Don Lever Set To Become Bulldogs Longest Serving Head Coach In Franchise History This Weekend

Published on January 29, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


The Hamilton Bulldogs (American Hockey League affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens) will travel to the MTS Centre in Winnipeg for two games this weekend against the Manitoba Moose (AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks). The first tilt is on Friday, February 1st at 8:30 p.m., followed by another 8:30 p.m. start time the next night (Saturday, February 2nd). On February 1st, Don Lever will tie Hamilton's former bench boss Claude Julien as the longest serving head coach in franchise history. Julien coached 205 games from 2000-2003. Lever's 206th game behind the Bulldogs bench is set for February 2nd.

Last week, the 'Dogs posted a 1-2-0-0 record in three home games at Copps Coliseum. Hamilton opened the week with a 3-2 shootout win over the Peoria Rivermen on Wednesday, January 23rd. The Bulldogs then suffered back-to-back shutout losses, being blanked 4-0 by the Quad City Flames on Friday, January 25th and 2-0 by the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, January 26th.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 - LAKE ERIE MONSTERS 2 @ HAMILTON BULLDOGS 3 (SO)

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: Jonathan Ferland (11), Corey Locke (16), Matt D'Agostini (shootout winner)

Lake Erie Goals: Jeff Friesen (1), David Jones (10)

Goaltending: Hamilton - Carey Price (W - 18 shots, 16 saves) / Lake Erie - Mike Wall (SOL - 40 shots, 38 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 2-3 / Lake Erie 1-3

Attendance: 3,007

Friday, January 25th, 2008 - QUAD CITY FLAMES 4 @ HAMILTON BULLDOGS 0

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: None

Quad City Goals: Krys Kolanos-2 (18), Carsen Germyn (6), Derek Couture (5)

Goaltending: Hamilton - Carey Price (L - 33 shots, 29 saves) / Quad City - Curtis McElhinney (W - 26 shots, 26 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 0-4 / Quad City 1-5

Attendance: 5,646

Saturday, January 26th, 2008 - SYRACUSE CRUNCH 2 @ HAMILTON BULLDOGS 0

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: None

Syracuse Goals: Adam Pineault (15), Clay Wilson (7)

Goaltending: Hamilton - Carey Price (L - 35 shots, 33 saves) / Syracuse - Adam Munro (W - 16 shots, 16 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 0-8 / Syracuse 1-7

Attendance: 4,448

AHL STANDINGS

BULLDOGS NOTES:

- Last night, C Corey Locke posted a goal and two assists with one shot and a plus-3 rating to help lead the Canadian All-Stars to a 9-8 shootout win over PlanetUSA in the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok. The game was Locke's second AHL All-Star appearance, previously skating for the Canadian squad in the 2006 AHL All-Star Classic in Winnipeg, Manitoba

- D Jean-Philippe Cote is set to play in his 300th career AHL game on Friday, February 1st when the Bulldogs take on the Manitoba Moose at the MTS Centre

- The Bulldogs head into the week with a goalless draught of 135:47 after being shutout in their previous two games

BULLDOGS ALL-TIME SCORING LEADERS:

PLAYER GP G A P

1 Corey Locke 277 71* 122* 193

2 Brian Swanson 183 71 108 179

3 Tomas Plekanec 231 71 105 176

4 Peter Sarno 230 42 123 165

5 Duncan Milroy 310 68 95 163**

* Locke is only one goal away from becoming Hamilton's all-time leading goal scorer and is also only two helpers away from setting the Franchise mark in assists

** Milroy is now fifth on the Bulldogs' all time scoring list

UPCOMING GAMES:

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1st, SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2nd, 2008:

HAMILTON BULLDOGS @ MANITOBA MOOSE - 8:30 P.M. - MTS CENTRE

- This will be the fifth and sixth meetings between the two Clubs this season; Hamilton is 2-1-1-0 in four games against Manitoba so far this season

- The Moose are currently in second place in the North Division with a 23-18-2-1 record and 49 points

- C Brad Moran is currently pacing Manitoba's attack with 31 points (10-21-31) in 38 games this season

- C Ryan Shannon leads the Moose with four points (0-4-4) in four games against the 'Dogs so far in the 2007-08 campaign

