Bulldogs face three division opponents this week

February 23, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


The Hamilton Bulldogs will look to increase their first place lead in the AHL's North Division when they play three inter-division opponents this week.

The Bulldogs will make the short trip to Toronto on Thursday (7:00 p.m.), as they will face the Roadrunners at the Ricoh Coliseum. The Bulldogs will be looking to snap a five-game winless streak they have against the Roadrunners.

The Bulldogs will then travel to Cleveland on Friday (7:05 p.m.) to take on Barons and the AHL's leading scorer Miroslav Zalesak (64 points). Hamilton has earned four wins in six meetings with the Barons this season.

Hamilton will finish their 'Three-In-Three' this Saturday (7:00 p.m.), when they host the Syracuse Crunch at Copps Coliseum. The Bulldogs are tied with Grand Rapids for an AHL best 19 home-ice victories.

Bulldogs fans can listen to Derek Wills call all the action live on 820 CHAM-AM or on-line at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com. For all the most up-to-date information on the Hamilton Bulldogs please visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com

NORTH DIVISION STANDINGS

TEAM GP W L T OTL PTS WPCT
HAMILTON 58 30 16 8 4 72 .621
Cleveland 56 27 19 5 5 64 .571
Syracuse 55 26 17 8 4 64 .582
Toronto 58 24 24 8 2 58 .500
Rochester 57 23 22 8 4 58 .509
St. John's 58 22 26 7 3 54 .466
Manitoba 59 22 28 7 2 53 .449


BULLDOGS TEAM NOTES:
Hamilton is the AHL's third least penalized team, averaging just 15.50 penalty minutes per game ... the Bulldogs have lost just once when leading after two periods of play (19-1-4-1) ... The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents in all periods this season and 170-132 overall:


1st Period (51-40)

2nd Period (55-36)

3rd Period (58-52)

Overtime (6-4)

BULLDOGS INDIVDUAL PLAYER NOTES:

JOZEF BALEJ - is fifth among all AHL players in scoring with 54 points (24-30-54)

TOMAS PLEKANEC - is tied for fourth in AHL game-winning goals (6)

CHRIS HIGGINS - is second among AHL rookies in game-winning goals (4)

JEAN-PHILIPPE COTE - has the second highest AHL rookie plus/minus (+19)

BENOIT GRATTON - has averaged over a point-a-game pace this season with 37 points in 30 games played (1.23 pts per game)

MARCEL HOSSA - has scored 11 points (6-5-11) in the past 10 games

ALEXANDER PEREZHOGIN -carries a Bulldogs' best +5 rating in February

BULLDOGS DRAW OVER 5,000 THE PAST SEVEN GAMES:
The Bulldogs had 7,154 fans witness their 2-2 tie versus Albany at Copps Coliseum on Sunday, which marked the seventh consecutive game over 5,000 fans attended a Bulldogs' home game.

UPCOMING GAMES:
Hamilton Bulldogs at Toronto Roadrunners - Thursday, February 26 - 7:00 p.m.
This game will mark the Bulldogs' tenth game versus the Roadrunners this season ... Hamilton has earned a record of 2 wins, 6 losses and 1 tie against Toronto ... the Roadrunners have a record of seven wins and three losses in their past ten games ... Chris Higgins leads all Bulldogs scorers versus Toronto with seven points (4-3-7) in eight games played ... Elmira, Ontario native Jamie Wright has been the Roadrunners top point producer this season with 40 points (17-23-40) in 57 games played ... Next Meeting: March 27 at Toronto

Hamilton Bulldogs at Cleveland Barons - Friday, February 27 - 7:05 p.m.
Hamilton has earned four wins and two losses versus the Barons this season ... Cleveland trails the Bulldogs by eight points for first place in the North Division ... the Barons Miroslav Zalesak leads the AHL in goals (30) and points (64) ... the Barons have the AHL's #1 rated power play operating at 18.5% (42-227) ... Jozef Balej has seven points (3-4-7) in six games against the Barons this season ... Next Meeting: March 5 at Cleveland

