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Bulldogs This Week 14/15

A Season of Inconsistency:

The last two weeks have been no different than the rest of the Bulldogs’ season, as it was full of inconsistency. After getting the lead against Chicago on the 11th, the Dogs allowed two shorthanded goals in a span of 31 seconds, putting the Wolves on top for good. The team then lost 2-1 in a shootout against Cincinnati, before destroying the Might Ducks 7-2 the following night. The team continued it’s scoring streak against Chicago on the 19th, winning 6-3. Two nights later, it appeared the Dogs may finally get a winning streak going, as they put up a 3-0 lead on the Ducks going into the third period. Inconsistency, however, reared its ugly head once again, as penalties allowed the Ducks to tie the game and would go on to win in overtime. To finish the week, the Bulldogs once again blew a late lead, but were finally able to put up a good shootout effort, scoring three times for the win.

By the Numbers:

Gavin Morgan recorded a hat trick against the Chicago Wolves on the 21st . He completed the trick with an empty netter to put the game away. Morgan continued his hot streak, scoring a goal aginst both Cininnati and Milwaukee, along with a shootout goal against Milwaukee. Steve Ott recorded recorded nearly 40 penalty minutes over the last week, including a double game misconduct (no fight strap and 3rd man into a fight) and two 10 minute misconducts (abuse of an official and unsportsmanlike conduct)

Bad Blood:

In the course of the Bulldogs 7-2 rout of the Mighty Ducks, bad blood broke out, as the teams combined for 180 minutes of penalties, most of which coming near the end of the 3rd period, when numerous fights broke out. It was in the game that Steve Ott was assessed a double game misconduct along with a 10 minute misconduct. The bad blood carried over to the teams’ next matchup, as Raitis Ivanans started a fight on his first shift, but fell to the ice before any punches were thrown. The refs clearly wanted to keep the game under control, as misconducts were handed out when Steve Ott gave a Ducks player a “friendly” slap on the skate with his stick.

Shootout Stats:

The Bulldogs continued to struggle in shootouts, as they failed to score a single goal in the shootout against Chicago on the 14th. They finished the week, however, by scoring three times in a shootout to beat Milwaukee. On the season, they have 6 goals on 29 chances (21%).

This Week

January 14
Corey Locke: Miss
Chris Higgins: Miss
Tomas Plekanec: Miss, Miss
Marc-Andre Thinel: Miss
Steve Ott: Miss

January 22
Tomas Plekanec: Miss
Andrei Kostitsyn: Miss
Corey Locke: SCORE
Gavin Morgan: SCORE
James Sanford: SCORE

Season Results
Gavin Morgan 1/1 (100%)
James Sanford 1/1 (100%)
Andrei Kostitsyn 1/3 (33%)
Corey Locke 2/7 (28%)
Tomas Plekanec 1/7 (14%)
Jason Ward 0/1 (0%)
Steve Ott 0/1 (0%)
Marc-Andre Thinel 0/2 (0%)
Duncan Milroy 0/3 (0%)
Chris Higgins 0/4 (0%)

Goalie Zone:

Dan Ellis performed well over the last two weeks, posting a .911 save percentage, including stopping 10 of 10 shots in relief of Yann Danis in the Dogs 6-3 victory over the Wolves. Ellis now has a 6-14-0 record, with a 2.67 GAA and .912 SV%. Danis performed brilliantly against the Might Ducks on the 14th, stopping 45 of 46 shots. He faltered against Chicago, however, and was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 10 shots. Danis finished the week by stopping 37 of 40 shots in regulation and overtime, then stopping three of the four shooters in the shootout victory. On the season, Danis now has a 12-9-0-4 record, with a 2.29 GAA and a .925 SV%.

The Infirmary:

D Mike Komisarek (hip surgery), out indefinitely
W Andrei Kostitsyn (shoulder), returned to action on January 19th
C Antti Miettinen (shoulder), out 8 weeks
C Benoit Dusablon (neck stinger), out indefinitely
D Ron Hainsey (concussion), returned to action January 19th
D Dan Focht (undisclosed), out indefinitely

The Weekly Bulldogs Stat Pack:

2 Week Scoring Summary

1) Larrivee (Morgan, Lambert)
2) Plekanec (Ward)
3) Jancevski (Locke, Daley) PP
4) Ward (Ott, Plante)
5) Archer (Milroy, Plekanec)
6) Ott (Ward, Cote) GWG
7) Higgins (Ward, Plante) PP
8) Plekanec (Ward, Plante) PP
9) Plante (Milroy, Ott) PP
10) Plekanec (Archer)
11) Milroy (Locke, Ott) PP
12) Morgan (Ferland, Ivanans)
13) Morgan (Ferland, Carpantier)
14) Higgins (Plekanec) GWG
15) Morgan (Ott, Ward) EN
16) Ott (Morgan, Ward) EN
17) Morgan (Lambert)
18) Locke (Ferland, Carpantier)
19) Plante (Higgins, Plekanec) PP
20) Kostitsyn
21) Ott (Ward, Lambert)
22) Morgan SH

Each week, one Hamilton player will be selected as the HabsWorld Player of the Week.  At the end of each month, you the fans will be able to vote on the Player of the Month.  A different player will be nominated each week.

Last Week’s Winner: C Tomas Plekanec
Past Two Weeks’ Winners:
RW Jason Ward (1 goals, 4 assists in 3 games in week 14)
RW Gavin Morgan (5 goals, 1 assist in 3 games in week 15)

January Weekly Winners:
January 2-January 9: C Tomas Plekanec
January 10-January 16: RW Jason Ward
January 17-January 23: RW Gavin Morgan