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IceCaps game report

Recap – Monsters vs Bulldogs: Dogs Close Out Season, Say Goodbye to Hamilton

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Brandon Taylor / Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Club

 

HAMILTON, ON — Well, after 19 years, AHL hockey in Hamilton is now over.

The Hamilton Bulldogs finished their regular season in a shootout at the FirstOntario Centre on Saturday night against the Lake Erie Monsters in front of 10,326 loud fans. It was an exciting game, but the Bulldogs came up short in their first shootout of the season.

The match marked the final game of AHL hockey in the City, as the team is relocating to St. John’s, Newfoundland for the 2015-16 season.

The Lake Erie Monsters opened the scoring with a goal from Cody Corbett who tucked the puck behind Bulldogs goaltender Brandon Whitney.

Shortly after the Corbett goal, the Bulldogs got one back to tie the game courtesy of Eric Tangradi.

The Bulldogs entered the first intermission tied, 1-1, with the Monsters.  However, the second period would see much more action.

In the middle frame, TJ Hensick buried his 19th goal of the season giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead. But then the Monsters responded on the power play after Stefan Fournier went off for too-many men and Stefan Elliott notched the tying goal.

Lake Erie’s goal scoring did not end there, as they regained the lead.

Freddie Hamilton scored his 11th goal of the 2014-15 campaign on the power-play just after the Monsters tied the game.

At this point, the Bulldogs were really pressing hard for a tying goal, but they finished the period down by one after forty minutes of play.

The Bulldogs were able to tie the game about five minutes into the frame with Christian Thomas blasting one by Calvin Pickard after a nice pass from Sven Andrighetto.

The Bulldogs and Monsters did not find the score sheet in the final exciting 15 minutes of the period, which saw several chances at both ends of the ice, so 60 minutes was not enough and the game needed an overtime period.

The overtime period did not have a goal scorer, but let me tell you this: That overtime period was the entertaining seven minutes of hockey I have watched this season. The Bulldogs had over five chances to end the game in overtime but Pickard stopped everything, including a sprawling glove save. It’s unfortunate, the game needed to be decided in the shootout, where the Monsters came out on top.

 

 

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IceCaps game report

Recap – Comets vs Bulldogs: Dogs Overrun by Wolves

By Dale Lamontagne, Hamilton Bulldogs Correspondent, Bulldogs Hockey Report 

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HAMILTON, ON – The Hamilton Bulldogs playoff race took a little detour on Thursday night, as the Chicago Wolves defeated the ‘Dogs 4-2 at the FirstOntario Centre.

Midway through the first period, the Wolves scored after a shot from the blueline deflected off the backboard and Magnus Paajarvi tapped in the loose puck behind Mike Condon. The ‘Dogs were not able to get on the board in the first period, and trailed the Wolves 1-0.

In the middle frame, the Wolves made it 2-0.

Forward Paajarvi deked around a Bulldog defenceman shooting the puck on net, where he was able score his second goal of the night.

The Bulldogs night continued to go downhill five-minutes into the third period, as Chicago went up 3-0.

Shane Harper extended the Wolve’s lead to 3-0 after he sniped the puck over Condon’s shoulder.

The Bulldogs, however, showed a little bit of life.

Just about half way into the third, T.J. Hensick put the Bulldogs on the board with a backhand shot that beat Matt Climie glove side.

However, Chicago got a goal back quick.

The Wolves made it 4-1 on the power-play during a two-on-one, with Pat Cannone tapping the puck in.

With 3:00 minutes to go, Charles Hudon shot Darren Dietz’s rebound out of mid air and over Climie’s glove side to cut the Wolves lead in half. It was a very pretty goal, but it would not be enough for the ‘Dogs as they fell to the Wolves.

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Press release

Game Summary – Tangradi With OT Winner, Bulldogs Down Flames

The Hamilton Bulldogs were on the road to take on the Adirondack Flames at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Bulldogs goaltender Joey MacDonald made 39 saves to lead Hamilton to a 2-1 overtime (3-on-3) victory. 

