The Hamilton Bulldogs (American Hockey League affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens) will continue their post season battle against the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings) in the first round of the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs. The following are the remaining games of Hamilton's first-round playoff schedule:

            Game #4 - Wednesday, April 22^nd - 7:00 PM - Hamilton at Grand Rapids (Van Andel Arena)
            Game #5 - Friday, April 24^th - 7:00 PM - Hamilton at Grand Rapids (Van Andel Arena)
          *Game #6 - Sunday, April 26^th - 6:00 PM - Grand Rapids at Hamilton (Copps Coliseum)
          *Game #7 - Monday, April 27^th - 7:30 PM - Grand Rapids at Hamilton (Copps Coliseum)

 

* If Necessary

 

The Bulldogs went 1-2-0-0 this past week against the Griffins at Copps Coliseum. The 'Dogs played their first post-season game on Friday, April 17^th at Copps Coliseum and came up short in a 4-3 loss to the Griffins. On Saturday, April 18^th Hamilton dropped their second game of the series losing 3-1. The Bulldogs bit back last night with a 5-4 victory over the Griffins at Van Andel Arena. The series is now 2-1 for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

 

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Friday, April 17 - GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 4 @ HAMILTON BULLDOGS 3

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: J.T. Wyman, Shawn Belle, David Desharnais

Grand Rapids Goals: Darren McCarty, Joakim Andersson, Justin Abdelkader, Darren Haydar

Goaltending: Hamilton - Marc Denis (L - 35 shots, 31 saves) / Grand Rapids - Jimmy Howard (W - 26 shots, 23 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 0-2 / Grand Rapids 0-2

Attendance: 2,830

 

Saturday, April 18 - GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3 @ HAMILTON BULLDOGS 1

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, ON

Hamilton Goals: Ryan White

Grand Rapids Goals: Ville Leino, Justin Abdekader, Justin Adbelkader
Goaltending: Hamilton - Marc Denis (L - 28 shots, 26 saves) / Grand Rapids - Jimmy Howard (W - 23 shots, 22 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 1-4 / Grand Rapids Griffins 0-5

Attendance: 2,296

 

 

Monday, April 20 - HAMILTON BULLDOGS 5 @ GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 4

Van Andel Arena - Grand Rapids, MI

Hamilton Goals: Yanick Lehoux, Kyle Chipchura, Ben Maxwell, Ryan Russell, Ryan White

Grand Rapids Goals: Darren McCarty, Brian Lashoff, Ville Leino, Justin Abdelkader
Goaltending: Hamilton - Marc Denis (W - 31 shots, 27 saves) / Grand Rapids - Jimmy Howard (L - 26 shots, 21 saves)

Power Play: Hamilton 1-5 / Grand Rapids 2-7

Attendance: 3,468

BULLDOGS NOTES:

Ø  The Bulldogs won their first post-season game since June 7, 2007 when they defeated the Hershey Bears 2-1 to win the Calder Cup

Ø  Ryan White leads the Bulldogs in points with three including two goals after recording the game-winning goal on Monday

 

UPCOMING GAMES:
NORTH DIVISION SEMI-FINALS - HAMILTON BULLDOGS (2) VS. GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS (3)

 

Ø  This is the first Calder Cup playoff meeting between the 'Dogs and Griffins in franchise history

Ø  Grand Rapids finished third in the North Division with a record of 43-25-6-6

Ø  Hamilton had a record of 4-2-0-0 against Grand Rapids during the 2008-09 campaign

Ø  The Bulldogs are 25-14-1-2-4 in 46 all-time regular season contests against the Griffins

Ø  So far the Griffins are leading the seven game series 2-1

Ø  Justin Abdelkder leads the Griffins in post-season scoring with six points (four goals, two assists)

Ø  There are currently seven Ontario natives on Grand Rapids roster: C Cory Emmerton (St. Thomas), C Evan McGrath (Oakville), LW Ryan Oulahen (Newmarket), RW Darren Haydar (Toronto), RW Jamie Tardif (Welland), C Zack Torquato (Sault Ste. Marie) and RW Aaron Downey (Shelburne)

 

ALUMNI WATCH:

There are currently 25 former Bulldogs playing in the NHL playoffs at this time. Over 60 percent of the players on Hamilton's all-time roster have played in a minimum of one NHL game. Three former Bulldogs head or assistant coaches (Doug Jarvis, Claude Julien, and Geoff Ward) are currently coaching NHL teams that are competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The following is a list of former Bulldogs currently playing on teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Anaheim Ducks: Francois Beauchemin
Boston Bruins: Michael Ryder, Tim Thomas
Chicago Blackhawks: Cristobal Huet
Columbus Blue Jackets: Jason Chimera, Jan Hejda, Raffi Torres
Detroit Red Wings: Daniel Cleary, Ty Conklin
Montreal Canadiens: Francois Bouillon, Matt D'Agostini, Jaroslav Halak, Chris Higgins, Mike Komisarek, Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn, Maxim Lapierre, Georges Laraque, Ryan O'Byrne, Tomas Plekanec, Carey Price, Greg Stewart, Yannick Weber
Pittsburgh Penguins: Mathieu Garon
St. Louis Blues: Brand Winchester

TUNE IN TO Every PLAYOFF Game on the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network AND EVERY HOME PLAOFF GAME ON CABLE 14:

Fans can listen to every 'Dogs playoff 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' icon on the Bulldogs website. All post-season radio and online broadcasts will begin with a pre-game show 30 minutes prior to each scheduled game-time. Ellery Award-winning broadcaster Derek Wills calls the play-by-play of all playoff games, while Al Craig provides the colour commentary.

