:

Hamilton Bulldogs season tickets, flex tickets, min pack tickets, group tickets and tickets are now on sale! Individual game tickets are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office (in-person sales only), all Ticketmaster outlets and online at ticketmaster.ca or call 905-527-7666. For information on season tickets, flex tickets, mini pack tickets and group tickets visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com, or call (905) 529-8500 or 1-866-364-7849.

GET YOUR BULLDOGS MERCHANDISE AT THE "DAWG HOUSE":

Fans can purchase Bulldogs merchandise during all home games at the "Dawg House" store located behind section 114 on the concourse level at Copps Coliseum.

In the store, fans can find hats, t-shirts, jackets, replica jerseys, foam fingers, foam 'Bone Heads', and other select novelty items for sale.

HAMILTON BULLDOGS SCHEDULE THIS WEEK:

Friday, October 9th, 2009 - 7:30 p.m. - Hamilton Bulldogs vs. Rockford IceHogs (Copps Coliseum)

MOLSON CUP - THREE STAR LEADERS:

(1st Star - 5pts, 2nd Star - 3pts, 3rd Star - 1pt)

Player : Points :

1. J.T. Wyman 1

FLAMBORO DOWNS WORKHORSE OF THE GAME LEADERS:

(10 pts. - Hardest working Hamilton Bulldogs player)

Player: Points:

1. Brock Trotter 10

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