Hamilton, ON – The Hamilton Bulldogs eliminated the Manitoba Moose in triple overtime of Game 7 with a 2-1 win at Copps Coliseum on Monday night to become the North Division Playoff Champions. Dustin Boyd scored the overtime winner six seconds into the third extra frame to end the AHL’s longest Game 7 in its 75-year history.
The Bulldogs will now play in the Western Conference Finals against either the Houston Aeros or Milwaukee Admirals, who play each other tomorrow night in the West Division Finals at 8:00 p.m. EST. Hamilton will host Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) of the next round. Game 3 will be on Tuesday, May 17th, Game 4 on Wednesday, May 18th and Game 5 (if necessary) on Friday, May 20th. All three games will be played at 7:30 p.m. at Copps Coliseum.
The Moose opened the game’s scoring at 10:09 of the first frame while on the power play. Jason Jaffray received a pass from Marco Rosa while positioned to the left of the net. Jaffray dished the puck to Sergei Shirokov, who was positioned in front of the net. Shirokov tapped the puck past Hamilton starting goaltender Drew MacIntyre and across the goal line.
The ‘Dogs tied the game 1-1 at 6:24 of the final frame. Aaron Palushaj sent the puck to Nigel Dawes, who skated down the left side of the Moose’s zone before firing a shot towards the net. The puck deflected off the stick of Moose defender and over the left shoulder of Manitoba starting goaltender Eddie Lack.
Following two overtime periods where neither team were able to score, the ‘Dogs ended the game six seconds into the third overtime stanza. Dustin Boyd dumped the puck in, bouncing it off the end boards. While racing towards the puck, Boyd whacked at his own rebound, chipping the puck over the shoulder of Lack and into the net. Lack finished the game with 55 saves while Drew MacIntyre stopped 29 of 30 shots for the win.
Highlights of tonight’s game can be found on www.sendtonews.com
The ‘Dogs will either play the Houston Aeros or Milwaukee Admirals in the Western Conference Finals. All Hamilton Bulldogs playoff broadcasts on AM 820 CHAM will begin with a pre-game show 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. All remaining Bulldogs playoff games can also be heard live on The Team 990 in Montreal.
Tickets for all Hamilton Bulldogs playoff third round home games will be available for $21.50. They can be purchased at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.com or through charge-by-phone at 1-855-872-5000.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
1. MTB – Sergei Shirokov – 7 (Jason Jaffray, Marco Rosa) – 10:09 (PP)
2nd Period:
No Scoring
3rd Period:
2. HAM – Nigel Dawes – 9 (Aaron Palushaj, Neil Petruic) – 6:24
Overtime:
No Scoring
Second Overtime:
No Scoring
Third Overtime:
3. HAM – Boyd – 1 (Unassisted) – 0:06
Scoring:
Manitoba: 1-0-0-0-0-0—1
Hamilton: 0-0-1-0-0-1--2
Shots:
Manitoba: 6-4-6-10-4-0—30
Hamilton: 9-15-9-13-10-1—57
Goaltending:
Manitoba: Eddie Lack (57 shots, 55 saves)
Hamilton: Drew MacIntyre (30 shots, 29 saves)
Power Play:
Manitoba: 1-for-4
Hamilton: 0-for-4
Attendance: 2,553
Three Stars:
1. MTB – Eddie Lack (57 shots, 55 saves)
2. HAM – Drew MacIntyre (30 shots, 29 saves)
3. HAM – Dustin Boyd (1 goal, +2, 8 shots)
Flamboro Downs Workhorse of the Game: Nigel Dawes