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Hamilton Bulldogs Media Release

HAMILTON, ONT. – Hamilton Bulldogs forwards Charles Hudon and Eric Tangradi each registered a goal in the ‘Dogs first game of an eight-game stretch away from FirstOntario Centre to lead Hamilton (29-23-9-0) to a 2-1 win over the Adirondack Flames (29-22-5-1) in 3-on-3 overtime on Tuesday night at Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, N.Y.

GAME SUMMARY

After a scoreless first period, the Bulldogs broke the 0-0 tie 3:46 in to the second period when Hudon fired a wrist shot that beat a sprawling Flames goaltender Brad Thiessen on a two-on-one break. Forward Sven Andrighetto recorded an assist on Hudon’s 14th goal of the season.

The ‘Dogs carried the lead in to the third period, then 13:16 into the third stanza, Adirondack forward Bill Arnold found a loose puck near the net and beat Bulldogs goaltender Joey MacDonald top shelf. The 1-1 goal was assisted by forward Ken Agostino.

At 4:47 of overtime, Andrighetto picked up his second assist of the game on a pass to forward Eric Tangradi, who beat Flames goaltender Thiessen with a wrist shot on an odd-man rush for his 10th goal of 2014-15. Defenceman Greg Pateryn had a second assist on the goal. With the win, the Bulldogs recorded their first victory in 3-on-3 overtime.

MacDonald made 39 saves on 40 shots for the Bulldogs in the win, while Thiessen stopped 31 of 33 shots faced for the Flames in the loss.

Hamilton went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Adirondack was 0-for-4 with a man advantage.

Dan Lawrie Insurance Premium Player of the Game (Hardest Working Player): Greg Pateryn

The Bulldogs will be back in action on Friday, March 13 when they’ll visit the Rochester Americans at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial in Rochester, N.Y. at 7:05 p.m. Hamilton’s next home game is Sunday, March 15 when the club will host the Toronto Marlies at Bell Centre in Montreal, Que. at 1 p.m.

For more information on Hamilton Bulldogs flex tickets, group tickets, single-game tickets and 2015-16 season tickets, call 1-866-DOGS-TIX or visit hamiltonbulldogs.com.

Listen to all Bulldogs regular season and post-season games live on Hamilton’s AM 900 CHML, on www.900chml.com or watch live on www.ahllive.com. Catch every Friday night home game live in high definition on Cable 14.

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IceCaps game report

Recap – Comets vs Bulldogs: Dogs Clipped by Comets

By Dale Lamontagne, Hamilton Bulldogs Correspondent, Bulldogs Hockey Report

(Photo by Hamilton Bulldogs)
(Photo by Hamilton Bulldogs)

HAMILTON, ON — The Hamilton Bulldogs entered Saturday’s contest on a two-game losing streak and were hoping to snap the skid, but that was not the case. The Bulldogs dropped their third consecutive game to the Utica Comets by a score of 3-2 at the FirstOntario Centre.

Game Rundown 

The first period had a nice pace to it with barely any stoppages and just pure hard hitting hockey. However, the first period saw the Utica Comets strike first.

Only nine or so minutes into the first period Sven Baertschi made a nice pass to Cal O’Reilly who scored the first goal of the game for the Comets.

The rest of the period saw some exciting hockey, but Hamilton did not score a goal to send the game tied into the first intermission.

But the good news for the Bulldogs is, they would get a quick equalizer just seconds into the second period.

Just 18-seconds into the second frame, Bulldogs forward TJ Hensick scored on a 2-on-1 feed thanks to a pass from Eric Tangradi. This was Hensick’s 16th goal of the season.

The Bulldogs jumped to a 2-1 lead after Sven Andrighetto made a nice pass from behind the net to Charles Hudon who slapped the puck in past Comets netminder Joacim Eriksson from the slot.

The second period saw the Comets respond and tied the game.  Will Acton shot the puck over Condon’s shoulder after receiving a pass from Baertschi on a quick offensive rush.

The game remain tied 2-2 after forty minutes of play.

The third and final period of the game saw the Comets take the lead with Alex Friesen scoring his seventh marker of the season. Friesen shot the puck at Mike Condon, but it squeezed through Condon’s five-hole just passing the red line.

