Bulldogs Drop Americans 5-4 In Overtime

December 20, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


Rochester, NY - The Hamilton Bulldogs defeated the Rochester Americans 5-4 in overtime on Sunday night. Mathieu Darche recorded a hat trick and added an assist to lead the Bulldogs to victory. With the win, the ‘Dogs now rank first in the North Division.

The Bulldogs opened the scoring at 9:28 while on the power play. Darche passed the puck to Benoit Pouliot, who fired a shot on the net. The puck bounced around in front of Rochester starting goaltender Alexander Salak before being knocked past the netminder by a Amerks' defender.

Following the goal, Salak appeared to be injured and was replaced in net by Chris Beckford-Tseu.

The Americans tied the game 1-1 at 17:48 of the opening frame. Jamie Johnson fired a shot towards the net from the left side boards. Daniel Steiner tipped the shot, sending the puck over the glove of Hamilton starting goaltender Cedrick Desjardins.

The ‘Dogs regained their one-goal lead at 6:58 of the middle period. After receiving the puck from Mikael Johansson, J.T. Wyman fired a shot that was saved by Beckford-Tseu. Wyman grabbed the loose rebound before sending the puck over the left shoulder of the goaltender. Darche added the Bulldogs' third goal 14 seconds later. Ben Maxwell dished a pass to Darche, who was positioned in front of the net. Darche ripped a shot that beat Beckford-Tseu through his pads.

Rochester cut Hamilton's lead to one at 7:44 of the second stanza with a power-play marker. Clay Wilson blasted a shot from the point through traffic in front of the net. Chris Taylor redirected the shot, sending the puck past Desjardins. The Amerks tied the game 3-3 at 18:01. Wilson sent a pass across the crease to Johnson, who slid the puck through the legs of Desjardins.

Darche gave the ‘Dogs a 4-3 lead at 2:46 of the third stanza while on the power play. Pouliot sent the puck to Darche, who rifled a shot that bounced off the lower part of Beckford-Tseu's glove and into the back of the net.

Taylor added his second goal of the game to tie the game at 12:24 of the final frame. Chris Taylor received the puck from Jordan Henry before firing a shot that beat Desjardins through the five-hole.

Darche scored his third goal of the game 50 seconds into the extra period to win the game for the Bulldogs. Tom Pyatt fired a shot that was saved by Beckford-Tseu. Darche whacked at the loose rebound, squeezing the puck through Beckford-Tseu's pads and into the back of the net.

The Bulldogs will meet the Americans for a rematch at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, December 26th in Rochester. Fans can listen to every ‘Dogs game 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' icons on the Bulldogs website.

Tickets for all Hamilton Bulldogs home games (with the exception of the February 21st game at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec) 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. For more information on ‘Dogs season tickets, flex packs, mini packs and group tickets call 905-529-8500 or visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com.

Scoring Summary:

1st Period: 1. HAM - Benoit Pouliot - 1 (Mathieu Darche, Brock Trotter) - 9:28 (PP) 2. RCH - Daniel Steiner - 2 (Jamie Johnson, Jordan Henry) - 17:48

2nd Period: 3. HAM - J.T. Wyman - 5 (Mikael Johansson, Grant Stevenson) - 6:58 4. HAM - Mathieu Darche - 9 (Ben Maxwell, Benoit Pouliot) - 7:12 5. RCH - Chris Taylor - 7 (Clay Wilson, Jamie Johnson) - 7:44 (PP) 6. RCH - Jamie Johnson - 13 (Clay Wilson, Chris Beckford-Tseu) - 18:01

3rd Period: 7. HAM - Mathieu Darche - 10 (Benoit Pouliot) - 2:46 (PP) 8. RCH - Chris Taylor - 8 (Jordan Henry, Michal Repik) - 12:24

Overtime: 9. HAM - Mathieu Darche - 11 (Tom Pyatt) - 0:50

Scoring: Hamilton: 1-2-1-1--5 Rochester: 1-2-1--4

Shots: Hamilton: 17-12-14-2--45 Rochester: 8-7-11-0--26

Goaltending: Hamilton: Cedrick Desjardins (26 shots, 22 saves) Rochester: Chris Beckford-Tseu (36 shots, 32 saves), Alexander Salak (9 shots, 8 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton: 2-for-5 Rochester: 1-for-4

Attendance: 2,777

Three Stars: 1. HAM- Mathieu Darche (3 goals, 1 assist, 6 shots) 2. HAM- Benoit Pouliot (1 goal, 2 assists, 7 shots) 3. RCH- Jamie Johnson (1 goal, 2 assists, +1, 2 shots)

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