- G Drew MacIntyre was the lone representative for Manitoba at yesterday's 2008 AHL All Star Classic in Binghamton

- In back-to-back games this season, Manitoba has a record of 18-15-1-1, while Hamilton is 10-15-1-5

- Manitoba is currently the only team in the AHL without an Ontario native on its roster

ALUMNI WATCH:

There are over 60 former Bulldogs who have graduated to the National Hockey League. 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:

- Montreal LW Andrei Kostitsyn notched four points this past week, posting two goals including the game-winner and an assist versus Boston (Jan. 22), and adding a helper in a 4-3 victory at New Jersey (Jan. 24)

- Montreal LW Sergei Kostitsyn registered two assists last week, both coming in a 8-3 win over Boston (Jan. 22)

- Montreal D Mike Komisarek picked up four points last week, recording a goal and an assist in a 8-3 victory against Boston (Jan. 22), and picking up two assists in a 4-3 win at New Jersey (Jan. 24)

- Edmonton C Jarret Stoll scored two goals this past week, both coming in a 4-3 win at Florida (Jan. 24)

- Dallas C Mike Ribeiro played for the Western Conference squad at the 2008 NHL All-Star Game after recording 54 points (22-32-54) in 50 games so far this season. It was Ribeiro's first NHL All-Star game

- Boston G Tim Thomas played for the Eastern Conference in the 2008 NHL All-Star game. It was the first time Thomas was selected to play in the All-Star Game after posting a 16-11-3 record in 33 games with a save percentage of .928 and a goals against average of 2.34 in the first half of the season

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, 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. 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.

Don't miss any AHL action this season with the B2 Power Play Season Pass and B2toGo Mobile Highlights. Visit www.b2livetv.com today to purchase your Season Pass or Mobile Highlights.

GET YOUR TICKETS!:

Hamilton Bulldogs 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. For information on season or group tickets visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com, or call (905) 529-8500 or 1-866-DOGS-TIX.

BULLDOGS MERCHANDISE AT THE "DAWG HOUSE" STORE:

Fans can purchase Bulldogs merchandise during all home games at the new "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', Calder Cup championship collectables (such as card sets and t-shirts) and other select novelty items (watches, mugs, pucks, etc.) for sale.

HAMILTON BULLDOGS SCHEDULE THIS WEEK:

Friday, February 1st, 2008 - 8:30 p.m. - Hamilton Bulldogs at Manitoba Moose (MTS Centre)

Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 - 8:30 p.m. - Hamilton Bulldogs at Manitoba Moose (MTS Centre)

MOLSON CUP - THREE STAR LEADERS:

(1st Star - 5pts, 2nd Star - 3pts, 3rd Star - 1pt)

Player: Points:

1. Corey Locke 35

2. Jaroslav Halak 29

3. Matt D'Agostini 22

4. Maxim Lapierre 16

5. Duncan Milroy 15

T-6. Janne Lahti 14

T-6. Jonathan Ferland 14

8. Sergei Kostitsyn 8

9. Mathieu Carle 6

10. Eric Manlow 5

11. Yann Danis 4

T-12. Ryan Russell 3

T-12. Pavel Valentenko 3

T-12. Mathieu Aubin 3

T-15. Jean-Phillippe Cote 1

T-15. Carey Price 1

T-15. Kyle Chipchura 1

FLAMBORO DOWNS WORKHORSE OF THE GAME LEADERS:

(10 pts. - Hardest working Hamilton Bulldogs player)

Player: Points:

1. Jonathan Ferland 50

T-2. Greg Stewart 40

T-2. Yann Danis 40

T-4. Maxim Lapierre 30

T-4. Corey Locke 30

T-4. Francis Lemieux 30

T-4. Matt D'Agostini 30

T-8. Pavel Valentenko 20

T-8. Ryan O'Byrne 20

T-8. Joel Bouchard 20

T-8. Duncan Milroy 20

T-8. Mathieu Carle 20

T-13. Cory Urquhart 10

T-13. Cedrick Desjardins 10

T-13. Mathieu Aubin 10

T-13. Marvin Degon 10

T-13. Andrew Archer 10

T-13. Eric Manlow 10

T-13. Jon Gleed 10

T-13. Ajay Baines 10

T-13. Carey Price 10

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from January 29, 2008


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.

OurSports Central