Hamilton, ON – The Hamilton Bulldogs announced today that five former Bulldogs players and coaches won the Stanley Cup last night as members of the Boston Bruins. Boston forward Michael Ryder, goaltender Tim Thomas, Head Coach Claude Julien and Assistant Coaches Doug Jarvis and Geoff Ward all celebrated with the Cup following a 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Thomas was also awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as he was deemed the most valuable player for his team during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Ryder played in 25 games with the Bruins in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs recording 17 points (eight goals, nine assists), ranking fifth on the team in points and tying for third on the team in goals. Ryder was a member of the 2002-2003 Bulldogs team that lost in Game 7 of the 2003 Calder Cup Finals to the Houston Aeros and were crowned the AHL’s Regular Season Champions as they had a league-high record of 49-19-8-4 (W-L-T-OTL) for 110 points. Ryder recorded 67 points (34 goals, 33 assists) in 69 regular season games that season and earned 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in 23 post-season games.
Thomas set the NHL playoff record for most saves with 798, most shots faced with 849 and the most saves in the Stanley Cup Finals series with 238. He finished the 2011 playoffs as the leader in goals-against-average with a 1.98 GAA and save percentage with a .940 SV% while he tied for the lead in shutouts with four. Thomas played in 15 games with the ‘Dogs during the 1998-1999 campaign posting a record of 6-8-0 with a 3.23 goals-against-average and .905 save percentage.
Julien, Ward and Jarvis coached the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup since 1972 while Boston became the first team in National Hockey League history to win the Stanley Cup after earning three Game 7 victories in one playoff year. Julien and Ward were with the ‘Dogs from 2000-2003 as Julien served as the Head Coach while Ward served as Assistant Coach and together they compiled a total record of 114-90-24-12 (W-L-T-OTL). During the 2002-2003 season, Julien was called up to one of Hamilton’s NHL affiliate clubs, the Montreal Canadiens, to take over as their Head Coach while Ward took over head coaching duties with the ‘Dogs bringing them to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals. Both were named co-winners of the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award in 2002-2003 which is given annually to the AHL’s coach of the year. Jarvis was Head Coach of the Bulldogs from 2003-2005 compiling a record of 79-54-10-11-6 (W-L-T-OTL-SOL). He coached the 2003-2004 team that was crowned North Division Regular Season Champions.
Hamilton Bulldogs 2011-2012 season tickets are now on sale! For more information, call 905-529-8500 or e-mail seasontix@hamiltonbulldogs.com
**Please credit Harry How/Getty Images for the photo**
