Hamilton Bulldogs vs Rochester Amerks (2-1 Lost)
By Dan Linn
Tonight the Bulldogs took on the Rochester Amerks, as the Dogs looked to extend their wining streak after sweeping the Milwaukee Admirals in back to back games. A win tonight and the Dogs would move into a tie for 1st overall in the AHL. The Dogs travelled to Rochester, where they won last time thanks to an Alex Perezhogin backhanded goal in overtime.
Going into tonights game, the Bulldogs have the top two scorers in the AHL, with Gratton at 25 pts, and Dagenais at 21 pts. Eric Fichaud is in nets after winning last night up’ing his record to 8-4 on the season. The top line of Dagenais, Gratton, and Balej have been the most successful of the Dogs, and will look to jump on an early lead against a divison rival.
1st Period
Not much going on, Hamilton had the better chances, but couldn’t burry one. Fichaud stopped a penalty shot by Bartovic at the mid point of the peroid. Shots were 16-8 in favor of the Dogs. Duncan Milroy was not dressed, but Andrew Archer was back in the lineup for his 2nd game this season after coming back from injury.
2nd Peroid
Dykhuis jumps up on the rush, to join the Higgins Plekanec Perezhogin line. Higgins gets the puck over to Dykhuis who beats Askey through the five hole. Beauchemin and Dagenais both had a few chances to score, but could not get it past Askey.
3rd Peroid
Amerks get one right at the start of the period, tie it at 1-1. Komisarek was off for a hooking penalty, and the AHL vet Pittis was able to get one on the PP. The goal put the Amerks and their fans back in the game, and forced the Dogs to tighten up. Then Archer and Mosovsky mixed it up while Traverse got the call for interference. Jason Pominville got the goal on the PP, putting the Amerks ahead where they would stay for the rest of the game.
The Dogs lost a close, but it was a very busy week for them, as they played 5 games in 6 nights. Francois Beauchemin led the way with 5 shots on goal, Dykhuis had the only goal, with Higgins the only assist. Dykhuis, Plante, Higgins, Plekanec, and Perezhogin were all +1.
Scoring Summary (2-1 Lost)
Period 1
(no scoring)
Period 2
Hamilton – Karl Dykhuis (Chris Higgins) 11:53
Period 3
Rochester – Domenic Pittis (powerplay) (Jason Pominville, David Cullen) 0:20
Rochester – Jason Pominville (powerplay) (Domenic Pittis, David Cullen) 3:23
Boxscores of the game can be found here,
http://www.theahl.com/SlamScoreboard/ahl-frameset.html