Bulldogs finish 2003-04 regular season tops in AHL's North Division

Published on April 12, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


The Hamilton Bulldogs completed their 80-game regular season schedule on Saturday and have claimed the AHL's regular season North Division title. The Bulldogs led all North Division teams with 96 points on a record of 41 wins, 25 losses, 10 ties and 4 overtime losses. The 96 points the Bulldogs accumulated is the second highest total in franchise history.

The Bulldogs will begin their playoff quest for the Calder Cup on Tuesday, April 20th when they open the 'North Division Semi-Finals' at Copps Coliseum (7:00 p.m.). Hamilton will play the winner of the North Division Qualifying Series (best two-out-of-three) between the fourth seeded Cleveland Barons and the fifth seeded Toronto Roadrunners. All three games of the 'Qualifying Series' will take place at IceLand USA in Strongsville, Ohio. Below is the schedule for the 'North Division Qualifying Series':

Game #1 - Thurs., April 15 - Toronto at Cleveland (7:00 p.m.)
Game #2 - Sat., April 17 - Toronto at Cleveland (7:00 p.m.)
*Game #3 - Sun., April 18 - Toronto at Cleveland (4:00 p.m.)
* (if necessary)

Please note the Hamilton Bulldogs playoff schedule will be posted on the Hamilton Bulldogs website (www.hamiltonbulldogs.com) once it becomes available.

Bulldogs fans can purchase their opening round playoff tickets now by visiting the Copps Coliseum Box Office, at all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling Ticketmaster at (905) 527-7666.

Bulldogs fans can listen to Derek Wills call all the Bulldogs Calder Cup Playoff action live on 820 CHAM-AM or on-line at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com.

FINAL 2003-04 NORTH DIVISION STANDINGS

TEAM GP W L T OTL PTS WPCT
yHAMILTON 80 41 25 10 4 96 .600
xSyracuse 80 38 25 10 7 93 .581
xRochester 80 37 28 10 5 89 .556
xCleveland 80 37 28 8 7 89 .556
xToronto 80 35 34 8 3 81 .506
Manitoba 80 32 35 11 2 77 .481
St.John's 80 32 36 8 4 76 .475

x-clinched playoff position
y - clinched division title

BULLDOGS 2003-04 REGULAR SEASON TEAM NOTES:


The Bulldogs gained sole possession of first place in the AHL's North Division on Nov. 19th, just 18 games into the season and did not surrender the lead for the remainder of the season (112 days)

Hamilton tied a franchise record for fewest goals against in a season by allowing just 191 goals. The original mark was set during the 2002-03 season

The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a .600 winning percentage, marking the second time in franchise history the team had a .600 or higher winning percentage

Hamilton had a record of (32W-19L-6T-1OTL) vs. North Division opponents (.629 win percentage)

The Bulldogs out shot their opponents in 59 of 80 contests this season, while posting a record of (36W-17L-4T-2OTL)

Hamilton was undefeated this season when scoring four or more goals in a game (28W-0L-2T-0TL)

The Bulldogs 24 home-ice wins were the second most in franchise history (26 in 2002-03)

Power Play - 8th in AHL - 16.0% (61 for 181)

Penalty Killing - 10th in AHL - 86.4% (317 for 367)

BULLDOGS FINISH IN TOP HALF OF AHL IN ATTENDANCE:
The Hamilton Bulldogs drew a total of 204,422 fans to Copps Coliseum over their 40-game home regular season schedule, giving the club an average attendance of 5,110 fans per game. The Bulldogs finished 14th among the 28 AHL teams in attendance.

