St. John’s, Newfoundland – The St. John’s IceCaps defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-0 on Friday night at Mile One Centre.  Aaron Gagnon and Eric O’Dell both scored a goal and added an assist while Mark Dekanich stopped 23 shots for the shutout.

The IceCaps opened the scoring at 1:36 of the opening frame on as Aaron Gagnon danced into the offensive zone and shot the puck past Hamilton Bulldogs starting goaltender Robert Mayer for a shorthanded tally.  Kael Mouillierat then took a shot from the circle which bounced off the glove of Mayer and dropped into the net for a power-play marker at 6:16 of the first period.  Eric O’Dell added a third goal for St. John’s at 8:22 of the first prompting Dustin Tokarski to relieve Mayer.

The IceCaps increased their lead to four as Josh Lunden spun and shot the puck through the legs of Tokarski at 7:51 of the second stanza.  Jason Jaffray gave St. John’s a 5-0 lead on the power play at 14:27 of the second frame with a slapper from the far circle which eluded Tokarski.

The third period was scoreless and Mark Dekanich stopped all 23 shots for the IceCaps as St. John’s outshot Hamilton 32-23 to finish the game.    

The Bulldogs’ next game is against the IceCaps in St. John’s tomorrow at 6:00 p.m.  All ‘Dogs games will be broadcast on Hamilton's Funny 820 (AM 820).  Fans can also listen to and watch all 'Dogs games on www.hamiltonbulldogs.com.  Live coverage with the broadcast team of Play-By-Play Announcer Derek Wills (all home and away games) and Colour Commentator Al Craig (all home and select away games) will begin with the Pioneer Pre-Game Show 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

For more information on how to join the Hamilton Bulldogs’ team by becoming a season ticket holder, or for more information on Flex Pack tickets or group tickets, call 905-529-8500 or 1-866-DOGS-TIX, e-mail ticketing@hamiltonbulldogs.com or visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com.  ‘Dogs single-game tickets are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.ca, or by calling 905-529-8500 or 1-866-DOGS-TIX.  

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Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
1. STJ – Aaron Gagnon – 6 – (Justin Melchiori) – 1:36 (SH)
2. STJ – Kael Mouillierat – 8 – (Aaron Gagnon, Ben Maxwell) – 6:16 (PP)
3. STJ – Eric O’Dell – 19 – (Justin Melchiori, Tomas Kubalik) – 8:22

2nd Period:
4. STJ – Josh Lunden – 1 – (Ben Chiarot, Eric O’Dell) – 7:51
5. STJ – Jason Jaffray – 14 – (Will O’Neill, Josh Godfrey) – 14:27 (PP)  

3rd Period:
No Scoring  

Scoring:
St. John’s: 3-2-0—5
Hamilton: 0-0-0—0

Shots:
St. John’s: 11-13-8—32
Hamilton: 12-5-6—23

Goaltending:
St. John’s: Mark Dekanich (W – 23 shots, 23 saves)
Hamilton: Robert Mayer (L – 6 shots, 3 saves), Dustin Tokarski (26 shots, 24 saves)

Power Play:
St. John’s: 2-for-6
Hamilton: 0-for-3

Attendance: 6,287

Three Stars:

1. STJ – Aaron Gagnon (1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 1 shot)  
2. STJ – Eric O’Dell (1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 3 shots)
3. STJ – Mark Dekanich (23 saves)

Dan Lawrie Insurance Premium Player of the Game: Steve Quailer