Syracuse Crunch at Hamilton Bulldogs - Saturday, February 28 - 7:00 p.m.
The Bulldogs are looking for their first win against the Crunch this season, as they have posted a record of (0-1-3-0) in the first four meetings ... Syracuse is tied for second place in the North Division with 64 points on a record of (26-17-18-4) ... Bulldogs forward Alexander Perezhogin has earned five points (3-2-5) in four games against the Crunch ... Syracuse has the AHL's second best power play, which currently has a 18.3% (53-289) success rate ... Next Meeting: March 3 at Hamilton

JOE CAHILL HOSTS 'DOGBITES WEELY RADIO SHOW on 820 CHAM - MONDAYS
Legendary radio personality Joe Cahill hosts 'DOGBITES - a weekly half-hour Hamilton Bulldogs radio show every Monday at 7:30 p.m. on Hamilton's 820 CHAM. Bulldogs play-by-play announcer Derek Wills will join Joe Cahill. The weekly show will feature Bulldogs interviews, highlights from the past week and much more.

BULLDOGS ON 820 CHAM!
Hamilton Bulldogs fans can listen to all Bulldogs home and road action on Hamilton's 820 CHAM-AM. Derek Wills provides all the play-by-play, while Hamilton radio personality Al Craig is the colour commentator for all home games and select road games.

BULLDOGS SEASON TICKETS:
Bulldogs Season Tickets are on sale now! To purchase season tickets or for more information contact the Bulldogs at (905) 529-8500 or by e-mail at tickets@hamiltonbulldogs.com

HOMETOWN HERO OF THE GAME LEADERS (Hardest Working Bulldogs Player at Home):

Player: Points:
1. Jozef Balej 70
2. Jimmie Olvestad 40
Tomas Plekanec 40
4. Jonathan Ferland 20
Francois Beauchemin 20
6. Alexander Perezhogin 10
Mike Komisarek 10
Pierre Dagenais 10
Karl Dykhuis 10
Jason Ward 10
Ron Hainsey 10
Gordie Dwyer 10
Sylvain Blouin 10
Chris Higgins 10
Patrick Traverse 10
Duncan Milroy 10


HAMILTON BULLDOGS MOLSON CUP - THREE STAR LEADERS
(1st place vote - 5 pts, 2nd place vote - 3 pts, 3rd place vote - 1pt)

Player: Points:
1. Jozef Balej 48
2. Benoit Gratton 30
3. Eric Fichaud 23
4. Tomas Plekanec 20
5. Alexander Svitov 17
6. Alexander Perezhogin 15
7. Pierre Dagenais 14
8. Jimmie Olvestad 12
Eero Somervuori 12
Chris Higgins 12
11. Francois Beauchemin 10
12. Jean-Francois Damphousse 9
Patrick Traverse 9
Marcel Hossa 9
15. Karl Dykhuis 7
16. Duncan Milroy 5
17. Gordie Dwyer 3
Chad Kilger 3
Jonathan Ferland 3
Jason Ward 3
Philippe Plante 3
Ron Hainsey 3
23 Olivier Michaud 2
24 Benjamin Carpentier 1


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:

Date Opp. Score GWG Bulldogs/Opponent Goaltending ATTN.
Feb 20 at GRA OTL 1-2 - Fichaud (2GA, 35 SV)/MacDonald (1GA, 18 SV) 7,102
Feb 21 CIN OTL 2-3 - Michaud (3GA, 21 SV)/Bryzgalov (2GA, 36 SV) 5,312
Feb 22 ALB T 2-2 - Fichaud (2GA, 26 SV)/Ahonen (2GA, 39 SV) 7,154


BULLDOGS WEEKLY SCHEDULE:
Tues., Feb. 24 - 11:00 a.m. - Bulldogs Practice - Copps Coliseum
Wed., Feb. 25 - 11:00 a.m. - Bulldogs Practice - Copps Coliseum
Thurs., Feb. 26 - 7:00 p.m. - Bulldogs at Toronto Roadrunners - Ricoh Coliseum
Fri., Feb. 27 - 7:05 p.m. - Bulldogs at Cleveland Barons - Gund Arena
Sat., Feb. 28 - 7:00 p.m. - Syracuse Crunch at Bulldogs - Copps Coliseum



American Hockey League Stories from February 23, 2004


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