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First-Place Bulldogs Continue Home Stand With Four Games

January 4, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


The Hamilton Bulldogs (American Hockey League affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens) will continue their eight-game home stand to begin 2010 this week by hosting three teams at Copps Coliseum for four games. The Chicago Wolves (American Hockey League affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers) will be in town on Wednesday, January 6th for a 7:30 pm matchup. The 'Dogs will then welcome the Lake Erie Monsters (American Hockey League affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche) on two occasions next week, facing off with the Monsters on Friday, January 8th and Monday, January 11th. Puck-drop for both games will be at 7:30 p.m. Sandwiched between the two Lake Erie contests, the Bulldogs will host the Grand Rapids Griffins (American Hockey League affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings) for a 7:00 pm game on Saturday, January 9th.

Last week, the Bulldogs extended their lead in the North Division and Western Conference standings by winning three of four games played. The 'Dogs began the week by defeating the Rochester Americans (American Hockey League affiliate of the Florida Panthers) 4-1 on Wednesday, December 30th at Copps Coliseum. One night later on New Year's Eve, the Bulldogs travelled to Grand Rapids and managed a 7-3 victory over the Griffins. In their first game of 2010 on Saturday, January 2nd, the Bulldogs suffered their only defeat of the week, falling 3-2 to the Lake Erie Monsters at Copps Coliseum. The Bulldogs had a short memory however, coming back one night later to score three third-period goals, getting a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over the Milwaukee Admirals (American Hockey League affiliate of the Nashville Predators) in front of 2,387 fans at Copps Coliseum.

THIS WEEK AT THE DOG POUND It will be $1 hot dog night at Wednesday's game versus the Chicago Wolves. Fans can participate in the hotdog eating contest that will be going on at every Wednesday home game. Also at Wednesday's game there will also be a Guitar Hero competition that will be shown on the jumbotron and any fans with a Shoppers Drug Mart optimum card can enter into a draw for a chance to take part in a shootout during the second intermission. The winner of the shootout will win $100,000 worth of Shoppers optimum points. The first 5,000 fans through the gates at Friday's game will be given Home Depot rally towels as part of "Union Night" at the Dog Pound.

OLYMPIC TRIBUTE On January 9, the Hamilton Bulldogs will wear specialty jerseys during their match-up against the Grand Rapids Griffins in honour of the 2010 Canadian Olympic hockey teams. There will also be Olympic on-ice promotions and in-stands contests for themed prizing. During the next 6 home games, fans will have the opportunity to bid on each jersey during a silent auction at the Bulldogs Foundation Booth. There will also be a raffle for P.K. Subban's Olympic Tribute jersey. Raffle tickets are: 2 for $5.00, 5 for $10.00 or 20 for $20.00. The silent auction and raffle will end on January 15th, at the second intermission of the game.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 4 vs. ROCHESTER AMERICANS 1

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: Mathieu Darche*, J.T. Wyman, Brock Trotter, Mikael Johansson

Rochester Goals: Chris Taylor

Goaltending: Hamilton - Cedrick Desjardins (W - 25 shots, 24 saves) / Rochester- Ryan Mior (L - 24 shots, 20 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 1-5 / Rochester 1-6

Attendance: 5,510

*- Game Winner

Thursday, December 31st, 2009 - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 7 @ GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: Brock Trotter*, Ryan Russell, Tom Pyatt, Frederic St. Denis, Andre Benoit, Ryan White, P.K. Subban

Grand Rapids Goals: Cory Emmerton, Jan Mursak, Andy Delmore

Goaltending: Hamilton - Cedrick Desjardins (W - 14 shots, 13 saves); Curtis Sanford (13 shots, 11 saves) / Grand Rapids - Daniel Larsson (L - 30 shots, 26 saves); Thomas McCollum (8 shots, 5 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 0-2 / Grand Rapids 1-2

Attendance: 7,865

*- Game Winner

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010 - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 2 vs. LAKE ERIE MONSTERS 3

Copps Coliseum -Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: J.T. Wyman, Ben Maxwell

Lake Erie Goals: Matthew Ford, Justin Mercier (2)