The final few minutes in the third were intense as the Bulldogs needed to score a goal to force overtime, but they were unsuccessful doing so. Comets took game by a score of 3-2.

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IceCaps game report

Recap – Americans vs Bulldogs: Pateryn With the Lone Goal, Amerks Drop Dogs

By Dale Lamontagne, Hamilton Bulldogs Correspondent, Bulldogs Hockey Report

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HAMILTON, ON — The Hamilton Bulldogs entered Friday’s contest against the Rochester Americans (AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres) having lost their last match on Wednesday against the Adirondack Flames in overtime by a score of 5-4. Entering Friday’s matchup, the Bulldogs sit second in the North Division with a record of 28-21-9, good enough for 65 points. Rochester, however, is last in the North with a record of 24-29-6, for 54 points.

Friday’s game at FirstOntario Centre, however, had a similar outcome just like Wednesday’s tilt, with Hamilton losing, again. The Americans were able to defeat the ‘Dogs by a score of 3-1.

Game Rundown 

The Americans saw their first solid scoring opportunity eight minutes into the first as the Amerks’ shot the puck at Bulldogs goaltender Joey MacDonald and it squeaked right behind him, almost over the red line. But defenceman Davis Drewiske cleared the puck. Close call.

Towards the end of the first period, an odd situation occurred. A sheet of glass on the Americans bench shattered and delayed the game for about 15 minutes. Rochester’s backup goaltender Tim Boron nearly took a puck to the head and left briefly to clean the glass off himself.

Moments later, the game entered the first intermission scoreless.

At the 7:35 mark in the second period, TJ Hensick scored a goal but it was waved off because it was kicked in. The play was not reviewed and the game remained scoreless.

The second period picked up it’s intensity and saw the Bulldogs direct eight shots on goal (for a two period total of 23.) The Bulldogs came close to scoring on their power-play towards the end of the period, but time expired. The ‘Dogs entered the third with 40 seconds remaining on the man advantage.

The Americans started the third period on a good note as they would take the first lead of the game, thanks to Evan Rankin who squeezed the puck by Joey MacDonald on a 2-on-1 pass.

Seconds after the Americans goal the Bulldogs tied the game after a bullet of a shot from Greg Pateryn at the blueline which went through traffic in front past Matt Hackett.

The Americans struck again to take their second lead of the night with Chad Ruhwedel netting the goal after Joey MacDonald saved a point shot, but created a rebound and was found out of position. That was Ruhwedel’s his eighth goal of the season.

The Americans sealed the deal with an empty net goal with seven  seconds left in the period.

Notes

  • Three Stars: 3. Greg Pateryn (HAM)  2. Matt Hackett (RCH)  1. Chad Ruhwedel (RCH).
  • Premium Player: Davis Drewiske
  • Attendance: 
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IceCaps game report

Recap – Flames vs Bulldogs: Dogs Fall to Flames in Overtime

By Dale Lamontagne, Hamilton Bulldogs Correspondent, Bulldogs Hockey Report 

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HAMILTON, ON — The Hamilton Bulldogs started their three-game homestand on Wednesday night at the FirstOntario Centre against the Adirondack Flames with record of 28-21-0 placing them second in the North Division with 62 points.

GAME RUNDOWN

Although the Hamilton Bulldogs had several quality scoring chances in the first period, the Adirondack Flames entered the first intermission with a 1-0 lead thanks to Garnet Hathaway. It was Hathaway who scored his 12th goal of the season beating Hamilton Bulldogs goaltender Mike Condon over the right shoulder.

The Bulldogs had a breakaway opportunity and a 2-on-1 chance, which saw the puck hit the crossbar. Towards the end of the period, the Bulldogs headed onto the power-play and forward TJ Hensick failed to snap the loose puck into the wide open net with just seconds left. Hamilton finished the period with 15 shots on goal, Adirondack  14.

The Bulldogs got their first goal of the game on the power-play after a shot went off the backboards and in front of Brad Thiessen who was out of position and Eric Tangradi batted the puck into the net for his ninth goal of the season.

