MAYER PICKS UP HIS FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON

The Hamilton Bulldogs managed a second straight in win in over-time after a game-winning goal from Louis Leblanc. It was Leblanc’s second straight game-winning goal and second of the game earning him the first star of the game. 

The first period started with a goal from Nick Tarnasky with his fourth of the season. Tarnasky would have the lone goal of the period leaving the Dogs with a one-point edge at the end of 20 minutes.

Early into the second the Dogs would pull ahead to 2-0 as Leblanc fired in a wrist shot for a short handed goal. It would take around five minutes for the Americans to answer, with a power play goal from Luke Adam. Hamilton wasn’t giving up their two point lead that easily as Magnus Nygren ripped a laser past goaltender Nathan Lieuwen. Nygren’s goal was the third straight power play goal through out the second period. Rochester started their come back with 10 left in the second putting in back-to-back goals and ending the period with a tie.

The third period was loaded with action, but stayed scoreless sending the Bulldogs into their second straight over time game.

Hamilton would start the extra time on the man-up for 34 seconds. The Bulldogs had tons of opportunity throughout their short power play but were unable to capitalize. Leblanc found the back of the net just over a minute left to give the Dogs their second straight win on home ice.

Leblanc had yet to put up any points within the first four games, and has managed 5 total points within just the past two games; including two game-winning goals. Leblanc's goal sealed the win 4-3. 

Robert Mayer started in net for the Dogs tonight, making a total of 27 stops to earn himself his first win of the season. Mayer moved to 26^th in the league for save percentage with a .919 percentage.

With the win the Bulldogs are now tied for first place in the Division, with the Marlies, who they take on at home Sunday afternoon in the second Ontario match up of the season. Their next game is on the road, when they take on the Utica Comets in a Saturday night contest. The game is scheduled to start at 7pm. 

Hamilton last saw Utica in their last pre-season game, which was held in Dundas just outside of Hamilton. When the bulldogs managed a shut-out. The Bulldogs are currently riding a two-game win streak where as the comets have yet to win a game this season. The Comets last game ended in a shoot-out as they fell to a 2-1 loss against the Syracuse Crush Friday night.

BULLDOGS END LOSING STREAK WITH OVER-TIME THRILLER

The Hamilton Bulldogs pulled through in over time after another third period come back in a Tuesday night thriller.

Canadians Prospect and third year veteran on the Bulldogs; Louis LeBlanc played what is possibly one of the best games of his career with the Bulldogs, giving two helpers and the game-winning goal just over a minute into the extra time for the Bulldogs to climb out of their losing streak and get their second win of the season.

The IceHogs got off to an early start in the first period, with a goal from Garrett Ross within the first thirty seconds. It wasn’t until late in the first when Nick Tarnasky put one right past Rockford’s goaltender to tie it up at 1. They would end the first period tied at 1.

The second period didn’t see much action on the goal side of things, but a lot of smart plays from both sides of the puck. Rockford would score the only goal to give them the edge going into the third period.

Sven Andrighetto, a rookie on the Bulldogs would open the scoring in the third with an unassisted, short-handed goal to tie things back up. It wouldn’t take long for the IceHogs to answer, as Mark McNeill would put in back-to-back goals with the first being two minutes after Andrighetto’s. After Rockford’s two goals Andrighetto would come back with another to answer McNeill’s second, leaving the Bulldog’s with a deficit of one.

Hamilton pulled goalie Dustin Tokarski and put on the extra man. The IceHogs would shoot at the open net, but the goal would be disallowed, as an offside call would follow. Tokarski was pulled yet again, and Akim Aliu would put in the final goal of the third period with just 18 seconds left on the clock. Aliu’s goal would send the IceHogs and Bulldogs into overtime. Aliu’s goal is his second so far this season that has come at just the right time, to give the Dogs a chance for the win.

