Well, this certainly won’t be remembered as the best opening week in Hamilton Bulldogs history, as they dropped a pair of close decisions to start the season. Their home and season opener was on Friday night, but they were unable to generate much offense, dropping a 3-1 decision to Grand Rapids. The following night, more of the same, yes, they got a pair of goals this time around, but couldn’t get it done in crunch time, falling 4-2 to the Rochester Americans.
Game Recaps:
1) Friday, October 14, 2005 – Grand Rapids 3, Hamilton 1
Goal Scorers: Hamilton: Benoit (1), Grand Rapids: Hudler 2 (4/5), Kopecky (1)
Powerplays: Hamilton: 1/8, Grand Rapids – 0/5
Shots on Goal: Grand Rapids 30, Hamilton 23
3 Stars: 1) Hudler – GR, 2) Manlow – GR, 3) Benoit – HAM
Attendance: 6,631
2) Saturday, October 15, 2005 – Rochester 4, Hamilton 2
Goal Scorers: Hamilton: Pouliot (1), Kostitsyn (1), Rochester: Kreps (2), Roy 2 (4/5), Pominville (2)
Powerplays: Hamilton: 1/6, Rochester 2/9
Shots on Goal: Rochester 31, Hamilton 23
3 Stars: 1) Roy – ROC, 2) Cullen – ROC, 3) Pouliot – HAM
Attendance: 3,024
Lineup Notes:
For both games, the Bulldogs opted to dress 7 defencemen, leaving C/W Cory Urquhart and C Francis Lemieux as a scratch both times. With a logjam at defence, D James Sanford was the odd man out, and he has been assigned to the ECHL.
Cheers and Jeers of the Week:
A new segment of Bulldogs Weekly, we’ll take a look at notable accomplishments as well as the ugly side of the week that was.
Cheers go out to:
– Andre Benoit, for scoring his first career pro goal, as well as the team’s 1st of the season Friday vs Grand Rapids.
– Marc-Antoine Pouliot, for recording his first career professional goal in Saturday’s win over Rochester. Also to J-F Jacques, for securing his first career point.
Jeers go out to:
– The fans in Hamilton, under 7,000 for the home opener, and just over 3,000 one night later? For the team’s sake, I certainly hope this isn’t a tale of things to come.
– G Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, even though he’s yet to play a game. The reason? The former highly touted 1st rounder was supposed to have a strangle hold on the starter’s role heading into the season, but lost it to Olivier Michaud, who struggled as a backup last season…in the ECHL. Yipes.
– Head coach Don Lever, for removing the ‘A’ from D J-P Cote…after 1 game. Apparently, Cote is only the alternate…to the other alternate captains. Go figure.
Goalie Zone:
To many’s surprise, Olivier Michaud not only got the nod in the season opener, but also in the following game as well. And, to his credit, he didn’t fare that badly, despite the losses. Weekly Stats: 0-2 record, 60 SF, 54 SVS, 6 GA, .900 SV%, 3.03 GAA.
| # | GOALIE | GP | W | L | SOL | SO | GAA | SV% |
| 31 | Olivier Michaud | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.03 | .900 |
| 39 | Jeff Deslauriers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | .000 |
Game Results:
October 14: Grand Rapids 3, Hamilton 1 Scoresheet
October 15: Rochester 4, Hamilton 2 Scoresheet
Week Record: 0-2-0-0
Season Record: 0-2-0-0, 7th in division, 13th in conference (27th overall)
Team Scoring Leaders:
| Weekly Scoring Leaders | Season Scoring Leaders |
Goals Assists Points | Goals Assists Points |
Weekly Scoring Summary:
1) Benoit (Locke, Hainsey) PP
2) Pouliot (Benoit, Jacques)
3) Kostitsyn (Pouliot)
Special Teams:
This Week:
Powerplay: 2/14 (14.3%)
Penalty Kill: 12/14 (85.7%)
Season:
Powerplay: 2/14 (14.3%)
Penalty Kill: 12/14 (85.7%)
Upcoming Schedule:
October 21: Hamilton vs Toronto
October 22: Cleveland vs Hamilton
Will return…after their preseason.
HabsWorld 3 Stars of the Week:
1) Andre Benoit (3)
2) Marc-Antoine Pouliot (2)
3) Olivier Michaud (1)
This segment, also new to Bulldogs Weekly, is an extension of last season’s Player of the Week award. Each week, we will select the top-3 players of the week, and give them points (3 for 1st, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd). We will track these points throughout the season. However, we are not eliminating your say in the matter. Like last season, you will have a chance to vote on the Player of the Month. The nominees will be selected based on the amount of 3-star points accumulated throughout the month.
Monthly Standings:
| Player | Total |
| 1) Andre Benoit 2) Marc-Antoine Pouliot 3) Olivier Michaud | 3 |
Season Standings:
| Player | Total |
| 1) Andre Benoit 2) Marc-Antoine Pouliot 3) Olivier Michaud | 3 |