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Bulldogs Push For Playoffs With Four Divisional Games

March 28, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


The Hamilton Bulldogs (American Hockey League affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens) will continue their push for a playoff spot this week with four games versus North Division Rivals. The Dogs' will begin at home against the Abbotsford Heat (AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames). Abbotsford will be in Hamilton for back-to-back games on Tuesday, March 29th and Wednesday, March 30th, with both games scheduled for 7:00 P.M. start times. Following their two game homestand, the 'Dogs will hit the road and travel to Cleveland to take on the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche) at 7:30 P.M on Friday, April 1st. Hamilton will return to Copps Coliseum for their final home game of the 2010-2011 regular season when they the Manitoba Moose (AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks) on Saturday, April 2nd at 4:00 P.M.

Hamilton's first match-up of the week was against the Rockford IceHogs. The game began in Hamilton's favour as Neil Petruic notched his first goal of the season for the 'Dogs. The goal was the lone marker of the first frame giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead going into the second period. Rockford responded with the next three goals of the game coming from Igor Makarov and Rob Klinkhammer in the middle frame, and Evan Brophey at the start of the third. Nigel Dawes and Andreas Engqvist managed to tie the game up for the 'Dogs scoring less than a minute apart of each other in the final stanza. The game was forced to overtime where Jeff Taffe of Rockford solidified a victory for the IceHogs just a 1:45 into extra time. Hamilton's next visit was in Chicago to take on the Wolves. J.T. Wyman gave the 'Dogs a 1-0 lead in the first period. The lead was held until the third period when Mark Matheson was able to tie the game for the Wolves and force overtime. The game could not be decided in the extra frame so the game's winner had to be determined in a shootout. Shooters Mathieu Carle and Dustin Boyd each scored for the Bulldogs but it wasn't enough as Sergio Somma scored the third goal of the shootout for the Wolves awarding them the victory. In the final tilt of the week, Hamilton took on the Peoria Rivermen. In their only visit to Peoria this season the Bulldogs managed a 3-1 victory. Peoria took the first lead of the game, but Dustin Boyd, Ryan Russell and J.T. Wyman scored for the Dogs' in the second period to give them a 3-1 edge. Peoria was unable to score in the third frame handing Hamilton a win over the Rivermen.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW:

Friday, March 25th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 3 at ROCKFORD ICEHOGS 4 (OT)

Rockford Metrocentre - Rockford, IL

Hamilton Goals: Neil Petruic, Nigel Dawes, Andreas Engqvist

Rockford Goals: Igor Makarov, Rob Klinkhammer, Evan Borphey, Jeff Taffe*

Goaltending: Hamilton: Drew MacIntyre (L- 33 shots, 29 saves) / Rockford: Hannu Toivonen (W- 31 shots, 28 saves) Power Play: Hamilton 0-6/ Rockford 0-3

Attendance: 4,933 * - Game Winning Goal

Saturday, March 26th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 1 at CHICAGO WOLVES 2 (SO)

Allstate Arena - Glenview, IL

Hamilton Goals: J.T. Wyman

Chicago Goals: Mark Matheson, Sergio Somma*

Goaltending: Hamilton: Drew MacIntyre (L- 28 shots, 27 saves) / Chiacgo: Edward Pasquale (W- 32 shots, 31 saves)

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

Attendance: 9,116

* - Shootout Game Winning Goal

Sunday, March 27th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 3 at PEORIA RIVERMEN 1

Peoria Civic Centre-Carver Arena - Peoria, IL

Hamilton Goals: Dustin Boyd, Ryan Russell*, J.T. Wyman

Peoria Goals: Graham Mink

Goaltending: Hamilton: Drew MacIntyre (W - 27 shots, 26 saves) / Peoria: Jake Allen (L- 28 shots, 25 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 1-5 / Peoria 0-4

Attendance: 6,682

*- Game Winning Goal

BULLDOGS NOTES:

- Leading scorer Nigel Dawes (34G, 22A), who played the first half of this season as a member of the Chicago Wolves before being acquired by the Montreal Canadiens, made his first appearance back in Chicago on Saturday, March 26th.

- C Ryan Russell returned to the Bulldogs on March 25th for the first time since February 21st after being sidelined with an injury.

