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Bulldogs Play Three Different Opponents In Three Games This Week

February 14, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


The Hamilton Bulldogs (American Hockey League affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens) will battle against three different opponents this week, starting in Grand Rapids versus the Griffins (AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings). The 'Dogs will make their way to Michigan on Wednesday, February 16th for a 7:00 P.M. game. Following Wednesday's game Hamilton will battle in back-to-back match-ups beginning with another North Division rival, the Toronto Marlies (AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs). Hamilton's tilt versus Toronto will be at Ricoh Coliseum at 7:00 P.M. on Friday, February 18th. The second of back-to-back games will be at home versus a rare visitor, the San Antonio Rampage (AHL affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes). The Rampage will visit the Dog Pound on Saturday, February 19th for a 4:00 P.M. game at Copps Coliseum.

Hamilton's first game of the week was against North Division rival, the Abbotsford Heat. Just three minutes and 39 seconds into the game Abbotsford took a 2-0 lead with goals from Ryan Stone and John Armstrong. Going into the second frame the score was 3-1 for Abbotsford, with Aaron Palushaj netting the lone goal for the 'Dogs in the first period. The Bulldogs came within one in the second with a goal from Andrew Conboy, but it proved to be too little as Abbotsford ended with a victory over the 'Dogs winning 4-3. Hamilton's second game of the week came against the Connecticut Whale on Friday, February 11th. Connecticut took the lead just 10 seconds into the first period with a goal by Dale Weise. The 'Dogs responded a minute and 23 seconds later as St. Denis recorded his second goal of the season. With the game tied at one it wasn't long before Connecticut regained the lead. Just one minute and 50 seconds after St. Denis' equalizing goal Brodie Dupont scored for the Whale giving them a 2-1 advantage. Ryan Russell tied the game for the 'Dogs in the third frame, but with just over a minute left in the contest Devin DiDiomete scored for the Whale giving them a 3-2 win. Hamilton's final game of the week came against the Rochester Americans. The tilt saw the 'Dogs struggle to gain a lead the entire contest. Rochester opened the scoring in the first period with a goal from Jeff LoVecchio. Rochester added another goal in the second stanza while Mathieu Carle and Kyle Klubertanz added the only goals for the Bulldogs in the second period to bring the game to a 2-2 tied heading into the third period. Rochester's Kenndal McArdle netted the game-winning goal in the third to seal a 3-2 victory over the 'Dogs.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW:

Tuesday, February 8th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 3 vs. ABBOTSFORD HEAT 4

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: Aaron Palushaj, Andrew Conboy, Gabriel Dumont

Abbotsford Heat Goals: Ryan Stone, John Armstrong, Jon Rheault, Bryan Cameron*

Goaltending: Hamilton: Curtis Sanford (L- 25 shots, 21 saves) / Abbotsford: Leland Irving (W- 24 shots, 21 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 0-5 / Abbotsford 2-5

Attendance: 2185

* - Game Winning Goal

Friday, February 11th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 2 vs. CONNECTICUT WHALE 3

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: Frederic St. Denis, Ryan Russell

Connecticut Goals: Dale Weise, Brodie Dupont, Devin DiDiomete*

Goaltending: Hamilton: Curtis Sanford (L - 29 shots, 26 saves) / Connecticut: Dov Grumet-Morris (W - 31 shots, 29 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 0-2 / Connecticut 1-5

Attendance: 2849

*- Game Winning Goal

Saturday, February 12th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 2 vs. ROCHESTER AMERICANS

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: Mathieu Carle, Kyle Klubertanz

Rochester Goals: Jeff LoVecchio, Mike Kostka, Kenndal McArdle*

Goaltending: Hamilton: Robert Mayer (L - 27 shots, 24 saves) / Rochester: Tyler Plante (W - 22 shots, 20 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 0-4 / Rochester 2-4

Attendance: 3032

*- Game Winning Goal

BULLDOGS NOTES:

- The 'Dogs rank in the top ten in both special teams categories. Hamilton's penalty kill is eighth overall with an 84.7% success rate and their power play sits seventh in the standings capitalizing on 20.0% of their chances with the man advantage.

- 32 of the 52 games played by Hamilton this season have been decided by one goal which equates to 62% of Hamilton's battles this season.

- G Curtis Sanford sits second in the AHL for goals-against-average with 1.85 and is second in save percentage with a .934SV% only behind Braden Holtby of Hershey who sits first in both categories. Sanford is also tied in second for the league lead in shutouts with five tying Brad Thiessen of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Jake Allen of the Peoria Rivermen, Leland Irving of the Abbotsford Heat and Braden Holtby of the Hershey Bears.

- Hamilton is currently tied for the league lead in fewest goals allowed this season with 127 goals against. They are tied with the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

- Aaron Palushaj has recorded a total of nine points in his last 11 games giving him 31 points through 43 games this season. He is only one point behind his career-high for points in a season which he set during his rookie campaign last year with Hamilton and Peoria.

- Ben Maxwell currently leads all Bulldogs in shots with 133 shots against opposing netminders.

