Hamilton, ON - The Hamilton Bulldogs were defeated by the Iowa Chops 3-2 in front of 3,952 fans at Copps Coliseum on Saturday evening. All three of Iowa's goals were scored on the power play as they went 3-for-8.  

The Chops opened the scoring 2:26 of the first frame. Ryan Dingle fired a shot that was blocked by Bulldogs defender Dan Jancevski. The puck bounced off Jancevski's leg and onto the stick of Matt Caruana, who fired a shot past Hamilton starting goaltender Loic Lacasse.  

The Bulldogs tied the game 1-1 after scoring a shorthanded goal at 11:19 of the opening stanza. David Desharnais and Olivier Latendresse skated in on a 2-on-1. Desharnais sent a pass to Latendresse who made a backhand-to-forehand move before snapping a shot over the shoulder of Iowa starting goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur and into the back of the net.

Iowa regained the lead at 3:32 of the second stanza. While on the power play, Salcido skated in from the point before rifling a shot over the right shoulder of Lacasse and into the top of the net.

Frederic St-Denis scored his first-career AHL goal at 8:20 of the final frame to tie the game 2-2. Desharnais skated behind the net before feeding a pass to St-Denis, who had skated in from the point. St-Denis fired a shot that slid underneath the legs of Levasseur.

While on a five-on-three power play, Matt Beleskey scored to give the Chops a 3-2 lead at 19:23 of the final frame. Eric Boguniecki sent the puck to Beleskey who skated to the top left circle before snapping a shot past Lacasse.

The 'Dogs continue their homestand when they host the Philadelphia Phantoms on Tuesday, January 6^th for a 7:30 p.m. match-up at Copps Coliseum. 2008-2009 Hamilton Bulldogs single-game and season tickets are now available!  For more information, call 905-529-8500 or visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com.

Fans can listen to every Bulldogs game on the flagship station of the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network, TALK 820 (820 CHAM) or at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:
1. IOW - Matt Caruana - 2 (Ryan Dingle, Brian Salcido) - 2:36 (PP)
2. HAM - Olivier Latendresse - 1 (David Desharnais) - 11:19 (SH)

2nd Period:
3. IOW - Brian Salcido - 4 (Petteri Wirtanen, Matt Beleskey) - 3:32 (PP)

3rd Period:
4. HAM - Frederic St-Denis - 1 (David Desharnais, Olivier Latendresse) - 8:20
5. IOW - Matt Beleskey - 5 (Eric Boguniecki) - 19:23 (PP)

Scoring:
Hamilton: 1-0-1--2
Iowa: 1-1-1--3

Shots:
Hamilton: 4-6-9--19
Iowa: 11-13-6--30

Goaltending:
Hamilton: Loic Lacasse (30 shots, 27 saves)
Iowa: Jean-Philippe Levasseur (19 shots, 17 saves)

Power Play:
Hamilton: 0-for-2
Iowa: 3-for-8

Attendance: 3,952

Three Stars:
1. IOW - Brian Salcido (1 goal, 1 assist, -2, 3 shots)
2. HAM - Olivier Latendresse (1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 4 shots)
3. IOW - Matt Beleskey (1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots)

Flamboro Downs Workhorse: David Desharnais

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