Bulldogs Begin The First Round Of 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs

Published on April 11, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, April 11th, 2011

BULLDOGS BEGIN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE 2011 CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS AGAINST THE OKLAHOMA CITY BARONS THIS WEEK!

HAMILTON BULLDOGS WEEKLY RELEASE

The Hamilton Bulldogs (American Hockey League affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens) have become the North Division Regular Season Champions for the second consecutive season as they clinched a trip to the 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs with a record of 44-27-2-7 and 97 points. The 'Dogs will begin their playoff journey against the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers) who finished 5th in the West Division with a record of 40-29-2-9 and 91 points. The Barons will cross over to the North Division and take the spot of the fourth place Abbotsford Heat, who had fewer points than Oklahoma City. The series will start this week with Game 1 on Thursday, April 14th at 7:30 p.m. at Copps Coliseum. Game 2 will follow on Saturday, April 16th at 4:00 p.m. at Copps Coliseum.

The following are the dates, along with locations, and times for the first-round playoff series between the 'Dogs and Barons (all times eastern):

Game #1 - Thursday, April 14th - 7:30 PM - Oklahoma City at Hamilton (Copps Coliseum)

Game #2 - Saturday, April 16th - 4:00 PM - Oklahoma City at Hamilton (Copps Coliseum)

Game #3 - Tuesday, April 19th - 8:05 PM - Hamilton at Oklahoma City (Cox Convention Center)

Game #4 - Wednesday, April 20th - 8:05 PM - Hamilton at Oklahoma City (Cox Convention Center)

*Game #5 - Friday, April 22nd - 8:05 PM - Hamilton at Oklahoma City (Cox Convention Center)

*Game #6 - Sunday, April 24th - 4:00 PM - Oklahoma City at Hamilton (Copps Coliseum)

*Game #7 - Monday, April 25th - 7:30 PM - Oklahoma City at Hamilton (Copps Coliseum) * If necessary

GET YOUR PLAYOFF TICKETS!:

Tickets for Hamilton's first round series in the 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs are on sale NOW. All tickets are $19.50 and fans interested in purchasing group tickets can do so by calling 905-777-2372. Tickets will be available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.com or through charge-by-phone at 1-855-872-5000.

Hamilton's first match-up of the previous week was against the Abbotsford Heat (AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames) on Monday, April 4th. The two teams played a hard fought defensive battle with the Heat coming out on top 1-0. Tyler Ruegsegger scored the lone goal of the game at 4:29 of the third period on the power play, which was his first goal of the season. Leland Irving made 23 stops for the shutout and Drew MacIntyre stopped 24 shots in a strong effort. The very next evening, the two teams squared off again having another defensive battle with the 'Dogs earning a 2-1 win. Nigel Dawes had a goal and assist while Kyle Kulbertanz scored the game winner at 16:17 of the third period. Ryan Stone scored the lone goal for Abbotsford while Drew MacIntyre had another solid performance, stopping 29 of 30 shots. Hamilton then travelled to Winnipeg on Friday, April 8th to face the Manitoba Moose (AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks). The Bulldogs picked up their offensive game winning 6-3, scoring three goals each in the second and third periods. Aaron Palushaj scored a hat trick and added an assist while Nigel Dawes had three assists. The Moose had nine different players record a point on their three goals scored. The two teams fought again the next evening with the Bulldogs victorious with a 3-1 victory, clinching the North Division title for the second straight season. Paul Zanette scored his first ever AHL goal which ended up being the game-winner, while Nigel Dawes added two more points to finish another strong week. Drew MacIntyre had another solid effort in net making 32 saves for the win. This finished the 2010-2011 regular season for the Hamilton Bulldogs, as they now look forward to the Calder Cup playoffs.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW:

Monday, April 4th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 0 at ABBOTSFORD HEAT 1

Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre - Abbotsford, BC

Hamilton Goals: None

Abbotsford Goals: Tyler Ruegsegger*

Goaltending: Hamilton: Drew MacIntyre (L- 25 shots, 24 saves) / Abbotsford: Leland Irving (W- 23 shots, 23 saves) Power Play: Hamilton 0-4/ Abbotsford 1-3

Attendance: 4,686 * - Game Winning Goal

Tuesday, April 5th - HAMILTON BULLDGOS 2 at ABBOTSFORD HEAT 1

Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre - Abbotsford, BC

Hamilton Goals: Nigel Dawes, Kyle Klubertanz*

Abbotsford Goals: Ryan Stone

Goaltending: Hamilton: Drew MacIntyre (W- 30 shots, 29 saves) / Abbotsford: Leland Irving (L- 28 shots, 26 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 0-4 / Abbotsford 0-3

