Hamilton, ON - The Hamilton Bulldogs shot 40 times on St. John's IceCaps goaltender David Aebischer but scored only once to counter the visitors' three goals in two minutes and thirty-two seconds, scored early in the third period.
The first two periods were quiet on the scoreboard as both Hamilton netminder Nathan Lawson and Aebischer made several key saves to keep their teams in the game. The Bulldogs maintained a lead on the shot clock through 40 minutes, 25-16.
But it was in the third period that the game would take shape. At just 20 seconds into the period, IceCaps captain Jason Jaffray's powerplay shot was deflected in front of the net, sailing in above Lawson's shoulder. Just over a minute later, Kevin Clark gave St. John's a 2-0 lead on an unassisted goal. Centreman Eric O'Dell put a cross-ice pass from Zach Redmond past Lawson on the right side, ending the IceCaps' barrage at 3.
The Bulldogs got their lone goal at 11:56 into the third period when Olivier Fortier sunk to his knees to send a backhand pass to Andreas Engqvist, who scored his team-leading 8th goal of the season. Overall, the ‘Dogs out-chanced the IceCaps 29-24, shooting 40 times on Aebischer while Lawson faced 26 shots.
The Bulldogs travel to Rochester on Friday, where they will face the Americans at Blue Cross Arena at 7:35 p.m. The ‘Dogs return home on Saturday for a 3 p.m. New Year's Eve matchup against the Lake Erie Monsters at Copps Coliseum.
Single game tickets for the 2011-2012 season (including the January 21st outdoor game) are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at www.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 www.hamiltonbulldogs.com, or seen live on www.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 www.hamiltonbulldogs.com
Visit the official website of the 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic presented by Molson at www.outdoorclassic.ca
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Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
No scoring
2nd Period:
No scoring
3rd period:
1. STJ - Jason Jaffray - 8 - (Zach Redmond, Paul Potsma) - 0:20 (PP)
2. STJ - Kevin Clark - 6 - 1:34
3. STJ - Eric O'Dell - 4 - (Zach Redmond, Carl Klingberg) - 2:32
4. HAM - Andreas Engqvist - 8 - (Olivier Fortier, Mark Mitera) - 11:56
Scoring:
St. John's: 0-0-3 - 3
Hamilton: 0-0-1 - 1
Shots:
St. John's: 5-11-10 - 26
Hamilton: 10-15-15 - 40
Goaltending:
St. John's: David Aebischer (40 shots, 39 saves)
Hamilton: Nathan Lawson (26 shots, 23 saves)
Power Play:
St. John's: 1-for-2
Hamilton: 0-for-5
Attendance: 4,621
Three Stars:
1. STJ - David Aebischer (40 shots, 39 saves)
2. STJ - Jason Jaffray (1 goal, 3 shots)
3. HAM - Andreas Engqvist (1 goal, 5 shots, +1)
Flamboro Downs Workhorse of the Game: Aaron Palushaj
