HabsWorld.net -- 

Bulldogs This Week 12/13

These past 2 weeks have been very busy for the Bulldogs, playing 9 games in just 13 days.  It started with a home game on the 27th, a 3-2 victory over Edmonton, followed by a 7 game road trip, including a 3 game in 3 night (with travel) stretch.  This past Saturday, even a little home cooking couldn’t get Hamilton up for the game, as they fell 3-2 to St. John’s, in the third game between the teams in 5 days.

2005 brings on lots of hope…and injuries:

The 2005 calendar year was supposed to bring hope to the Bulldogs and their fans, but instead it brought injuries, followed by more injuries.  Andrei Kostitsyn was injured at the World Juniors in a relegation game, and will be out another 7-10 days. Meanwhile, back with the Dogs, D Ron Hainsey suffered a concussion, and is out indefinitely, while D Dan Focht suffered an undisclosed injury roughly a week ago.  To bring their defence back up to 6, Hamilton recalled D James Sanford from Peoria (ECHL), and he has suited up in 4 games thus far.

By the Numbers:

Hamilton’s atrocious PP drought vs Edmonton came to an end on the 26th, as they scored on their first opportunity, ending a season-long 0/45 drought against the Road Runners … Tomas Plekanec’s goal in that same game ended a 7 game pointless drought, and a 13 game goalless one; he now has points in 6 of 8 games since then … Dan Jancevski tripled his production in scoring these past weeks, going from 3 points to 9 on the season (his goal Jan. 5th was his first in 2 months) … James Sanford quickly made a mark in Hamilton, as he scored a PP goal in his first AHL game with the Dogs, a 4-1 win in St. John’s.

New Career Highs:

Enforcer Raitis Ivanans finally got a point vs Edmonton (an assist), which sparked him offensively, as he went on a 3 game point streak, and sits at 4 points, eclipsing his previous career high of 3 … Duncan Milroy also has surpassed his career high in points, as he has 16 points so far this year, passing last year’s total of 14 … Marc-Andre Thinel has also picked up a new high in points, he currently sits at 13 points; his previous high was 2.

Shootout Stats:

The first game of the new year saw Hamilton fall 3-2 in a shootout to Syracuse.  Hamilton continues to struggle in this aspect of the game, as they now have just 3 goals on 20 chances (15%) so far this season.

Goalie Zone:

Both Yann Danis and Dan Ellis had one weak outing this week, but played strong in all the other games, both improving their GAA and SV%.  Danis now has a 11-9-3 record, with a 2.23 GAA and .925 SV%.  Ellis on the other hand, since starting off 0-9, now has a winning record since then (4-3).  His GAA sits at a respectable 2.66, while his save percentage has climbed to .912.

The Infirmary:

D Mike Komisarek (hip surgery), out indefinitely
W Andrei Kostitsyn (shoulder), out 1 week
C Antti Miettinen (shoulder), out 8 weeks
C Benoit Dusablon (neck stinger), out indefinitely
D Ron Hainsey (concussion), out indefinitely
D Dan Focht (undisclosed), out indefinitely

The Weekly Bulldogs Stat Pack:

2 Week Scoring Summary

1) Milroy (Daley, Higgins) PP
2) Locke (Morgan, Ivanans)
3) Plekanec (Cote) GWG
4) Ott (Archer)
5) Plekanec (Ott, Jancevski)
6) Ivanans (Ferland, Locke) GWG
7) Thinel (Ward, Jancevski) PP
8) Plekanec (Focht, Plante) PP
9) Milroy (Locke, Focht) PP
10) Focht (Archer, Ferland) PP
11) Daley (Ott, Higgins) PP
12) Plekanec (Ward)
13) Locke (Ivanans)
14) Ward (Ott, Jancevski) SH, GWG
15) Sanford (Jancevski, Plekanec) PP
16) Locke (Plante)
17) Ott (Milroy, Higgins)
18) Jancevski (Morgan)
19) Sanford (Plekanec, Thinel) PP
20) Higgins (Locke, Jancevski)
21) Ott (Morgan, Daley) GWG
22) Higgins (Daley)
23) Locke (Ivanans, Archer)
24) Ferland (Locke)
25) Plekanec (Ott) PP 

The Long Beach Ice Dogs are on FIRE.  Over the past 2 weeks, they’ve put together a 6-2 record, including recent 7-2 and 6-3 romps.  They now sit 2nd in their division, 1 point out of first.  They also currently hold home ice advantage if the playoffs started today, as they are 4th in the conference.  A pair of Ice Dogs were named to the All-Star game this past week, Edmonton G Chris Madden, and Bulldogs cut Marco Rosa.  Meanwhile, Peoria D James Sanford, currently in Hamilton, was also invited to play.

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: W Raitis Ivanans (1 goal, 2 assists in 4 games – his first points of the season).
This Week’s Winner: C Tomas Plekanec (2 goals, 2 assists in 5 games)

January Weekly Winners:
January 2-January 9: C Tomas Plekanec

This past week, we held a poll to select the Fans Choice for Hamilton Player of the Month.  Here are the results:

1) Corey Locke 70%
2) Steve Ott 15%
3) Raitis Ivanans 12%
4) Gavin Morgan 2%
5) Dan Ellis 1%

On a more personal note, this will be my last Bulldogs column for the next 2-3 weeks, as I begin recovery from knee surgery.  Another HW member will fill in during my absence.