Toronto, Ontario - The Hamilton Bulldogs were defeated 3-2 in a shootout by the Toronto Marlies in their season opener on Sunday night at Ricoh Coliseum. J.T. Wyman and Brock Trotter scored for the Bulldogs while Curtis Sanford made 27 saves in the loss.
Hamilton opened the game's scoring at 16:22 of the first period. Andrew Conboy fired a shot that was saved by Toronto starting goaltender Joey MacDonald. Wyman grabbed the loose rebound before sending the puck past a sprawling MacDonald. Maxime Lacroix also earned an assist on the goal.
Toronto tied the game 16 seconds after the Bulldogs' goal. Alex Berry fed a pass to Kyle Rogers who used a backhand shot to beat Hamilton starting goaltender Curtis Sanford. Darryl Boyce also earned an assist on the goal.
The 'Dogs regained their lead at 13:30 of the second period while on a 4-on-3 power play. Andre Benoit sent the puck to Trotter, who was positioned at the left side of the net. Trotter snapped a shot that beat MacDonald over the blocker.
The Marlies tied the game 2-2 at 12:11 of the final frame. Brennan Evans sent a pass along to the blue line to Berry, who blasted a shot towards the net. While positioned in front of Sanford, Ben Ondrus tipped the puck underneath the goaltender.
Neither team could score in the extra period which sent the game to a shootout. Trotter and Mathieu Darche scored for Hamilton while Jiri Tlusty, Tyler Bozak, Andre Deveaux and Alex Foster beat Sanford to win the game for the Marlies.
The Bulldogs host their 2009-2010 home opener on Friday, October 9th at 7:30 p.m. when they welcome the Rockford IceHogs to Copps Coliseum. Fans can listen to every 'Dogs game on the flagship station of the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network, TALK 820. Fans can also listen or watch at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the 'AHL Live' or 'TALK 820' icons on the Bulldogs website.
Tickets for all Hamilton Bulldogs home games (with the exception of the November 8th and February 21st games at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec) are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or through charge-by-phone at 905-527-7666. For more information on 'Dogs season tickets, flex packs, mini packs and group tickets call 905-529-8500 or visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
1. HAM - J.T. Wyman - 1 (Andrew Conboy, Maxime Lacroix) - 16:22
2. TOR - Kyle Rogers - 1 (Alex Berry, Darryl Boyce) - 16:38
2nd Period:
3. HAM - Brock Trotter - 1 (Andre Benoit, Mathieu Carle) - 12:30 (PP)
3rd Period:
4. TOR - Ben Ondrus - 1 (Alex Berry, Brennan Evans) - 12:11
Overtime:
No Scoring
Shootout:
Hamilton Toronto
Brock Trotter - Goal Jiri Tlusty - Goal
Mathieu Darche - Goal Tyler Bozak - Goal
Ben Maxwell - No Goal Carl Gunnarsson - No Goal
Mike Glumac - No Goal Andre Deveaux - Goal
Alex Foster - Goal
Scoring:
Hamilton: 1-1-0-0--2
Toronto: 1-0-1-0-3
Shots:
Hamilton: 7-12-11-4-0-34
Toronto: 6-10-11-2-2-30
Goaltending:
Hamilton: Curtis Sanford (29 shots, 27 saves)
Toronto: Joey MacDonald (34 shots, 32 saves)
Power Play:
Hamilton: 1-for-3
Toronto: 0-for-3
Three Stars:
1. TOR - Alex Foster (2 shots, shootout winner)
2. TOR - Joey MacDonald (29 shots, 27 saves)
3. HAM- J.T. Wyman (1 goal, 4 shots)
