ROCHESTER, NY - The Hamilton Bulldogs overpowered the Rochester Americans to earn a 5-4 victory in a high-scoring, back-and-forth contest between the division rivals.
Andreas Engqvist scored the first goal of the game at 5:56 in the first period when he pushed Aaron Palushaj's rebound past Amerks starting goaltender Drew MacIntyre. Engqvist's power play goal was his team-leading ninth of the season, and his fifth goal in four games. Rochester would retaliate just 1:08 later when Mark Voakes beat Hamilton netminder Robert Mayer shortly after exiting the penalty box. With 3:56 left in the first period, Phil Varone converted on Marcus Foligno's power play pass to give Rochester a 2-1 lead. But the ‘Dogs made it 2-2 less than a minute later when Mitch Wahl scored his first goal of the season, and his first as a Bulldog, snapping an 18-game scoreless streak.
Derek Whitmore gave the Amerks a 3-2 lead with a power play goal 38 seconds into the second period, scoring his seventh goal in seven games against the ‘Dogs this season. Gabriel Dumont would tie the game at 3 at 11:55, muscling Brian Willsie's pass past former teammate MacIntyre for his fifth goal of the season. Paul Szczechura's unassisted goal at 15:16 made it 4-3 for Rochester. But this lead would last only 36 seconds as Wahl scored his second goal of the game and of the season to make it 4-all after 40 minutes.
Rochester made a goaltending change to start the third period but Aaron Palushaj would beat Amerks netminder David Leggio at 7:14 into the third. Palushaj's 5-on-3 go-ahead goal cemented the Bulldogs 5-4 victory.
The Bulldogs return to Copps Coliseum TOMORROW, Saturday, December 31st, 2011 to take on the Lake Erie Monsters in a 3 p.m. New Year's Eve matchup. Single game tickets for the 2011-2012 season (including the January 21st outdoor game) are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at ticketmaster.ca or through charge-by-phone at 1-855-872-5000.
All Hamilton Bulldogs games can be heard live on AM 820 CHAM or on hamiltonbulldogs.com, or seen live on ahllive.com beginning with the Pioneer Pre-Game Show 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
Visit the official website of the Hamilton Bulldogs at HamiltonBulldogs.com
Visit the official website of the 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic presented by Molson at OutdoorClassic.ca
Like the 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic presented by Molson at Facebook.com/OutdoorClassic
Become a fan of the ‘Dogs at Facebook.com/HamiltonBulldogs
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Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
1. HAM - Andreas Engqvist - 9 - (Aaron Palushaj, Frederic St-Denis) - 5:56 (PP)
2. RCH - Mark Voakes - 4 - (Paul Szczechura, Derek Whitmore) - 7:04
3. RCH - Phil Varone - 2 - (Marcus Foligno, T.J. Brennan) - 16:18 (PP)
4. HAM - Mitch Wahl - 1 - (Mark Mitera, Robert Mayer) - 17:09
2nd Period:
5. RCH - Derek Whitmore - 14 - (Drew Schiestel, Alex Biega) - 0:38 (PP)
6. HAM - Gabriel Dumont - 5 - (Brian Willsie, Frederic St-Denis) - 11:55 (PP)
7. RCH - Paul Szczechura - 4 - 15:16
8. HAM - Mitch Wahl - 2 - (Ian Schultz) - 15:52
3rd period:
9. HAM - Aaron Palushaj - 6 - (Andreas Engqvist, Olivier Fortier) - 7:14 (PP)
Scoring:
Hamilton: 2-2-1 - 5
Rochester: 2-2-0 - 4
Shots:
Hamilton: 10-8-12 - 30
Rochester: 12-20-7 - 39
Goaltending:
Hamilton: Robert Mayer (39 shots, 35 saves)
Rochester: Drew MacIntyre (19 shots, 14 saves)
David Leggio (L - 12 shots, 11 saves)
Power Play:
Hamilton: 3-for-5
Rochester: 2-for-8
Attendance: 9,771
Three Stars:
1. HAM - Mitch Wahl (2 goals, 4 shots)
2. HAM - Andreas Engqvist (1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots)
3. RCH - Derek Whitmore (1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots)
Flamboro Downs Workhorse of the Game: Robert Mayer
