It’s been just 2 weeks, and it already looks like it’s going to be one of those years, when the term Jekyll and Hyde would be an understatement when applied to the Hamilton Bulldogs. Last week, the scoreboards showed close games, but in reality, they were outplayed. This week, the complete opposite occurred, Hamilton dominated all 3 games, and wound up winning a pair.
On Friday, the team was sparked by a pair of fluky goals off Marlie defenders, en route to a 5-3 win. The following day, they came out guns-a-blazing, but despite having 37 shots on goal, they fell 2-1 to the Cleveland Barons. Sunday saw a rematch of Friday’s contest, with similar results, a 4-2 win over Toronto.
Game Recaps:
1) Friday, October 21, 2005 – Hamilton 5, Toronto 3
Goal Scorers: Hamilton: Roy (1), Ferland (1), Jacques (1), Lemieux (1), Locke (1), Toronto: Murphy (3), Williams 2 (1,2)
Powerplays: Hamilton: 2/10, Toronto: 2/8
Shots on Goal: Hamilton 36, Toronto 29
3 Stars: 1) Jacques – HAM, 2) Williams – TOR, 3) Locke – HAM
Attendance: 5,592
2) Saturday, October 22, 2005 – Cleveland 2, Hamilton 1
Goal Scorers: Hamilton: Locke (2), Cleveland: Rissmiller (1), Bernier (4)
Powerplays: Hamilton: 1/7, Cleveland: 1/6
Shots on Goal: Hamilton 37, Cleveland 31
3 Stars: 1) Bernier – CLE, 2) Patzold – CLE, 3) Michaud – HAM
Attendance: 3,072
3) Sunday, October 23, 2005 – Hamilton 4, Toronto 2
Goal Scorers: Hamilton: Benoit 2 (2,3), Ferland (2), Lambert (1), Toronto: Ondrus (2), Battaglia (1)
Powerplays: Hamilton: 3/13, Toronto: 0/9
Shots on Goal: Hamilton 32, Toronto 27
3 Stars: 1) Benoit – HAM, 2) Locke – HAM, 3) Ondrus – TOR
Attendance: 5,273
Lineup Notes:
Rather than leaving C Cory Urquhart on the bench any longer, the Bulldogs sent him to Long Beach (ECHL). Meanwhile, there was an incident in Friday’s game in which tough guy Peter Vandermeer fought ex-Hab Brad Brown (while still on the bench) cost him a pair of games – Saturday’s and Sunday’s. An extra d-man was added to Saturday’s lineup, while tough guy Ryan Barnes was signed and played in Sunday’s contest.
Cheers and Jeers of the Week:
Cheers go out to:
– G Olivier Michaud, who came out of nowhere to earn the #1 job in camp, and earned his first AHL win in almost 2 years on Friday night.
– C Francis Lemieux, who scored his first career pro goal in his AHL debut.
Jeers go out to:
– W Peter Vandermeer…you had the right intentions, but what were you thinking? Only getting 2 games is lucky.
– Referee Scott Hoberg, who officiated Friday’s game. For the 3rd game in the season, it got needlessly out of hand.
– D Ron Hainsey, who on Friday, ducked away from a check right in front of the net, causing G Olivier Michaud to get nailed instead. It’s that attitude that the Canadiens want to see changed.
Goalie Zone:
It was a week of firsts for the goalies, first Olivier Michaud recorded his 1st win of the season, and then Sunday, Jeff Deslauriers recorded his 1st win as a Bulldog, both against the Toronto Marlies. Weekly Stats: Michaud: 1-1 record, 45/50 SVS, 2.52 GAA, .900 SV%. Deslauriers: 1-0 record, 25/27 SVS, 2.01 GAA, .926 SV%.
| # | GOALIE | GP | W | L | SOL | SO | GAA | SV% |
| 31 | Olivier Michaud | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.78 | .900 |
| 39 | Jeff Deslauriers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.01 | .926 |
North Division Standings (as of Sunday afternoon games):
| Team | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Rochester | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Manitoba | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Syracuse | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Hamilton | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Toronto | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Cleveland | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Game Results:
October 21: Hamilton 5, Toronto 3 Scoresheet
October 22: Cleveland 2, Hamilton 1 Scoresheet
October 23: Hamilton 4, Toronto 2 Scoresheet
Week Record: 2-1-0-0
Season Record: 2-3-0-0, 5th in division, 11th in conference
Team Scoring Leaders:
| Weekly Scoring Leaders | Season Scoring Leaders |
Goals Assists Points | Goals Assists Points |
Weekly Scoring Summary:
1) Roy (unassisted) PP
2) Ferland (unassisted)
3) Jacques (Kostitsyn, Pouliot) PP
4) Lemieux (Locke, Jacques)
5) Locke (Benoit)
6) Locke (Hainsey, Ferland) PP
7) Benoit (Locke)
8) Benoit (Locke, Roy) PP
9) Ferland (Jacques, Lambert) PP
10) Lambert (Smith, Milroy) PP
Special Teams:
This Week:
Powerplay: 6/30 (20%)
Penalty Kill: 20/23 (87%)
Season:
Powerplay: 8/44 (18.2%)
Penalty Kill: 32/37 (86.5%)
Upcoming Schedule:
October 26: Syracuse vs Hamilton
October 28: Hamilton vs Syracuse
October 29: Hamilton vs Rochester
October 30: Hershey vs Hamilton
It hasn’t exactly been a start to remember for the Baby Dogs, as they dropped both contests this week, 4-3 and 5-1 to the Idaho Steelheads. Sunday’s game result was not available at publication time.
Upcoming Schedule:
October 23: Long Beach vs Idaho
October 28: Fresno vs Long Beach
October 29: Stockton vs Long Beach
Canadiens Prospect Stats:
W Jimmy Bonneau: 1 GP, 0 pts, E, 0 PIMS
D James Sanford: 1 GP, 0 pts, -1, 0 PIMS
C Cory Urquhart: 2 GP, 0 pts, -3, 4 PIMS
G Jaroslav Halak: 1 GP, 0-0 record, 6.69 GAA, .667 SV%, 0 pts
HabsWorld 3 Stars of the Week:
1) Corey Locke (3)
2) Andre Benoit (2)
3) Jonathan Ferland (1)
Monthly Standings:
| Player | Total |
| 1) Andre Benoit 2) Corey Locke 3) Marc-Antoine Pouliot 4) Olivier Michaud 5) Jonathan Ferland | 5 |
Season Standings:
| Player | Total |
| 1) Andre Benoit 2) Corey Locke 3) Marc-Antoine Pouliot 4) Olivier Michaud 5) Jonathan Ferland | 5 |