Attendance: 4,884

* - Game Winning Goal

Friday, April 8th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 6 at MANITOBA MOOSE 3

MTS Centre - Winnipeg, MB

Hamilton Goals: Aaron Palushaj (3)*, Dustin Boyd, Andrew Conboy, Ian Schultz

Manitoba Goals: Aaron Volpatti, Marco Rosa, Shawn Weller

Goaltending: Hamilton: Drew MacIntyre (W - 31 shots, 28 saves) / Manitoba: Eddie Lack (L- 42 shots, 36 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 2-3 / Manitoba 2-5

Attendance: 8,583

*- Game Winning Goal

Saturday, April 9th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 3 at MANITOBA MOOSE 1 MTS Centre - Winnipeg, MB Hamilton Goals: Dustin Boyd, Paul Zanette*, Frederic St. Denis Manitoba Goals: Alexandre Bolduc Goaltending: Drew MacIntyre (W - 33 shots, 32 saves) / Manitoba: Tyler Weiman (L- 23 shots, 20 saves) Power Play: Hamilton 1-3 / Manitoba 0-4 Attendance: 12,915 *-Game Winning Goal

BULLDOGS NOTES:

- Leading scorer LW Nigel Dawes (41G, 31A), scored his 40th goal of the season on April 2nd against the Manitoba Moose becoming the first Bulldog to score 40 goals in a season and finished the season with 41 goals which is a Bulldogs' record. Paul Healy had previously held the record of most goals by a Bulldog in a season when he scored 39 in 2000-2001. Dawes finished 2nd in AHL goal scoring.

- The Bulldogs are North Division Regular Season Champions for the second consecutive season.

- LW Paul Zanette scored his 1st goal of the season and first ever AHL goal on April 9th against the Manitoba Moose.

- G Drew MacIntyre went 3-1-0 this past week stopping 113 of the 119 shots he faced for a .950 save percentage. He has won 8 of his last 9 games and started the past 21-straight Hamilton Bulldogs games.

- D Brendon Nash led all rookie defencemen in the AHL in +/- with a +22 during the 2010-2011 regular season.

UPCOMING GAMES:

NORTH DIVISION SEMI-FINALS - HAMILTON BULLDOGS (N1) VS. OKLAHOMA CITY BARONS (W5)

- This will be the first Calder Cup playoff meeting between the 'Dogs and Barons.

- In their last regular season meeting on Friday, December 17 th, 2010, the Bulldogs downed the Barons 3-0 as Curtis Sanford made 29 saves for the Bulldogs.

- The 'Dogs had a 1-0-1-0 record against Oklahoma City this season.

- Oklahoma City finished in 5th position in the West Division standings with a 40-29-2-9 record and 91 points.

- LW Alexandre Giroux (32-46-78) finished atop the Barons' scoring charts this season with 32 goals and 46 assists for 78 points in 70 games played this season.

- There are seven Ontario natives currently listed on the Oklahoma City roster: LW Jesse Gimblett (Newtonville), Greg Stewart (Kitchener), Ryan O'Marra (Mississauga), Zack Stortini (Elliot Lake), Hunter Tremblay (Timmins), Matt Marquardt (North Bay), and Bryan Helmer (Sault Ste. Marie).

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:

- Nashville F Sergei Kostitsyn had two goals and an assist against the Thrashers (Apr. 5) and scored another vs. the Blue Jackets (Apr. 8.).

- Montreal F Mathieu Darche had two assists last week. The first coming against the Senators (Apr. 7) and the second against the Maple Leafs (Apr. 9).

- Detroit F Dan Cleary had two points last week scoring a goal and an assist against the Blackhawks (Apr. 10).

- St. Louis G Jaroslav Halak collected two victories this past week. The first came against the Avalanche (Apr. 5) where he made 27 saves and the second was a shutout where he made 24 saves vs. the Predators (Apr. 9).

- Dallas F Mike Ribeiro had 3 points this past week including a goal and an assist against the Avalanche (Apr. 8).

- Dallas F Steve Ott had a goal vs. the Blue Jackets (Apr. 5) and an assist against the Avalanche (Apr. 8). - Boston G Tim Thomas got two wins this past week against the Islanders (Apr. 6) where he made 32 saves and against the Senators (Apr. 9) where he again made 32 saves.

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

Fans can listen to every 'Dogs playoff game 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 post-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 post-season games, while Al Craig provides the colour commentary for all home games and select road games.

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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