Just over a minute into the extra time Leblanc would find the back of the net off the rebound. Collecting Assists for the game-winning goal would be Gabriel Dumont and Magnus Nygren. Leblanc’s goal would give the Bulldogs their second win of the season with a final of 4-3 over Rockford.

The Bulldogs were unable to capitalize on any of their power plays but kept their penalty kill strong, as the IceHogs would only score once on the man-up.

Hamilton Goalie Dustin Tokarski will add another win to his stats, after making a total of 24 saves throughout the night.

The Bulldogs next game will be at Copps Colluium on Friday Night when they host the Rochester Americans in a 7:30pm game start. This is the second of four games this week as they're on the road to play the Utica Comets Saturday, and back home for their second meeting with the Marlies Sunday.

BULLDOGS DROP TO FOURTH AFTER LOSS TO MARLIES

After a trip to Lake Erie, theHamilton Bulldogs were back in Ontario and just about an hour away from home on Sunday afternoon to take on the Baby Leafs. Unlike the Leafs, the Marlies are leading their division, with a record of 4-1, after their 2-1 win over the Bulldogs.

T.J. Brennan of the Marlies put in his eighth goal of the season to start off the scoring at 8:29 in the first. Spencer Abbott and John-Michael Liles would both take the assists. It would be the first of two helpers for Abbott as he would connect with Carter Ashton for the Marlies' second goal of the afternoon in the second period.

Brennan is currently leading the league in goals at eight, with a total of 12 points to put him in second overall in total points. Abbott’s two helpers bring him to six points overall landing him in 35th overall.

Hamilton wouldn’t get on the board until early in the third when Mike Blunden would rip one right past former Bulldogs goaltender Drew MacIntyre to cut the lead to one. This would be the closest that the Dogs would get to the Marlies as they fell to a 2-1 loss, for their third straight defeat.

Robert Mayer made a total of 26 saves for the Bulldogs, putting his save percentage at .928, which lands him at 23rd in the league. As for his goals against average he sits at 32nd with a 2.43 GAA. Mayer was named the Dan Lawrie Insurance Premium Player of the game.

The Bulldogs totalled 18 minutes of penalties, while Toronto was a man down for 12 minutes throughout the contest. Both goals from the Marlies came on the powerplay as they went 2/8 with the man advantage; Hamilton was 0/6. Their next game against the Marlies will be on home ice on Sunday October 27th in another Sunday afternoon match up.

Next Game:

The Hamilton Bulldogs and Rockford IceHogs have yet to meet up this season but will do so at Copps on Tuesday night, a 7:30 puck drop. The Bulldogs are currently riding a three game losing streak after two shootout losses and their loss Sunday against the Marlies. As for the IceHogs, they’ve won their past two games, most recently topping Grand Rapids 5-4 in a shootout. Rockford currently leads the Midwest Divison with a 4-2 record, while the Dogs are now sitting in fourth in the North with a 1-1-0-2 record. 

MAC ENDS REGULAR SEASON WITH LOSS TO GUELPH

The Marauders hosted Guelph in their last regular season game for 2013 Sunday afternoon, but couldn’t keep up as they fell to a 14-8 loss.

Mark Phillips coming off of a career high game Friday night put in another five goals to tie his best Sunday afternoon, putting in his first at 2:20 into the first quarter to get McMaster on the Board with a one point edge. Guelph would answer shortly after with back-to-back goals before Ryan Adams would toss one in to end the first tied at 2.

The second would start with Phillips finding the back of the net once again, giving McMaster the lead; but there would be a case of déjà vu as Guelph put in two more. Phillips sealed his hat trick in an attempt to keep the Marauders within reach. It wouldn’t be long until Guelph’s leading scorer, Ryan Serville would put in back-to-back goals to end the first half and start a goal streak for the Gryphons.

At the end of the first half Guelph led 6-4.

Guelph’s goal streak that was started by Serville wouldn’t be broken up until 19:55 into the third quarter when Phillips would put in his fourth of the night and the lone Marauder goal of the quarter.

