Dogs Edged By Leafs
April 2, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release
HAMILTON, ON - The Hamilton Bulldogs lost 2-1 to the St. John's Maple Leafs on Friday night at Copps Coliseum in front of a season-high 13,692 fans, the third highest crowd at a regular season game in Bulldogs history. The game also marked the 100th and final regular season contest between St. John's and Hamilton, as the Toronto Maple Leafs will move their AHL affiliate to Toronto next season.
With the loss, the Bulldogs record drops to 32-28-7-5, but they remain in fourth place in the North Division, holding the final playoff spot by a single point over the Syracuse Crunch. Syracuse (71 games) has a game-in-hand over Hamilton (72 games).
The Bulldogs opened the scoring on the power play at 6:07 of the first period when Jason Ward tipped home a pass from Corey Locke for his 18th goal of the season. Mike Komisarek added an additional assist on the only goal of the opening frame.
With two goals in the second period, St. John's took a 2-1 lead. Forward Colin Murphy tied the game for the Maple Leafs at 5:31 of the second period with his first-ever AHL goal. Then at 18:50, defenceman Joel Kwiatkowski gave the Leafs a 2-1 lead that they wouldn't relinquish with his 17th goal of the season.
Yann Danis was solid in net for the Bulldogs making 30 saves on 32 shots in a losing effort. St. John's netminder Mikael Tellqvist earned his 23rd win of the season by stopping 38 of the 39 shots he faced.
Ward continued his stellar play for the Bulldogs, recording a goal and seven shots in the game, extending his point-scoring streak to four games with six points (3g, 3a) in that stretch.
The Bulldogs next is game is tomorrow night (Saturday April 2nd), when they travel to Syracuse to take on the Crunch. Bulldogs fans can listen to Derek Wills call all the action on 820 CHAM "The Legend" in Hamilton, on the Team 990 in Montreal, or via the Internet at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com starting with the pre-game show at 7:15 p.m.
Hamilton returns home on Sunday, April 3rd, when they host the Grand Rapids Griffins at Copps Coliseum. The puck drops at 4:00 p.m. and tickets are available for purchase at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, at all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling Ticketmaster at (905) 527-7666 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca.
American Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2005
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- Wolf Pack Clinch Playoff Spot - Connecticut Whale
- Lupul's two goals lead Ducks past first-place Wolves - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Phantoms Defeat Norfolk in Shootout, 4-3 - Adirondack Phantoms
- Bears within three points of playoffs after OT win - Hershey Bears
- Sound Tigers Lose See Saw Game In Hershey - Bridgeport Islanders
- Bruins reel off fifth straight win - Providence Bruins
- Sestito Signs and Szwez Released - Bridgeport Islanders
- Baseball giveaway tonight as Aeros host Rampage - Houston Aeros
- Dogs Edged By Leafs - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Bears drop tough one in Philly 4-3 - Hershey Bears
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