The Bulldogs got a second power-play of the game, and with four seconds left forward Drayson Bowman put the Bulldogs up 2-1 thanks to a feed from Tangradi just beside the net.

The Flames tied the game at 2-2 with Mark Cundari picking the puck at the blueline for a breakaway chance, which beat Condon giving Cundari his sixth goal of the season.

The Flames extended their lead to 3-2 with 8:37 to go in the second with Nolan Yonkman shooting the puck from the point with Max Reinhart tipping the puck in.

Max Reinhart scored his second goal of the game with a wicked wrist shot that would go top shelf over Condon. The Bulldogs left the period down 4-2 after forty minutes of play.

With 8:32 to go in the period, Bulldogs captain Gabriel Dumont shot in the rebound to make it a one goal game. That was Dumont’s 16th goal of the season and the Flames led 4-3.

The Bulldogs tied up the game thanks to Daniel Carr who cleaned up the rebound and put it top shelf. The Bulldogs and Flames did not score a late third period goal and this game went to overtime, thanks to Carr’s game tying goal.

The Bulldogs and Flames entered overtime but there was no goal scoring in the first five-minutes of play, so the 3-on-3 feature came into play. During the 3-on-3, the Flames capitalized and scored the game winning goal, thanks to Taylor Vause who netted the goal.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME

1) Taylor Vause

2) Max Reinhart

3) Eric Tangradi

Attendance: 2,456

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IceCaps game report

Recap – Wild vs Bulldogs: Tinordi Scores But ‘Dogs Win Streak Ended by Iowa

Brandon Taylor / Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Club
(Photo by Brandon Taylor / Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Club)

By Dale Lamontagne, Hamilton Bulldogs Correspondent, Bulldogs Hockey Report

HAMILTON, ON — The Hamilton Bulldogs (22-18-6) entered Friday’s contest on a six-game winning streak and they were looking to extend that streak to seven games with yet another game  against the Iowa Wild (17-29-2), the American Hockey League affiliate of the Minnesota Wild. But the Bulldogs could not muster up a win, and the Wild would take this one by a score of 5-3.

Game Rundown

The Bulldogs opened the scoring with four minutes to go in the first period, thanks to Daniel Carr who scored his tenth of the season after receiving a pass from Sven Andrighetto in front of Darcy Kuemper, beating him over the shoulder to make it 1-0.

The Carr goal would be the lone tally of the period and the Bulldogs would enter the intermission up 1-0.

In the second period, Jarred Tinordi extended the Bulldogs lead to 2-0 with a point shot right off the faceoff. That was his first goal of the 2014-15 AHL season.

Shortly after the Tinordi goal, the Wild got on the board with Jonathan Blum scoring from the slot, beating Bulldogs netminder Joey MacDonald.

With only two minutes to go in the middle frame, Zach Phillips scored for Iowa to tie the game, 2-2, beating MacDonald.  After two periods of play, the Bulldogs and Wild were tied 2-2.

Just a minute and 29 seconds into the final period, the Wild took a 3-2 lead with Brady Brassart sniping a shot, top corner past MacDonald.

At the 13:41 mark, Charles Hudon fed Carr with a nice pass down low, where he scored to tie the game.  It was Carr’s second goal of the game and 11th of the season.

Mid-way through the period, the Wild took their second lead of the game, with Kurtis Gabriel shooting the puck top corner right over MacDonald’s glove side. It was a goal MacDonald would like to have back but it was one of those nights.

The Wild sealed the deal with 58 seconds left scoring an empty net goal.

With this loss, it now ends the Bulldogs winning streak at six games. It was a nice run but the Bulldogs need to gear up for the weekend where they take on Lake Erie on Saturday and then the Wild again on Tuesday.