Goaltending: Hamilton - Cedrick Desjardins (L - 16 shots, 14 saves) / Lake Erie - Tyler Weiman (W - 33 shots, 31 saves)

Power Play - Hamilton 0-5 / Lake Erie 0-4

Attendance: 2,917

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 6 vs. MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS 4

Copps Coliseum -Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: Ben Maxwell (2), Greg Stewart (2), Ryan White* (2)

Milwaukee Goals: Reid Cashman, Ben Guite, Colin Wilson, Nolan Yonkman

Goaltending: Hamilton - Cedrick Desjardins (W - 21 shots, 17 saves) / Milwaukee - Chet Pickard (L - 27 shots, 21 saves)

Power Play - Hamilton 1-4 / Milwaukee 0-3

Attendance: 2,387

BULLDOGS NOTES:

- Bulldogs D Yannick Weber has been named to Switzerland's Men's Ice Hockey Team for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

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- G Cedrick Desjardins and D P.K. Subban were named to the 2010 Canadian AHL All-Star Team with Subban being voted as a starter for the team.

- Desjardins was named the Reebok/AHL Goaltender of the Month for December.

- The Bulldogs earned their 500th regular season victory with a 3-0 win over the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday, November 28th.

- Hamilton's 51 points is currently five more than any other team in the Western Conference.

- The 'Dogs have the second-lowest number of regulation losses in the league, having suffered defeat just nine times when overtime or a shootout was not necessary.

- Hamilton's 0.689 winning percentage is currently second best in the AHL.

- The Bulldogs are tied with the Hershey Bears for the lowest number of goals against thus far this season, having allowed just 81 opposition tallies in 37 games this season. The goaltending tandem of Curtis Sanford and Cedrick Desjardins has complemented Hamilton's defensive corps to shut down the opposition's attack.

- Hamilton G Cedrick Desjardins' 1.66 goals against average is currently the second lowest total in the AHL. Desjardins is also sporting the league's third-best save percentage at 0.932, and holds the AHL's shutout mark with five white washes on the year. The netminder also ranks 7th in the league with 14 wins this season.

- Bulldogs C Brock Trotter has scored 15 points (7-8-15) in his last 14 games. The former Denver Pioneer currently leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points in 35 games played.

- Bulldogs rookie D P.K. Subban is currently tied for the league-lead in plus/minus, as the Rexdale, Ontario native is skating with a +20 rating

- Hamilton C David Desharnais has continued to produce offensively for the 'Dogs, as the former ECHL Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year has scored eight points (2-6-8) in his last six games. Desharnais is currently the only Bulldogs player averaging more than a point per game, scoring 28 points in 23 games for a 1.22 PPG average

- Bulldogs LW Mathieu Darche has had three multi-point games in his last seven, including two four-point efforts which saw the Montreal native score a hat-trick, including the overtime game winner, and add an assist in the 'Dogs 5-4 OT victory over the Rochester Americans on December 20th, and dish out four assists as the Bulldogs got past the Grand Rapids Griffins 7-3 on New Year's Eve.

UPCOMING GAMES:

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6TH - HAMILTON BULLDOGS vs. CHICAGO WOLVES

7:30 PM EST -COPPS COLISEUM- Hamilton, ON

This will be the second of four meetings between the Western Conference opponents this season In their last meeting on Oct. 17/09, the Bulldogs bit the Wolves in Chicago and beat them by a score of 5-4 with Ryan Russell notching the game-winning goal The Wolves are sixth in the West Division with an 18-15-0-2 record which is good for 38 points This game will be the first time former Bulldogs head coach Don Lever and assistant coach Ron Wilson will be making their returns to Copps Coliseum...The pair led the 'Dogs to their first-ever Calder Cup Championship in 2006-2007 Last season Hamilton swept the Wolves in the season series taking two out of the two games in which they played The Bulldogs will go into Wednesday's contest with a 10-7-0-2-0 all-time record against Chicago Veteran centreman Jason Krog (6-29-35) leads the Wolves' attack with 35 points in 33 games this season ... Long-time NHLer D Chris Chelios (4-13-17) sports 17 points and a +16 rating in 26 games this year There are three Ontario natives currently on Chicago's roster: LW Josh Gratton (Brantford), D Mike Vernace (Toronto), and D Scott Lehman (Windsor)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 8th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS vs. LAKE ERIE MONSTERS MONDAY, JANUARY 11th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS vs. LAKE ERIE MONSTERS

