Bulldogs Shoot Down Stars

February 19, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


DES MOINES, IA - Mikhail Grabovski had three assists and was named first star for the fourth consecutive game in the Hamilton Bulldogs 4-2 win over the Iowa Stars on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena. The victory was the 'Dogs fourth straight and improves their record to 27-21-1-5 on the season. With 60 points, Hamilton is now tied with the Manitoba Moose for second place in the North Division standings.

The Bulldogs opened the scoring on the power play just 1:39 into the first period when Matt D'Agostini picked up his own rebound and backhanded home his 15th goal of the season. Grabovski and Daniel Corso picked up helpers on the play.

Eric Manlow extended Hamilton's lead to 2-0 with his ninth tally of the campaign at 4:40 of the opening frame. With assists on the goal, Brett Engelhardt earned his first point as a Bulldog and Kyle Chipchura picked up his 50th career AHL point.

At 5:41 of the middle stanza, the 'Dogs took a 3-0 lead when Grabovski and Manlow combined to set-up D'Agostini for his second marker of the game. The goal chased Stars starting netminder Tobias Stephan from between the pipes in favour of Steve Silverthorn.

Iowa got on the scoreboard and cut into Hamilton's lead at the 5:34 mark of the third period. Marty Sertich potted his 17th goal of the season from Trevor Byrne and Nolan Baumgartner to make the score 3-1.

Mathieu Biron restored the Bulldogs three-goal lead on the power play at 8:13 of the final frame. Grabovski, who recorded his third helper of the night, and Corey Locke earned assists on Biron's third marker of the campaign.

B.J. Crombeen pulled the Stars as close as they would come with the game's final goal at 13:41 of the third stanza, making the score 4-2. Picking up the lone assist on the play was Tommy Wandell.

Jaroslav Halak turned aside 34 of 36 shots to earn the win for Hamilton, while Stephan had 21 saves on 24 shots before being replaced by Silverthorn who stopped 18 of 19 shots in the loss for Iowa.

Special teams played a large role in the Bulldogs win, as they went 2-for-5 on the power play and a perfect 8-for-8 on the penalty kill.

STREAKING 'DOGS: Grabovski extended his assist and point streak to four games (Feb. 15-19) with 13 points (5-8-13). D'Agostini is now on a four-game assist and point streak (Feb. 15-19) with eight points (3-4-7). Corso also extended his current team-high assist streak to five games (Feb. 13-19) with seven helpers in that span.

The defending Calder Cup Champion Hamilton Bulldogs return to action tomorrow night (Wednesday, February 20th) at 8:05 p.m. when they travel to the I Wireless Center to take on the Quad City Flames. Fans can listen to every Bulldogs game on the flagship station of the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network, 820 CHAM. Fans can also listen or watch at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the 'B2 Networks' or '820 CHAM' icon on the 'Dogs website. All regular-season radio and online broadcasts will begin with a pre-game show 20 minutes prior to each scheduled game-time.

Hamilton returns home to Copps Coliseum to take on the Houston Aeros on Saturday, February 23rd at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for all 'Dogs home games 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 or to purchase season tickets call 905-529-8500, e-mail tickets@hamiltonbulldogs.com or visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com.



American Hockey League Stories from February 19, 2008


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