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IceCaps game report

Recap – Bulldogs vs Marlies: Andrighetto with OT Winner As ‘Dogs Sweep Weekend Series

(Photo - Christian Bonin / TSGphoto.com)
(Photo – Christian Bonin / TSGphoto.com)

By Dale Lamontagne, Hamilton Bulldogs Correspondent,  Bulldogs Hockey Report

TORONTO, ON — Just less than 24 hours after their Friday night win at FirstOntario Centre, the Hamilton Bulldogs travelled down the QEW to Toronto to take on the Marlies at the Ricoh Coliseum for the rivals back-to-back weekend. The Bulldogs shutout the Marlies on Friday on First Responders Night and, of course, the North American pro debut of highly touted Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, William Nylander. Hamilton spoiled the night for Nylander and the Marlies in front of 10,451 fans at a packed arena.

On Saturday afternoon in Toronto, the Bulldogs extended their winning streak to four games with a 4-3 overtime win.

The first period at Ricoh after twenty-minutes of play would see a tie game. Unlike Friday’s game in Hamilton at the FirstOntario Centre, there were two goals in the opening frame and it didn’t take long after puck drop.  Just a couple of minutes after the game began, the Bulldogs struck first with Drayson Bowman scoring his seventh of the season. Bowman received a really nice pass from Mac Bennett, sending him towards the net and beating Antoine Bibeau on the blocker side.

But the Bulldogs would not keep their 1-0 lead for long. Forward Brandon Kozun tied the game for the Toronto Marlies on a nice pass from Spencer Abbott in front of Mike Condon, tipping the shot and beating the Bulldogs netminder five-hole.

Just after the Kozun goal that tied the game, Carter Ashton bumped into Condon.  The goal was waived off and Ashton went to the box for the minor penalty. The remainder of the period saw the Bulldogs have a short two-man advantage on the power-play but the ‘Dogs did not capitalize.

Ashton gave the Marlies a quick 2-1 lead just 22 seconds after puck drop to open the second period. The Bulldogs found themselves down by two goals thanks to Matt Finn who scored his first AHL career goal giving Toronto a 3-1 edge.

Maxime Macenauer cut the Marlies lead with a deflection in front, beating Bibeau high blocker side. Gabriel Dumont tied the game for the Bulldogs at the 9:44 mark in the third period with a shot that beat Bibeau, five-hole.

Sixty minutes was not be enough to decide the game, overtime was required!  It didn’t take long for the game to end in the extra period, as Hamilton’s Sven Andrighetto scored to give the Bulldogs a 4-3 win and a sweep in the home-and-home against the Marlies.

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IceCaps game report

Recap – Marlies vs Bulldogs: Condon Shuts Out Baby Leafs Before Packed Arena

Brandon Taylor / Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Club
(Photo by Brandon Taylor / Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Club)

By Dale Lamontagne, Hamilton Bulldogs Correspondent, Bulldogs Hockey Report 

HAMILTON ON, — The Hamilton Bulldogs hosted QEW rivals, the Toronto Marlies, at a packed FirstOntario Centre for First Responders Night, and the debut of highly touted Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect William Nylander.

It was a really exciting night in Hamilton because for the first time this season (school day game excluded) the Bulldogs played in front of a jammed, highly energetic, crowd of 10,451, and a sold out lower-bowl.

The hype leading into the game was mainly because of the debut for Swedish forward Nylander. But the other exciting part was the Bulldogs dedicated the night to Hamilton’s first responders and that was special.

Friday’s Bulldogs game concluded their season-long seven game homestand having won the past two games last weekend against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Hamilton entered the game with a 18-17-6 record with 42 points and third in the North Division.

However, despite the Marlies tough start to the first half of the 2014-15 AHL season, Toronto entered the contest with 40 points, two behind the Bulldogs and were 7-0-3 in their last ten games.

But tonight, the Bulldogs extended their winning streak to three games adding two more points for a total of 44, four points more than the Marlies.

The first two periods of play at FirstOntario were scoreless. Yes, you read that right. Both teams were getting a ton of rubber on net, but goaltenders Mike Condon for the Bulldogs and Antoine Bibeau for the Marlies were making a ton of saves.

In the first period, Ryan Rupert took the lone penalty for the Marlies and the Bulldogs got their first power-play opportunity of the game. But they did not convert.