 

In addition Cable 14 will air all home playoff games. Here is a schedule of the remaining first round games versus the Grand Rapids Griffins:

Game #4 - Wednesday, April 22^nd - 7:00 PM - Hamilton at Grand Rapids (Van Andel Arena) - Online and Radio
Game #5 - Friday, April 24^th - 7:00 PM - Hamilton at Grand Rapids (Van Andel Arena) - Online and Radio
*Game #6 - Sunday, April 26^th - 6:00 PM - Grand Rapids at Hamilton (Copps Coliseum) - Online, Radio and TV
*Game #7 - Monday, April 27^th - 7:30 PM - Grand Rapids at Hamilton (Copps Coliseum) - Online, Radio, and TV **

* If necessary
** Tape delayed on TV until 8:00 p.m.

 

GET YOUR TICKETS!:

Hamilton Bulldogs tickets for the American Hockey League's 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs are on sale now!  Purchase your tickets at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at ticketmaster.ca, or through charge-by-phone at 905-527-7666.

GET YOUR BULLDOGS MERCHANDISE AT THE "DAWG HOUSE":
Fans can purchase Bulldogs merchandise during all home games at the "Dawg House" store located behind section 114 on the concourse level at Copps Coliseum.

In the store, fans can find hats, t-shirts, jackets, replica jerseys, foam fingers, foam 'Bone Heads', and other select novelty items for sale.

 

BULLDOGS FOUNDATION:
Shawn Belle and Marc Denis were named as co-recipients of the Community Player of the Month for March. Throughout the season, Marc Denis has always made himself available to sign autographs, pose for photos and attend sponsored fundraising events.  Shawn Belle has also dedicated his time to the Hamilton community by visiting schools and signing autographs on behalf of the Bulldogs Foundation.   

HAMILTON BULLDOGS SCHEDULE THIS WEEK:

            Game #4 - Wednesday, April 22^nd - 7:00 PM - Hamilton at Grand Rapids (Van Andel Arena)
           Game #5 - Friday, April 24^th - 7:00 PM - Hamilton at Grand Rapids (Van Andel Arena)
          *Game #6 - Sunday, April 26^th - 6:00 PM - Grand Rapids at Hamilton (Copps Coliseum)
          *Game #7 - Monday, April 27^th - 7:30 PM - Grand Rapids at Hamilton (Copps Coliseum)

 

 

HAMILTON BULLDOGS TEAM STATISTICS:

(Playoff Statistics as of Wednesday, April 22^nd)

Hamilton Bulldogs

	#	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	PP	PPA	SH	SHA	GW	FG	IG	OT	UA	EN	SOG	SOA	SOGW	SO%	Pt/G	PIM/G	Shots	Sh%
*	28	Ryan White	C	3	2	1	3	3	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0.000	1.00	0.67	5	0.400
	20	Ryan Russell	C	3	1	2	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	1.00	0.67	5	0.200
	17	Kyle Chipchura	C	3	2	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.67	0.67	3	0.667
*	36	David Desharnais	C	3	1	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.67	0.67	4	0.250
	85	Yanick Lehoux	C	3	1	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.67	0.00	7	0.143
	15	Mike Glumac	RW	3	0	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.67	0.00	9	0.000
	4	Dan Jancevski	D	3	0	2	2	0	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.67	1.33	3	0.000
	44	Shawn Belle	D	3	1	0	1	-1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.33	0.67	3	0.333
*	91	Ben Maxwell	C	3	1	0	1	-1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.33	1.33	7	0.143
	6	Chad Anderson	D	2	0	1	1	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.50	1.00	0	0.000
	72	Mathieu Carle	D	3	0	1	1	-2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.33	0.00	6	0.000
*	19	Brock Trotter	C	3	0	1	1	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.33	1.33	2	0.000
*	12	Andrew Conboy	LW	1	0	0	0	-1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.00	2.00	0	0.000
	41	Mathieu Aubin	C	3	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.00	0.00	5	0.000
	38	Marc Denis	G	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.00	0.67	0	0.000
	49	Ryan Flinn	LW	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.00	0.00	1	0.000
	5	Alex Henry	D	3	0	0	0	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.00	1.33	5	0.000
	43	Doug Janik	D	3	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.00	0.00	4	0.000
	24	T.J. Kemp	D	3	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.00	0.67	3	0.000
*	10	J.T. Wyman	RW	3	0	0	0	-4	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.00	0.67	3	0.000
		BENCH		3	0				0																	0
		TOTALS		3	9	12	21	0	36	1	2	0	0	1	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.37	0.63	75	0.120

 

	#	Goalie	GP	MINS	W	L	SOL	SO	EN	GA	GAA	SOGP	SOW	SOL	SOGA	SOA	SO%	SA	SVS	SV%
	38	Marc Denis	3	177	1	2	0	0	1	10	3.39	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	94	84	0.894
		TOTALS	3	177	1	2	0	0	1	10	3.39	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	94	84	0.894