BULLDOGS 2003-04 REGULAR SEASON INDIVDUAL PLAYER NOTES
#29 - Jean-Francois Damphousse - led all Bulldogs goaltenders in GP (35), Wins (19) & Saves (799)
#30 - Olivier Michaud - set Bulldogs franchise record for longest shutout streak by a goaltender - 158:09 (Jan. 10 - Jan. 23)
#35 - Yann Danis - has won each of his two starts since joining the Bulldogs from Brown University, posting at 1.50 goals against average, a .933 save percentage and one shutout
#5 - Andrew Archer - earned first AHL point, an assist, vs. MTB- Dec. 14 (4-2 W)
#7 - Philippe Plante - led all Bulldogs defenceman with (5) power play goals
#11 - Gordie Dwyer - posted AHL career highs for GP (55), G (6), A (6) & PTS (12)
#14 - Tomas Plekanec - led Bulldogs in scoring with 66 points (23-43-66)
#17 - Marcel Hossa - earned 100th AHL point with an assist vs. ROC- Apr. 4 (3-1 W)
#18 - Jimmie Olvestad - played in pro career high 76 games
#19 - Duncan Milroy - had career high 3 pts (1g,2a) at SJS-Jan. 28 (4-3 W) & was Bulldogs American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year for community service
#20 - Eero Somervuori - scored first AHL hat trick at MIL- Apr. 1 (5-3 W)
#21 - Jonathan Ferland - played in 70 games in rookie season and posted 15 points (5-10-15)
#22 - Marc-Andre Thinel - earned first Bulldogs goal at SJS- Mar. 20 (5-1 W)
#23 - Rene Vydareny - tallied 3 (A) & was (+3) in 13 GP since being acquired from Vancouver - Mar. 9
#24 - Francois Beauchemin - set AHL career highs for GP (9), G (9), A (27), PTS (57) in a season
#25 - Benoit Gratton - has now earned 50 or more points in five AHL seasons - 51 points (18-33-51)
#26 - Christian Larrivee - earned assist in first Bulldogs game vs. ROC- Feb. 4 (4-1 W)
#27 - Alexander Perezhogin - was fourth in AHL rookie scoring with 50 points (23-27-50) in 77 GP
#38 - Benjamin Carpentier - set AHL career highs for goals (4), assists (4) & points (8) in a season
#39 - Matt Shasby - joined Bulldogs after leading Columbus (ECHL) defenceman in scoring (8-20-28)
#41 - Brent Robinson - after final season at Brown University, competed in 5 of last 7 Bulldogs games
#43 - Jean-Philippe Cote - finished second in AHL rookie plus/minus with a +27 rating
#46 - Chris Higgins - was sixth in AHL rookie scoring with 48 points (21-27-48) in 67 GP
#55 - Patrick Traverse - became 2nd Bulldogs player of All-Time to play in all 80 regular season games
#65 - Ron Hainsey - tied AHL career high for points in a season with 31 points (7-24-31)

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.

DANIS NAMED FIRST TEAM JOFA ALL-AMERICAN:
Hamilton Bulldogs goaltender Yann Danis has been named a First Team Jofa All-American, earning All-America honours for the second time in his college career. Danis played his senior year this past season at Brown University. Danis, a native of Sainte Jerome, Quebec, also finished as a top-three finalist for the 2004 Hobey Baker Award, which is given to the top collegiate men's hockey player in the United States. The 22-year-old Danis was Brown's first ever Hobey Baker finalist.

Only the second player in ECAC history to be honoured as Player of the Year and receive the Ken Dryden Award as the league's best netminder in the same season, Danis was named both First Team All-ECAC and First Team All-Ivy. The 2004 Ivy League Player of the Year, Danis helped lead Brown to its best ECAC finish since 1995, while leading the team to its first Ivy League Championship since 1995. Danis, who stands at 6'0, 190-pounds, played in 30 games at Brown this season, earning a record of 15-11-4, a save percentage of .942 (2nd in NCAA) and a goals against average of 1.81 (3rd in NCAA).

Danis has won each of his two starts since joining the Hamilton Bulldogs, posting at 1.50 goals against average, a .933 save percentage and one shutout. The Montreal Canadiens signed Danis to a contract back on March 19th, 2004.

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

FLOOD RELEASED FROM A.T.O.:
The Hamilton Bulldogs announced today they have released defenceman Mark Flood from his Amateur Try-Out contract. Flood originally signed an A.T.O. contract with the Bulldogs back on March 21st. Flood, a 6'1 180 pound-defenceman from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, did not see any action with the Bulldogs after playing this past season with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League. In 68 games played, the 19-year-old Flood led all Peterborough defencemen in scoring with 44 points (15-29-44) and added 30 penalty minutes. Flood was the Montreal Canadiens 7th pick, 188th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 12, 2004


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