Bulldogs finish regular season on top of North Division standings
April 11, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release
WINNIPEG, MB - Despite losing 6-3 to the Manitoba Moose at the Winnipeg Arena on Saturday night, the Bulldogs will finish the 2003-04 regular season in first place in the AHL's North Division.
The Bulldogs clinched the 'North Division' title on Friday night, when the Rochester Americans defeated the Syracuse Crunch 4-1. The Amerks victory mathematically prevented the Crunch from surpassing the Bulldogs in the North Division standings.
The Hamilton Bulldogs finished the 2003-04 regular season schedule with 96 points on a record of 41 wins, 25 losses, 10 ties and 4 overtime losses. The Bulldogs 96 point season is the second highest in franchise history.
Manitoba would earn the victory by scoring six goals. Earning goals for the Moose were former Bulldogs' forwards Sylvain Blouin and Peter Sarno, as well as Fedor Fedorov, Chris Nielsen and Pat Kavanagh (2).
Tomas Plekanec scored two goals for the Bulldogs, while Hamilton captain Benoit Gratton added a single marker.
In goal, Jean-Francois Damphousse played the first period for the Bulldogs and stopped 16 of 17 shots he faced. Rookie Olivier Michaud played the final two periods, making 15 saves and suffering the loss. Moose goaltender Rob McVicar earned his fourth win of the season by stopping 30 shots.
The Hamilton Bulldogs will open their AHL 'North Division' Semi-Finals Series on Tuesday, April 20th at Copps Coliseum versus either the Cleveland Barons (fourth seed) or the Toronto Roadrunners (fifth seed). Toronto will face the Barons at IceLand USA in Strongsville, Ohio for a two-out-of-three 'North Division' Qualifying Series, which will begin on Thursday, April 15.
Bulldogs fans can purchase their individual playoff tickets now by visiting the Copps Coliseum Box Office, at all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling Ticketmaster at (905) 527-7666.
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