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Marlies Blank Bulldogs 6-0

January 2, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


Toronto, Ontario - Keith Aucoin scored two goals and added one assist to power the Toronto Marlies to a 6-0 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs in American Hockey League action on Wednesday night.

Joe Colborne contributed one goal and two assists for the Marlies, who got one goal and one assist from Ryan Hamilton and goals from Jerry D'Amigo and Greg McKegg. Mike Kostka chipped in with two assists and goaltender Ben Scrivens made 14 saves to collect his second shutout of the season. The Marlies improved to 20-9-1-2 for 43 points, tops in the North Division and Western Conference.

Goaltender Cedrick Desjardins faced 19 shots as the Bulldogs were shutout for a third consecutive game to fall to 11-18-1-2 for 25 points.

The Bulldogs' goalless drought moved to 180:30 since Brendon Nash scored an empty-net goal at 19:30 of the third period of a 6-3 win over the visiting St. John's IceCaps last Friday night.

The Marlies opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 10:10 of the first period, eight seconds after Aucoin has been banished for cross checking. Greg Scott outfought Patrick Holland for the puck in the Bulldogs' zone, eluded Nathan Beaulieu and fed the puck to D'Amigo, who was stationed alone in front and he snapped the puck over Desjardins's left shoulder.

Aucoin made it 2-0 on the power play at 14:15. Colborne took a feed from Paul Ranger and fired a shot from in close that Desjardins stopped, but the puck popped into the air and was swatted home by Aucoin, who was parked at the left post.

The Marlies held a 7-3 edge in shots. Desjardins made some fine saves, foiling Kenny Ryan at the lip of the crease as he attempted to convert a Colborne rebound in the seventh minute and he scrambled to keep Hamilton from slipping home a loose puck in the crease a minute later. Desjardins slid across the crease to get his left pad on a Dylan Yeo shot in the 10th minute and stopped a hard shot from Ranger with the Marlies on the power play in the 13th.

The Bulldogs' best chance came in the ninth minute. Kostka was attempting to fend off Mike Blunden at the side of the Marlies net when he slid the puck into the slot where Gabriel Dumont fired a shot from in close that Scrivens stopped.

The Marlies erupted for three goals on six shots in the second period.

McKegg made it 3-0 at 1:47, one-timing a pass from Simon Deschamps from the edge of the right-wing circle through Desjardins's legs and Colborne struck with the Bulldogs two men short at 10:41, charging to the net to bury an Aucoin feed at the right post. Hamilton scored on the power play at 15:27, steering the puck around a fallen Desjardins from the deep slot.

The Bulldogs had five second-period shots with their best chances coming on a two-man advantage in the seventh minute, but Scrivens stopped two shots from Frederic St-Denis, finding a shot from the blue line through traffic and seconds later snaring a shot from the right point.

Aucoin closed the scoring at 16:23 of the third period as he took a feed from Hamilton, moved into Bulldogs zone, outmaneuvered blueliner Antoine Corbin and snapped a shot under Desjardins's left leg.

Each team had six shots in the period. Scrivens found a shot from Mike Commodore point shot through traffic in the eighth minute and foiled Stefan Chaput from the slot in the 18th. Desjardins came up with stops on Spencer Abbott, Ryan and Carter Ashton in the 13th and 14th minutes.

The Bulldogs were without Greg Pateryn, Nash, Joonas Nattinen, Aaron Palushaj, Phillippe Lefebvre and Blake Geoffrion. The Marlies scratched Korbinian Holzer, Nazem Kadri, Will Acton, Jake Gardiner and Brad Ross.

The Bulldogs host the Rockford IceHogs at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

BULLDOGS NOTEBOOK: Attendance at Ricoh Coliseum was 7,851 ... The Bulldogs' shot total matched its lowest output of the season. The Bulldogs had 14 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Syracuse Crunch in a game at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Nov. 9. Hamilton also held the IceCaps to 19 shots in a 3-1 road loss on Nov. 20 ... The Bulldogs allowed six goals for the second time this season. They first surrendered that number in a 6-1 loss at Toronto on Nov. 17 ... The Bulldogs went 0-for-4 on the power play. The Marlies were 3-for-6 ... The Bulldogs are 5-12-0-2 on the road while the Marlies are 12-2-0-1 at home. The Marlies have won five consecutive home games since a 3-2 loss to the Abbotsford Heat on Dec. 9. That defeat was the Marlies' last loss in regulation. They are 7-0-1-1 in nine subsequent games ... The Marlies hold a 6-2-0-0 edge in the 12-game regular-season series between the Ontario rivals. The Bulldogs host Toronto on Jan. 8 ... The Bulldogs have allowed three shorthanded goals this season, including two over their last four games ... Marlies head coach Dallas Eakins will guide the Western Conference team at the AHL All-Star Classic at Providence on Jan. 28 ... Aucoin has recorded five goals and eight assists for 13 points in seven games against the Bulldogs this season ... Nattinen, who missed a third consecutive game with an upper-body injury, turns 22 on Thursday while Marlies right winger Matt Frattin turns 25 that day ... Toronto's Mark Fraser bloodied Kyle Hagel in a second-period bout ... The Marlies finished second behind the Norfolk Admirals in points percentage in the AHL during the 2012 calendar year. The Marlies compiled a record of 47-21-3-3 for 100 points and a .676 points percentage ... The crowd of 18,800 that saw the teams' previous game, a 3-2 Marlies win at Air Canada Centre on Dec. 26, was the 10th largest regular-season crowd in AHL history ... Centre Mike Zigomanis returned to the Toronto lineup after missing seven games with a shoulder injury. Among the games he missed was a bobblehead promotion of his likeness on Dec. 26 ... Kadri hasn't played for the Marlies since leaving the Boxing Day game a short time after taking a check from Zack Stortini. He is reportedly sidelined with a recurrence of a rib injury.

The Bulldogs' next game is against the Rockford IceHogs at Copps Coliseum at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 4th. All 'Dogs games during the month of January will be broadcast on Hamilton's Funny 820 (AM 820), with select games simulcast on Montreal's TSN Radio 690 (AM 690). The game will also be telecast on TVA Sports and Cable 14. Fans can also listen to and watch all 'Dogs games on www.hamiltonbulldogs.com . Live coverage with the broadcast team of Play-By-Play Announcer Derek Wills (all home and away games) and Colour Commentator Al Craig (all home and select away games) will begin with the Pioneer Pre-Game Show 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

2012-2013 Hamilton Bulldogs season tickets, Pioneer Flex Pack tickets, group tickets and single-game tickets are on sale now! For as little as $10 per game, you can enjoy the many benefits of being a 'Dogs season ticket holder including reserved seating for all home games at Copps Coliseum, the option to redeem unused tickets for any regular season game, discounts on team merchandise and access to exclusive season ticket holder-only events with the team. Convenient payment plans are available. For more information on how to join our team by becoming a Hamilton Bulldogs season ticket holder, or for more information on Pioneer Flex Pack tickets or group tickets, call 905-529-8500 or 1-866-DOGS-TIX, e-mail ticketing@hamiltonbulldogs.com or visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com . 'Dogs single-game tickets are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.ca, or by calling 905-529-8500 or 1-866-DOGS-TIX.

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