7:30 PM EST - COPPS COLISEUM -Hamilton, ON

This will be the fourth and fifth of eight contests between the North Division opponents this season In their last encounter on Jan. 2 at Copps Coliseum, Lake Erie upset the 'Dogs by a score of 3-2 with G Tyler Weiman stopping 31 of 33 shots for the Monsters Lake Erie is still in the basement of the North Division with 35 points and a 16-18-0-3 record, but is an impressive 8-2-0-0 in their last ten games In 2008-2009 the Bulldogs decisively defeated Lake Erie in the season series 6-2-0-0 in eight games Hamilton's all-time record against the Monsters is just as dominant at 15-3-0-0-1 RW Darren Haydar (16-19-35) leads the Monsters' attack with 35 points in 35 games thus far this season There are currently three Ontarians on the Monsters' roster: RW Brian Willsie (London), RW Darran Haydar (Milton), and D Wes O'Neill (Essex)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9TH - HAMILTON BULLDOGS vs. GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS

7:00 PM EST - COPPS COLISEUM - Hamilton, ON

This will be the second of six meetings between the North Division opponents this season On Dec. 31/09 the 'Dogs thrashed the Griffins in Michigan by a score of 7-3 with Brock Trotter getting the winning tally The Griffins are fifth in the North Division with 37 points and a 19-17-0-1 record Grand Rapids continues to struggle dropping six of their last seven games with their most recent loss coming on Jan. 3/10 at the hands of the Lake Erie Monsters by a score of 7-2 C Kris Newbury of Grand Rapids has been suspended indefinitely by the league after being ejected four minutes into last Thursday's game versus the Hamilton Bulldogs Last season the Bulldogs doubled up the Griffins in the season series a 4-2-0-0 record Hamilton's all-time record against Grand Rapids is 26-14-1-2-4 C Patrick Rissmiller (10-17-27) currently leads the Griffins with 27 points in 35 games There are seven Ontario-born players on the Grand Rapids' roster: C Kris Newbury (Brampton), C Cory Emmerton (St. Thomas), C Evan McGrath (Oakville), RW Jamie Tardif (Welland), D Andy Delmore (Windsor), D Paul Crosty (Brampton), and D Ryan Stokes (Corruna)

ALUMNI WATCH: There are more than 40 former Bulldogs on 2009-2010 National Hockey League rosters. 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:

The Hamilton Bulldogs would like to congratulate the 10 alumni who have been named to Olympic rosters for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Forwards Mikhail Grabovski, Andrei Kostitsyn, and Sergei Kostitsyn will represent Belerus. D Jan Hejda and C Tomas Plekanec will suit up for the Czech Republic. Minnesota Wild F Antti Miettinen will wear the blue and white for Team Finland. G Jaroslav Halak and F Marcel Hossa will wear their national colours for Slovakia. Stalwart D Mike Komisarek and Vezina Trophy winner G Tim Thomas will take to the ice for the United States. Montreal C Tomas Plekanec put away the game-winning goal as the Habs got past the Tampa Bay Lightning (Dec. 30) and added another goal against Florida (Dec. 31)... Plekanec currently ranks ninth in NHL scoring with 10 goals and 36 assists for 46 points on the year Boston G Tim Thomas picked up the victory in this year's Winter Classic, stopping 25 of 26 Philadelphia shots as the Bruins defeated the Flyers on New Year's Day (Jan. 1) Columbus RW Raffi Torres scored a goal and was +1 as Nashville outlasted the Blue Jackets, earning a 2-1 overtime victory (Dec. 31) Montreal G Carey Price stopped 34 of 35 Tampa Bay shots as the Canadiens stormed past the Lightning 2-1 in overtime (Dec. 30) Dallas C Mike Ribeiro scored a goal, picked up an assist, and was +2 as the Stars defeated the Blackhawks 5-4 (Dec. 29)... The former QMJHL star then dished out a helper and was +2 as the Stars got a 5-3 win over Anaheim (Dec. 31) Nashville G Dan Ellis stopped 31 of 32 Columbus shots en route to a 2-1 overtime victory over the Blue Jackets (Dec. 31) Washington LW Jason Chimera collected an assist in his first game as a Capital in a losing effort as San Jose triumphed 5-2 Montreal G Jaroslav Halak made 32 saves backstopping the Canadiens to a narrow 5-4 victory over the Florida Panthers (Dec. 31) Minnesota RW Antti Miettinen had points in three different games last week, scoring a goal in a 4-2 loss to Anaheim (Dec. 29), and dishing out one assist against Los Angeles (Dec. 31) and New Jersey (Jan. 2) Philadelphia D Danny Syvret scored his first career NHL goal at this year's Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston; the goal was not enough however, as the Bruins defeated the Flyers 2-1 in overtime (Jan. 1) Edmonton G Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers had a 27-save performance as the Oilers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 (Dec. 30) Montreal D Marc-Andre Bergeron scored a goal as the Canadiens got past the Panthers 5-4 (Dec. 31) Chicago G Cristobal Huet added two more notches to his victory column last week, making 26 saves in a win over New Jersey (Dec. 31), and 19 saves in a victory over the St. Louis Blues (Jan. 2)

