Bell Centre Matchup Highlights Bulldogs' Week

Published on February 21, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


This week, the Hamilton Bulldogs battle the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings) at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. before hosting the St. John's IceCaps (AHL affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets) at the Bell Centre in Montr?al, Quebec on Friday, February 24th, 2012 at 7:30 pm. The 'Dogs then travel to Toronto to face the Marlies (AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs) at Ricoh Coliseum on Sunday, February 26th, 2012 at 5:00 p.m.

Tickets for the Hamilton Bulldogs home game at the Bell Centre in Montreal are available through evenko and the Bell Centre box office. For more information, please visit www.evenko.com or call 1-877-668-8269 or 514-790-2525.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW:

Friday, February 17th - ST. JOHN'S ICECAPS 3 @ HAMILTON BULLDOGS 4

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton Goals: Joonas Nattinen 2 (3, 4), Mark Mitera (2)*, Philip DeSimone (9)

St. John's Goals: Kevin Clark (9), Shawn Weller (9), Paul Postma (11)

Goaltending: Hamilton: Nathan Lawson (W - 26 shots, 23 saves) / St. John's: Edward Pasquale (L - 8 shots, 5 saves), David Aebischer (17 shots, 16 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 1-5 / St. John's 1-5

Attendance: 4,060

* Game-winning goal

The Hamilton Bulldogs defeated the St. John's IceCaps 4-3 at Copps Coliseum on Friday, February 17th, 2012. Joonas Nattinen recorded two goals and an assist while Aaron Palushaj picked up three assists. Nathan Lawson earned the win, making 23 saves on the 26 shots he faced. Paul Postma scored a goal and added an assist for the IceCaps.

Saturday, February 18th - ROCKFORD ICEHOGS 2 @ HAMILTON BULLDOGS 5

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton Goals: Joonas Nattinen (5), Blake Geoffrion (3), Gabriel Dumont (9)*, Garrett Stafford (6), Philip DeSimone (10)

Rockford Goals: Brandon Segal (13), Brandon Pirri (20)

Goaltending: Hamilton: Nathan Lawson (W - 29 shots, 27 saves) / Rockford: Alexander Salak (L - 38 shots, 34 saves), Carter Hutton (0 shots, 0 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 1-5 / Rockford 0-3

Attendance: 4,006

* Game-winning goal

The Hamilton Bulldogs overtook the Rockford IceHogs by a score of 5-2 at Copps Coliseum on Saturday, February 18th, 2012. Blake Geoffrion made his debut as a Bulldog and recorded a goal and two assists. Ian Schultz picked up two helpers and Nathan Lawson made 27 saves for the win. Brandon Pirri scored his 20th goal of the season for the IceHogs.

Sunday, February 19th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 7 @ ROCHESTER AMERICANS 3

Blue Cross Arena - Rochester, New York

Hamilton Goals: Ian Schultz (4), Andreas Engqvist (16), Joonas Nattinen (6), Eric Lampe (1)*, Garrett Stafford (7), Alain Berger (1), Philip DeSimone (11)

Rochester Goals: Corey Tropp (5), Paul Szczechura (11), Derek Whitmore (21)

Goaltending: Hamilton: Nathan Lawson (W - 30 shots, 27 saves) / Rochester: Drew MacIntyre (L - 47 shots, 41 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 4-7 / Rochester 0-4

Attendance: 6,094

* Game-winning goal

The Hamilton Bulldogs beat the Rochester Americans by a score of 7-3 at Blue Cross Arena on Sunday, February 19th, 2012. Ian Schultz recorded a goal and two assists, Blake Geoffrion earned two helpers while Nathan Lawson made 27 saves for his fourth consecutive win. Derek Whitmore scored his 21st goal of the season for the Americans.

NORTH DIVISION STANDINGS:

(As of Tuesday, February 21st)

Rank Team GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT GF GA

1. Toronto Marlies 54 30 19 4 2 66 0.611 160 133

2. Lake Erie Monsters 54 26 24 2 2 56 0.519 133 151

3. Rochester Americans 53 23 21 6 3 55 0.519 153 163

4. Hamilton Bulldogs 52 24 23 1 4 53 0.510 135 156

5. Grand Rapids Griffins 50 20 21 5 4 49 0.490 159 166

BULLDOGS NOTES:

C Joonas Nattinen was named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for scoring four goals and adding one assist in his past three games. He is currently on a three-game goal streak. The Hamilton Bulldogs are on a season-high four game winning-streak. RW Alexander Avtsin played his 100th career game as a Bulldog on Friday, February 17th, 2012. RW Ian Schultz has recorded five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in his past five games and tied his season-high points per game record with three against the Amerks. C Blake Geoffrion has registered five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in his first two games as a 'Dog. C Andreas Engqvist is currently on a three-game point streak with one goal and two assists and has recorded four game-winning goals for the 'Dogs this season. C Philip DeSimone is currently on a three-game goal scoring streak with three goals. D Garrett Stafford is currently on a two-game goal scoring streak and leads the AHL in power play goals by a defenceman. C Eric Lampe recorded his first goal as a 'Dog and in the AHL this season against the Rochester Americans. RW Alain Berger scored his first goal as 'Dog and as a professional player against the Rochester Americans. G Nathan Lawson has won a season-high four consecutive games while posting a 2.00 GAA, 0.929 save percentage and one shutout in that period.

