Peoria, Illinois - The Hamilton Bulldogs defeated the Peoria Rivermen 4-3 in overtime in Peoria. Mathieu Darche recorded two goals, including the overtime winner, to lead the Bulldogs to victory.
Peoria opened the scoring at 2:25 of the first frame. Jonas Junland received the puck at the right point before blasting a shot that sailed past Hamilton Bulldogs starting goaltender Curtis Sanford.
The Bulldogs tied the game at 3:00 of the opening stanza while on the power play. Marc-Andre Bergeron hammered a shot from the blue line that was saved by Peoria starting goaltender Ben Bishop. Darche grabbed the loose puck before firing a shot past Bishop and into the back of the net.
Hamilton took a 2-1 lead at 6:53 of the middle stanza. Sergei Kostitsyn fed a pass to Ryan Russell who fired a shot that was saved by Bishop. The goaltender could not contain the rebound, which allowed Ben Maxwell to grab the puck and fire it into the net.
The Rivermen tied the game 2-2 at 15:29 of the second frame. Ryan Reaves sent a pass to Chris Porter, who whacked at the puck, sending it over Sanford and into the top of the net.
The Bulldogs took a 3-2 lead at 13:14 of the final frame. Marc-Andre Bergeron blasted a shot on net that was stopped by Bishop. Tom Pyatt grabbed the loose rebound before firing it past Bishop to give the lead to the 'Dogs.
Peoria tied the game 3-3 at 16:54 of the final period while on the power play. Yan Stastny grabbed the loose puck at the side of the Bulldogs' net before banging the puck underneath Sanford.
With the game tied, the teams went into overtime. 16 seconds into the extra period, Yannick Weber ripped a shot towards the net. Mathieu Darche grabbed the puck before sending it past Bishop to win the game for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs next battle the Chicago Wolves at Allstate Arena tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. EST. 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 6th 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. PEO - Jonas Junland - 4 (Lars Eller) - 2:25
2. HAM - Mathieu Darche - 1 (Marc-Andre Bergeron, Andre Benoit) - 3:00 (PP)
2nd Period:
3. HAM - Ben Maxwell - 1 (Ryan Russell, Sergei Kostitsyn) - 6:53
4. PEO - Chris Porter - 1 (Ryan Reaves, D.J. King) - 15:29
3rd Period:
5. HAM - Tom Pyatt - 2 (Marc-Andre Bergeron) - 13:14
6. PEO - Yan Stastny - 1 (Justin Fletcher, Danny Richmond) - 16:54 (PP)
Overtime:
7. HAM - Mathieu Darche - 2 (Yannick Weber, Marc-Andre Bergeron) - 0:16
Scoring:
Hamilton: 1-1-1-1--4
Peoria: 1-1-1-0-3
Shots:
Hamilton: 8-15-8-1-32
Peoria: 10-6-7-0-23
Goaltending:
Hamilton: Curtis Sanford (23 shots, 20 saves)
Peoria: Ben Bishop (32 shots, 28 saves)
Power Play:
Hamilton: 1-for-5
Peoria: 1-for-2
Attendance: 3,204
Three Stars:
1. HAM - Mathieu Darche (2 goals, +2, 3 shots)
2. PEO - Yan Stastny (1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 2 shots)
3. HAM- Curtis Sanford (23 shots, 20 saves)
Flamboro Downs Workhorse of the Game: Marc-Andre Bergeron
