HAMILTON, ON - The Hamilton Bulldogs avenged their 7-2 AHL Outdoor Classic loss to the Toronto Marlies by defeating them 4-1 in tonight's rematch.
Garrett Stafford opened the scoring for the Bulldogs, making it 1-0 on a power play slot shot at 8:10 into the first period. Stafford's fifth of the season beat Marlies goaltender Mark Owuya, extending his career-long point streak to 9 games and tying Andreas Engqvist's team-leading point-streak record for this season.
The ‘Dogs would take a 2-0 lead on another power play goal against the top-ranked Marlies' penalty kill. Brian Willsie capitalized on passes from Frederic St-Denis and Stafford to score his seventh of the season. At the end of the second period, Hamilton netminder Nathan Lawson had been tested 14 times, while the Bulldogs had registered 22 shots.
At 7:54 into the third period, Aaron Palushaj made it 3-0 Bulldogs with his thirteenth goal of the season, a quick top-shelf shot. Toronto responded six minutes later when Matt Frattin sent Kelsey Wilson's rebound past Lawson to cut Hamilton's lead to 3-1. With 3:47 left in the game, Philip DeSimone chipped Ian Schultz' rebound past Owuya to cement the ‘Dogs' 4-1 victory.
The Bulldogs will travel to Cleveland, Ohio overnight to face the Lake Erie Monsters TOMORROW, Saturday, January 28th, 2012 at 7:30 pm at Quicken Loans Arena. All Hamilton Bulldogs games can be heard live on AM 820 CHAM or on www.hamiltonbulldogs.com, or seen live on www.ahllive.com beginning with the Pioneer Pre-Game Show 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
Single game tickets for the 2011-2012 season are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or through charge-by-phone at 1-855-872-5000.
Visit the official website of the Hamilton Bulldogs at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com
Visit the official website of the 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic at www.outdoorclassic.ca
Become a fan of the ‘Dogs on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hamiltonbulldogs
Follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bulldogsahl and www.twitter.com/dogsplaybyplay
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
1. HAM - Garrett Stafford - 5 - (Brian Willsie, Andreas Engqvist) - 8:50 (PP)
2nd Period:
2. HAM - Brian Willsie - 7 - (Frederic St-Denis, Garrett Stafford) - 9:55 (PP)
3rd period:
3. HAM - Aaron Palushaj - 13 - (Joonas Nattinen, Philip DeSimone) - 12:06
4. TOR - Matt Frattin - 6 - (Kelsey Wilson, Will Acton) - 13:58
5. HAM - Philip DeSimone - 8 - (Ian Schultz) - 16:43
Scoring:
Toronto: 0-0-1 - 1
Hamilton: 1-1-2 - 4
Shots:
Toronto: 5-9-6 - 20
Hamilton: 13-9-6 - 28
Goaltending:
Toronto: Mark Owuya (28 shots, 24 saves)
Hamilton: Nathan Lawson (20 shots, 19 saves)
Power Play:
Toronto: 0-for-3
Hamilton: 2-for-7
Attendance: 6,759
Three Stars:
1. HAM - Garrett Stafford (1 goal, 1 assist)
2. HAM - Aaron Palushaj (1 goal, 2 shots)
3. TOR - Mike Zigomanis (1 shot)
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