TUNE IN TO Every Game on the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network AND CABLE 14:

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.

In addition Cable 14 will air live broadcasts 13 of club's 38 home games at Copps Coliseum. In a joint venture with Mohawk College, Cable 14 will also broadcast the 25 Hamilton Bulldogs' home games not being shown live in their entirety as 'Dogs-in-an-Hour at 11:00 p.m. on the night of the game.

Cable 14 will also carry Rogers Television's live coverage of six Hamilton Bulldogs versus Toronto Marlies games at Ricoh Coliseum.

For a full listing of all the games broadcast on Cable 14 follow this link: http://www.hamiltonbulldogs.com/page/broadcast_1019#Live%20Broadcast%20Schedule

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:

Wednesday, January 6th - Hamilton Bulldogs vs. Chicago Wolves - 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 8th - Hamilton Bulldogs vs. Lake Erie Monsters - 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 9th - Hamilton Bulldogs vs. Grand Rapids Griffins - 7:00 p.m. Monday, January 11th - Hamilton Bulldogs vs. Lake Erie Monsters - 7:30 p.m.

MOLSON CUP - THREE STAR LEADERS: (1st Star - 5pts, 2nd Star - 3pts, 3rd Star - 1pt)

Player : Points :

1. Cedrick Desjardins 32

2. Mathieu Darche 25

3. David Desharnais 24

4. Curtis Sanford 18

5. Brock Trotter 15

6. P.K. Subban 11

6. Tom Pyatt 11

6. Ryan White 11

9. Sergei Kostitsyn 9

10. Mike Glumac 8

11. Mathieu Carle 5

11. Ryan Russell 5

11. Ben Maxwell 5

14. J.T. Wyman 4

15. Grant Stevenson 3

15. Benoit Pouliot 3

17. Greg Stewart 2

18. Andrew Conboy 1

18. Mikael Johansson 1

FLAMBORO DOWNS WORKHORSE OF THE GAME LEADERS: (10 pts. - Hardest working Hamilton Bulldogs player)

Player: Points:

1. Yannick Weber 40

1. Brock Trotter 40

3. Andre Benoit 30

4. Tom Pyatt 20

4. J.T. Wyman 20

4. Alex Henry 20

4. P.K. Subban 20

4. Ryan White 20

4. Mike Glumac 20

4. David Desharnais 20

4. Ben Maxwell 20

12. Marc-Andre Bergeron 10

12. Cedrick Desjardins 10

12. Shawn Belle 10

12. Mathieu Darche 10

12. Curtis Sanford 10

12. Chad Anderson 10

12. Mathieu Carle 10

12. Andrew Conboy 10

12. Grant Stevenson 10

12. Eric Neilson 10

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