CLEVELAND, OH - The Hamilton Bulldogs shot 38 times but only managed to beat Lake Erie Monsters goaltender Gerald Coleman once in a 4-1 loss at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Lake Erie Monsters opened the scoring late in the first period. With a delayed penalty call coming against the Bulldogs with 2:09 left in the first frame, Patrick Rissmiller scored his third of the season, beating Hamilton goaltender Robert Mayer over the shoulder to give the Monsters a 1-0 lead. Hamilton edged Lake Erie 9-8 in shots after 20 minutes.
Hugh Jessiman made it 2-0 Monsters on an odd bounce in front of the Bulldogs' net, scoring his 20th of the season 3:37 into the second period. Then, Louis Leblanc would score his ninth of the season just seconds after a face-off in the Lake Erie zone to cut the Monsters' advance to 2-1. Leblanc's goal at 11:30 in the second period extended his goal streak to two games. But the Monsters would regain their lead 2:05 later with Evan Brophey scoring his twelfth goal of the season just six seconds into a power play. The ‘Dogs' lead would persist on the shot clock, testing Coleman a season-high 20 times this period to nearly double the Monsters 29-15 in shots.
Ryan Stoa lead the Monsters to a 4-1 win on a high backhand shot in front of the Bulldogs' net with less than five minutes to go in the third period. Coleman would make 37 saves in the game to backstop Hamilton's scoring efforts.
The Bulldogs return home to Copps Coliseum Friday, January 27th, 2012 to take on the Toronto Marlies at 7:30 p.m. before returning to Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday, January 28th, 2012 for a 7:30 p.m. matchup against the Lake Erie Monsters. Single game tickets for the 2011-2012 season 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
Become a fan of the ‘Dogs at Facebook.com/HamiltonBulldogs
Follow the team on Twitter at @BulldogsAHL and @DogsPlaybyPlay
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
1. LE - Patrick Rissmiller - 3 - (Evan Brophey, Mike Brennan) - 17:51
2nd Period:
2. LE - Hugh Jessiman - 20 - (Mark Olver, Ryan Stoa) - 3:37
3. HAM - Louis Leblanc - 9 - (Brian Willsie, Frederic St-Denis) - 11:30
4. LE - Evan Brophey - 12 - (Hugh Jessiman, Mark Olver) - 13:35 (PP)
3rd period:
5. LE - Ryan Stoa - 9 - (Hugh Jessiman) - 15:27
Scoring:
Hamilton: 0-1-0 - 1
Lake Erie: 1-2-1 - 4
Shots:
Hamilton: 9-20-9 - 38
Lake Erie: 8-7-8 - 23
Goaltending:
Hamilton: Robert Mayer (23 shots, 19 saves)
Lake Erie: Gerald Coleman (38 shots, 37 saves)
Power Play:
Hamilton: 0-for-4
Lake Erie: 1-for-3
Attendance: 4,340
Three Stars:
1. LE - Gerald Coleman (38 shots, 37 saves)
2. LE - Hugh Jessiman (1 goal, 2 assists, 3 shots)
3. LE - Evan Brophey (1 goal, 1 assist, 3 shots)
Flamboro Downs Workhorse of the Game: Louis Leblanc