UPCOMING GAMES:

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd, 2012 7:00 PM EDT - VAN ANDEL ARENA, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

HAMILTON BULLDOGS (24-23-1-4, 4th North Division, 12th Western Conference, 23rd AHL) at

GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS (20-21-5-4, 5th North Division, 14th Western Conference, 27th AHL)

This game marks the sixth of ten meetings between the two clubs this season. The Bulldogs' record against the Griffins this season is 1-4-0-0. Hamilton has a 32-24-1-2-4 all-time record against Grand Rapids. LW Gustav Nyquist currently leads the Griffins with 47 points (16 goals, 31 assists). Former Bulldogs: D Doug Janik. There are currently four Ontario natives listed on the Grand Rapids roster: C Jamie Johnson (London), LW Chris Minard (Owen Sound), RW Trevor Parkes (Fort Erie) and D Brendan Smith (Mimico).

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24th, 2012 7:30 PM EDT - BELL CENTRE, MONTREAL, QUEBEC

ST. JOHN'S ICECAPS (33-13-5-1 1st Atlantic Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 1st AHL) at

HAMILTON BULLDOGS (24-23-1-4, 4th North Division, 12th Western Conference, 23rd AHL)

This game marks the sixth of eight meetings between the two clubs this season. The Bulldogs have a 2-3-0-0 record against the IceCaps this season. Hamilton has a 2-3-0-0-0 all-time record against St. John's. RW Spencer Machacek currently leads the IceCaps with 37 points (12 goals, 25 assists). Former Bulldogs: D Brett Festerling, C Ben Maxwell, and C Garth Murray. There are currently four Ontario natives listed on the St. John's roster: C Eric O'Dell (Ottawa), LW Kenndal McArdle (Toronto), C Marco Rosa (Scarborough), and G Edward Pasquale (Toronto).

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26th, 2012 5:00 PM EDT - RICOH COLISEUM, TORONTO, ONTARIO

HAMILTON BULLDOGS (24-23-1-4, 4th North Division, 12th Western Conference, 23rd AHL) at

TORONTO MARLIES (30-18-4-2, 1st North Division, 2nd Western Conference, 6th AHL)

This game marks the eighth of twelve meetings between the two clubs this season. The 'Dogs have a record of 4-3-0-0 against the Marlies this season. Hamilton has a 38-27-0-5-7 all-time record against Toronto. C Mike Zigomanis currently leads the Marlies in points with 48 (15 goals, 33 assists). Former Bulldogs: None. There are currently eight Ontario natives listed on the Toronto roster: LW Kelsey Wilson (Sault Ste. Marie), LW Ryan Hamilton (Oshawa), LW Nazem Kadri (London), LW Will Acton (Stouffville), RW Kyle Neuber (London), C Mike Zigomanis (Toronto), D Simon Gysbers (Richmond Hill), and D Jesse Blacker (Toronto).

ALUMNI WATCH:

There are over 40 former Hamilton 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-Bulldogs this past week:

- Montreal LW Max Pacioretty picked up an assist against the Hurricanes (Feb. 13), scored a goal vs. the Boston Bruins (Feb. 15), set up a goal against the Buffalo Sabres (Feb. 17) and found the back of the net against the New Jersey Devils (Feb. 19).

- Montreal C David Desharnais recorded a goal and an assist against the Hurricanes (Feb 13.), earned an assist vs. the Boston Bruins (Feb. 15), set up a goal against the Buffalo Sabres (Feb. 17) and picked up an assist vs. the New Jersey Devils (Feb. 19).

- Dallas RW Michael Ryder recorded an assist vs. the Red Wings (Feb. 14), set up a goal against the Calgary Flames (Feb. 16), scored a goal vs. the Phoenix Coyotes (Feb. 18), and added to his goal totals with a tally against the Nashville Predators (Feb. 19).

- Dallas C Mike Ribeiro scored a goal and earned an assist vs. the Calgary Flames (Feb. 16), he picked up a helper vs. the Phoenix Coyotes (Feb. 18) and recorded an assist against the Nashville Predators (Feb. 19).

- Vancouver LW Chris Higgins recorded two assists vs. the Colorado Avalanche (Feb. 15), and scored a goal against the Edmonton Oilers (Feb. 19).

- Montreal G Carey Price earned a win over the Buffalo Sabres by making 27 saves (Feb. 17).

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, 820 CHAM. Fans can also listen to or watch all Hamilton Bulldogs at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the "AHL Live" or "820 CHAM" icon on the 'Dogs website. All regular-season radio and online broadcasts will begin with the Pioneer Pre-Game Show 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. Ellery Award-winning broadcaster Derek Wills calls the play-by-play for all 76 regular season games, while Al Craig provides colour commentary for all home games and select road games.

GET YOUR TICKETS!

Hamilton Bulldogs tickets are now on sale! Single game tickets for the 2011-2012 season are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or through charge-by-phone at 1-855-872-5000. Hamilton Bulldogs 2011-2012 season tickets and flex ticket packages are on sale! For more information, call 905-529-8500 or e-mail seasontix@hamiltonbulldogs.com .

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. 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic gear will also be available for a limited time.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 21, 2012


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