Hamilton, ON - The Toronto Marlies earned the first victory in the 2011-2012 AHL Battle of Ontario series, defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs by a score of 2-1.
The Toronto Marlies took a 1-0 lead at 18:27 in the first period when forward Marcel Mueller's shot bounced off the boards behind the Hamilton net. Greg Scott capitalized on the odd power play bounce, knocking the puck off goaltender Nathan Lawson's pads from behind the red line to earn his eighth goal of the season. Toronto's goal broke Hamilton's 13-in-13 penalty killing streak, which started on Friday, December 2nd, 2011 against the St.John's IceCaps.
At 5:10 into the second period, a scrimmage in front of Ben Scrivens' net lead to the Bulldogs' first goal of the night, scored by Andreas Engqvist. The next few minutes were spent clearing the ice of the multitude of stuffed toys that fans had donated as part of the Bulldogs' 15th Annual Stuffed Toy Toss event. Then, Jerry D'Amigo scored the game-winning goal at 8:18, shoving Ryan Hamilton's wraparound pass into the net to give the Marlies at 2-1 lead.
The game ended with a brawl between the two teams, Bulldogs' forward Brian Willsie grossing 14 penalty minutes at the 20:00 mark.
The Bulldogs next face the Syracuse Crunch at the War Memorial Arena TOMORROW Saturday, December 10th, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. before returning home to take on the Rochester Americans on Sunday, December 11th, 2011 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 Molson AHL Outdoor Classic at www.outdoorclassic.ca
Become a fan of the ‘Dogs on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hamiltonbulldogs
Follow the team on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bulldogsahl and www.twitter.com/dogsplaybyplay
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
1. TOR - Greg Scott - 8 - (Marcel Mueller, Joe Colborne) - 18:27 (PP)
2nd Period:
2. HAM - Andreas Engqvist - 4 - (Frederic St-Denis, Philip DeSimone) - 5:10 (PP)
3. TOR - Jerry D'Amigo - 6 - (Ryan Hamilton, Darryl Boyce) - 8:18
3rd period:
No scoring
Scoring:
Toronto: 1-1-0-0 - 2
Hamilton: 0-1-0-0 - 1
Shots:
Toronto: 12-12-4 - 28
Hamilton: 9-9-9 - 27
Goaltending:
Toronto: Ben Scrivens (27 shots, 26 saves)
Hamilton: Nathan Lawson (28 shots, 26 saves)
Power Play:
Toronto: 1-for-7
Hamilton: 1-for-4
Attendance: 6,118
Three Stars:
1. TOR - Jerry D'Amigo (1 goal, 1 shot)
2. HAM - Gabriel Dumont (3 shots)
3. TOR - Ben Scrivens (27 shots, 26 saves)
Flamboro Downs Workhorse of the Game: Philip DeSimone