UPCOMING GAMES:

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS @ GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS

7:00 PM EST - VAN ADNEL ARENA - GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

- This is the fifth of six meetings between the two clubs this season

- The last time the two teams met was on February 4th when the Bulldogs defeated the Griffins 2-1

- The Bulldogs have 2-2-0-0 record against the Griffs this season

- Hamilton's all-time record against Grand Rapids is 31-18-1-2-4

- Ilari Flippula leads the Griffins in scoring with 40 points (18G, 22A)

- There are nine Ontario natives currently listed on the Griffins roster: C Corey Emmerton (St. Thomas), C Jamie Johnson (London), RW Adam Keefe (Brampton), LW Chris Minard (Owen Sound), LW Jordan Owens (Toronto), RW Jamie Tardif (Welland), D Brendan Smith (Mimico) and D Greg Amadio (Sault Ste. Marie)

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS @ TORONTO MARLIES

7:00 PM EST - RICOH COLISEUM - TORONTO, ONTARIO

- This will be the eighth of ten meetings between the two clubs this season.

- The last time the two teams met was on December 16th when Toronto defeated Hamilton 4-3 in a shootout

- The 'Dogs hold a 4-1-0-2 record against the Marlies this season

- Hamilton's all-time record against the Marlies is 32-23-0-5-7

- Mike Zigomanis currently leads Toronto in scoring with 33 points (8G, 25A)

- There are 10 Ontario natives currently listed on the Marlies roster: C Brayden Irwin (Toronto), C Nazem Kadri (London), C John Mitchell (Oakville), LW Ryan Hamilton (Oshawa), C Mike Zigomanis (North York), D Simon Gysbers (Richmond Hill), RW Dale Mitchell (Etobicoke), RW Luca Caputi (Toronto), LW Jeff Cowan (Scarborough) and C Matt Caruana (Orono)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19th - HAMILTON BULLDOGS vs. SAN ANTONIO RAMPAGE

4:00 PM EST - COPPS COLISEUM - HAMILTON, ONTARIO

- This will be the second of two meetings between the two clubs this season.

- The last time the two teams met was on December 19th when the Rampage defeated the Bulldogs 5-4

- Hamilton's all-time record against San Antonio currently sits at 9-2-0-0

- Brett MacLean currently leads San Antonio in scoring with 44 points (19G, 25A)

- There is three Ontario native currently listed on the San Antonio roster: RW Brett MacLean (London), RW Jamie Bates (Toronto) and Randy Robitialle (Ottawa)

ALUMNI WATCH:

There are over 40 former Bulldogs currently on NHL rosters. Over 60 percent of all former 'Dogs have played in at least one NHL game. Here are a few highlights and accomplishments of ex-'Dogs from this past week:

- Boston G Tim Thomas is currently first among goaltenders in the NHL in goals-against-average and save-percentage. He holds a 1.97 GAA and a 0.940SV% against opposing teams. Thomas is also tied for first in the NHL with Henrik Lundqvist in shutouts with seven. He registered a 1-1-0-0 record this week against the opposition. He gained a victory against the Canadiens winning 8-6 (February 9) and lost to the Red Wings 4-2 (February 13).

- Boston RW Michael Ryder picked up two goals in a high scoring affair versus the Canadiens (February 9) and added two assist in a loss to Detroit (February 13).

- Montreal C David Desharnais tallied a goal and two assists in a contest versus the Bruins (February 9), he added another helper in a loss to the Islanders (February 10) and had his second multi-point game of the week netting a goal and assisting on one against the Maple Leafs (February 12).

- Minnesota RW Antti Miettinen helped the Wild seal two victories over their opponents this week. Miettinen scored two goals in two contests, one versus the St. Louis Blues (February 11) and added another in another victory over the Blues (February 12). Miettinen has 26 points (11G, 15A) through 46 games this season.

- Toronto C Mikhail Grabovski recorded a goal and two assists in his match-ups versus Atlanta and New Jersey. In his game against the Thrashers Grabovski registered a goal and one assist leading the Leafs to a 5-4 victory (February 7) and assisted on the loan goal for the Leafs in a 2-1 loss to New Jersey (February 10).

- Montreal LW Max Pacioretty tallied three goals and one helper in three games this week. He added two goals in a 8-6 loss to the Bruins (February 9), potted another versus the Islanders (February 10) and notched an assist in the Canadiens win over the Leafs (February 12

TUNE IN TO Every Game on the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network:

Fans can listen to every 'Dogs game this season on the flagship station of the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network, 'TODAY'S COUNTRY AM 820 CHAM'. Fans can also listen or watch at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the 'AHL Live' or '820 CHAM' icon on the Bulldogs website. All regular-season radio and online broadcasts will begin with a pre-game show 30 minutes prior to each scheduled game-time. Ellery Award-winning broadcaster Derek Wills calls the play-by-play of all 80 regular season games, while Al Craig provides the colour commentary for all home games and select road games.

GET YOUR TICKETS!:

Hamilton Bulldogs season tickets, flex tickets, min pack tickets, group tickets and tickets are now on sale! Individual game tickets are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office (in-person sales only), all Ticketmaster outlets and online at ticketmaster.ca or call 905-527-7666. For information on season tickets, flex tickets, mini pack tickets and group tickets visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com, or call (905) 529-8500 ext. 179.

GET YOUR BULLDOGS MERCHANDISE AT THE " DAWG HOUSE" : Fans can purchase Bulldogs merchandise during all home games at the " Dawg House" store located behind section 114 on the concourse level at Copps Coliseum.

In the store, fans can find hats, t-shirts, jackets, replica jerseys, foam fingers, foam 'Bone Heads', and other select novelty items for sale.



American Hockey League Stories from February 14, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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