- C Ryan Russell registered a goal and an assist in a match-up versus the Peoria Rivermen on Sunday, March 27th. The second point was his 100th career AHL point.

- D Joe Stejskal played in his first-career AHL game on Saturday, March 26th against the Chicago Wolves since being signed to an ATO contract with the Bulldogs on March 22nd.

UPCOMING GAMES:

TUESDAY, MARCH 29th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS vs. ABBOTSFORD HEAT 7:00 PM EST - COPPS COLISEUM - HAMILTON, ON

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS vs. ABBOTSFORD HEAT 7:00 PM EST - COPPS COLISEUM - HAMILTON, ON

- This is the fifth and sixth of eight meetings between the two clubs this season

- The last time the two teams met was March 19th when Abbotsford defeated the Bulldogs 2-0

- The 'Dogs have a 1-3-0-0 record against the Heat this season

- Hamilton's all-time record against Abbotsford is 6-5-0-0-1

- Matt Keith leads the Heat in scoring with 31 points (18G, 13A)

- There are six Ontario natives currently listed on the Heat roster: C John Armstrong (Unionville), Bryan Cameron (Brampton), D Chris Breen (Uxbridge), D Matt Pelech (Toronto), D T.J. Brodie (Dresden) and D Josh Van Dyk (Woodstock)

FRIDAY, APRIL 1st - HAMILTON BULLDOGS @ LAKE ERIE MONSTERS

7:30 PM EST - QUICKEN LOANS ARENA- CLEVELAND, OH

- This is the seventh of eight meetings between the two clubs this season

- The last time the two teams met was March 11th when Lake Erie defeated the Bulldogs 4-2

- The 'Dogs have a 2-5-0-0 record against the Monsters this season

- Hamilton's all-time record against Lake Erie is 18-9-0-1-2

- Ben Walter leads the Monsters in scoring with 63 points (20G, 43A)

- There are three Ontario natives currently listed on the Monster roster: C Harrison Reed (New Market), D David Liffiton (Windsor), and C Julian Talbot (Wahnapitae)

SATURDAY, APRIL 2nd - HAMILTON BULLDOGS vs. MANITOBA MOOSE

4:00 PM EST - COPPS COLISEUM - HAMILTON, ON

- This is the sixth of eight meetings between the Moose and the 'Dogs

- The Bulldogs have a 3-0-0-2 record against the Moose this season

- The last time Hamilton and Manitoba met was January 26th when Hamilton defeated the Moose 3-0

- Hamilton's all-time record against Manitoba is 48-24-1-5-3

- Sergei Shirokov leads the Moose in scoring with 51 points (20G, 31A)

- There are two Ontario natives currently listed on the Moose roster: C Cody Hodgson (Markham) and C Marco Rosa (Scarborough)

ALUMNI WATCH:

There are over 40 former Bulldogs currently on NHL 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:

- Toronto C Mikhail Grabovski recorded a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win over the Wild (Mar. 22) and tallied another assist against the Avalanche (Mar. 24).

- Dallas C Mike Ribiero collected four assists this week for the Stars in two match-ups. In his first game Ribiero registered two assist against the Ducks (Mar. 23) and added another two in their next game versus Nashville (Mar. 26).

- Minnesota RW Antti Miettinen had two goals this week both in the Wild's game versus the Blues (Mar. 26). Miettinen has 33 points (14G, 19A) through 66 games this season.

- Vancouver LW Raffi Torres gained an assist in the Canucks victory over the Thrashers (Mar. 25). Torres has 29 points (14G, 15A) through 76 games this season.

- Boston G Tim Thomas leads all netminders in the NHL with a .939 SV% and a 2.00 GAA. This week he recorded two wins for the Bruins beating the Devils 4-1 (Mar. 22) and shutting out the Canadiens 7-0 (Mar. 24). The shutout was his eight of the season which places him tied for second in the NHL with goaltender Carey Price.

- Washington LW Jason Chimera recorded one assist this week for the Capitals in a 5-4 win over the Flyers. Chimera has 23 points (8G, 15A) through 76 games this season.

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, 'TODAY'S COUNTRY AM 820 CHAM'. Fans can also listen or watch at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the 'AHL Live' or '820 CHAM' 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 ext. 179.

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.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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