Bulldogs downed by Crunch

Published on February 23, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


HAMILTON - The Hamilton Bulldogs were defeated by the Syracuse Crunch 5-2 on Friday night at Copps Coliseum in a rematch against the same team that snapped Hamilton's five-game winning streak and 12-game point streak on February 19th. The loss drops the Bulldogs record to 33-20-2-2 on the season.

The Crunch scored two goals in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. Syracuse opened the scoring at the 2:47 mark with a power-play goal by Alexandre Picard. Picard took several whacks at a loose puck in the crease and eventually notched his 10th marker of the season. The Crunch then took a 2-0 lead at 7:25 of the frame when Geoff Platt found a loose puck at the side of the net and buried his team-leading 26th goal of the campaign. Adam Pineault earned assists on both Syracuse goals.

The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard with 3:02 left in the first period to cut the deficit to 2-1. Ajay Baines finished off a three-way passing play from Kyle Chipchura and Cory Urquhart for his 10th goal of the season.

After a scoreless middle stanza, Syracuse grabbed a 3-1 lead at 9:22 of the final frame. Mark Methot got his first goal of the season on a quick shot just after a face-off in Hamilton's defensive end. Platt registered his second point of the night by winning the draw.

The 'Dogs again drew within one goal at 3-2 when Mikhail Grabovski one-timed a slap shot from the left circle while the teams skated four-on-four. Michael Lambert and Dan Jancevski earned assists on Grabovski's 16th goal of the campaign.

With the Bulldogs on a powerplay and netminder Cedrick Desjardins on the bench in favour of an extra attacker, Syracuse got a pair of short-handed empty-net markers. Zenon Konopka (19:10) and Platt (19:42) were the goal scorers to give the Crunch a 5-2 win.

Desjardins turned aside 18 of the 21 shots he faced for Hamilton in a losing effort in his first-career AHL start. Tomas Popperle stopped 20 of 22 shots while earning his 14th win of the season for Syracuse.

The Bulldogs will play their first of nine-straight road games on Saturday, February 22nd at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids when they battle the Griffins at 7:00 p.m. Fans can listen to the game on the flagship station of the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network, 820 CHAM "The Legend," beginning with the Park's Furniture Pre-Game Show at 6:40 p.m. Fans can also listen or watch at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the 'B2 Networks' or '820 CHAM' icon on the 'Dogs website.

The next scheduled home game for Hamilton is on Sunday, March 18th in Montreal at the Bell Centre against the Syracuse Crunch at 3:00 p.m. The Dogs' return home to Copps Coliseum on Wednesday, March 21st to host the Rochester Americans at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for all 'Dogs home games (except home game #32) are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.ca, or through charge-by-phone at 905-527-7666.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 23, 2007


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