In the middle frame, the Marlies took three penalties and the Bulldogs two, but there still was no score after forty minutes of play in front of a very loud crowd.

The third and final period of the game was where we saw a lot more action and scoring.

Bulldogs captain Gabriel Dumont opened the scoring just 28 seconds into the third period after he received the puck in the neutral zone, flying down the wing to snipe it by Bibeau.

The Bulldogs extended their lead on the power-play just a couple minutes after the Dumont goal, with Daniel Carr putting the puck by Bibeau on a two-on-one rush.

Moments after the the Carr goal, Greg Pateryn headed off to the dressing room after getting crunched into the end boards.  Something caught him in the face as there was some blood on the ice. Pateryn returned to the game after getting some repairs done.

With 1:49 to go, Dumont scored his second of the game with an empty netter. The Bulldogs held on to take the 3-0 shutout win over the Marlies on Friday night.

The two teams are back at it tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.

 

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IceCaps game report

Recap – Griffins vs Bulldogs: Second Straight Win for ‘Dogs

By Dale Lamontagne, Hamilton Bulldogs Correspondent, Bulldogs Hockey Report 

Brandon Taylor / Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Club
Brandon Taylor / Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Club

HAMILTON, ON — In the second game of the back-to-back between the Hamilton Bulldogs and Grand Rapids Griffins, the ‘Dogs skated away with a nice 5-2 victory to sweep the weekend set against the Detroit Red Wings AHL affiliate.

It didn’t take long to see the first goal of the game.

The Hamilton Bulldogs struck first with Nick Sorkin cleaning up the rebound in front of Jared Coreau, where he backhanded the puck by his glove hand. That was Sorkin’s fourth goal of the season.

The Bulldogs went up 2-0 fourteen minutes into the opening frame, thanks to Davis Drewiske.

Lots of credit goes to Maxime Macenauer, who fed Drewiske a nice pass, where he roofed it top corner with a wicked backhand shot. It was a helluva shot that you rarely see Drewiske do.

Jack Nevins and Chris Burton dropped the gloves right off the faceoff, but the officials would intervene before the two could scrap it out. So both players went off for minor unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and the game was played 4-on-4.  Last week, Jarred Tinordi was knocked out flat after participating in a staged fight with a Utica Comets player and officials were quick to make sure the fight did not happen.

With only a handful of seconds left in the 4-on-4, the Griffins cut the Bulldogs lead in half, with Mitch Callahan beating Mike Condon on the blocker side.

Once Nevins and Burton got out of the box, they wasted no time beginning a fight. Both players landed a bunch of punches to the face and head area, but Nevins got the upper hand as he took Burton down to the ice.

The Griffins started the second period on a good note as they were able to tie the game on the breakaway.

Forward Landon Ferraro, son of former NHL’er Ray, scored on the breakaway after receiving the puck at center ice as a Bulldogs player turned it over.

But moments after the Griffins tied the game, the Bulldogs got their lead back after Charles Hudon and Jacob De La Rose had a nice 2-on-1 opportunity. Hudon dished to De La Rose the puck who beat Coreau on the blocker side.

A little after the mid-way mark in the second, Nathan Paetsch was called for slashing, but he was not happy about it as he broke his stick over his net, then slammed the Griffins bench door before heading down the tunnel. Paetsch was given a slashing, unsportsmanlike conduct and 10 minute game misconduct.

Fast forward with 1:35 left, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 4-2 on the power-play.

Forward Hudon blasted the shot from the point and Coreau made the save, but there would be a huge rebound with Daniel Carr tucking the puck away to extend the ‘Dogs lead.

Carr’s goal would send the ‘Dogs into the second intermission up by two goals.

The Bulldogsmade it a 5-2 game just a couple of minutes into the third period, thanks to T.J. Hensick who buried a wrap-around-goal.

The ‘Dogs hung on to their 5-2 lead for the remainder of the period, defeating the Griffins for the second night in a row.

Next Game

The Bulldogs are back in action next Friday as they host William Nylander and the Toronto Marlies. Game time is at 7:30 p.m. Get your tickets at hamiltonbulldogs.com/tickets.