Going into the fourth McMaster trailed Guelph by 5.

Guelph’s Jordan Critch would start off the scoring in the fourth, but McMaster would answer four minutes later with a goal from Kyle Lindsay on the man up with his first of the quarter, followed by Phillips to cut the deficit to 4. Guelph wasn’t done as they put in three more before Lindsay’s second of the game, which would be the final goal.

After this weekend Phillips moves to 5^th in goals in the CUFLA standings with a total of 31. Phillips has a total of 32 points with 31 goals and a single helper. This season he has doubled his goals from 2012.

McMaster ends the regular season ranked fourth in the OUA west with a 5 and 7 record. The Marauders will be on the road next weekend to take on Guelph once again. Follow @McMasterLax on twitter for live game updates on the road.

CJFL - AKO BEATS HAMILTON FOR CHAMPIONSHIP

Two years ago the Hamilton Hurricanes stormed into Windsor to beat the AKO Fratmen on home turf for the championship... but the tables turned Friday night. Earlier this season the Hurricanes stomped the Fratmen in a 36-3 loss just south of the border in Windsor. Maybe it was the damp weather, or maybe it was the full moon... but the number one ranked  Hurricanes couldn't even put up a single touchdown through out this flag filled contest.

AKO kicked a field goal in the first to take the lead by 3 .. which would be the only three points scored within the first quarter. With a one yard sneak by Austin Lumley of AKO, the Fratmen ended the first half with a 10-0 lead.

It wasn't until the third quarter that Hurricanes kicked would put one through the posts from 31 yards out to get Hamilton up on the board. Although Hamilton was able to hold AKO from scoring another touchdown in the third, they weren't able to hold them off from all scoring as they would kick a field goal to give them the 10 point edge once again.

Although the Canes had several chances for a come back they were unable to capitalize as the AKO defence was on top of their game. Hurricanes Kyle Sewell would throw two interceptions within the final 15 minutes, putting his offence on hold.
AKO was able to get one more field goal in to bring their score to 16, well the Hurricanes would have two more bringing the score to a final of 16-9 in favour of Windsor.

Post handshakes the Hurricanes were quick to leave the field , while the Fratmen celebrated their win and received the trophy on Hamilton's turf. Windsor's AKO Fratmen will now host the Vancouver Islanders next weekend in the Nationals Semi-Final Jostens Cup game.

MCMASTER CLINCHES PLAYOFFS WITH WIN FRIDAY NIGHT

Friday Night McMaster won their second straight at home, after topping Laurier 10-9 for the second time this season. Mark Phillips led the Marauders, putting in five goals.

Laurier’s Brandon Petter would score the first of the game at 3:45 to get Laurier on the board. McMaster would answer on the man up with a goal from Kyle Lindsay after connecting with Iszkula. Phillips would put in back to back goals in the first, but with a goal just over 18 minutes in from Laurier, they would end the first tied at 3.

McMaster wouldn’t take the lead back until 15:40 in the second quarter, but they managed to keep the lead for the duration of the game. Phillips put in the last goal of the first half and started off a 4-goal streak for the Marauders.

Keir Thornborow broke up McMaster’s 4-goal streak later in the third; as the lone goal throughout the quarter for Laurier. The Golden Hawks’ attempt to come back in the third wasn’t enough as Phillips put in his fifth of the game for Mac’s 10^th and final goal.

With the win over Laurier, the Marauders clinch their playoff spot. Their last appearance in playoffs were last year, but lost in their first game against Brock. McMaster’s last championship was in 2010 after entering playoffs with a .500 record in the regular season. The Marauders host Guelph Sunday in an afternoon match up at Alumni field for their last regular season game.

BULLDOGS LOSE SECOND STRAIGHT IN SHOOT OUT

After opening their season 1-1 at Copps Collusium, the Bulldogs hit the road and headed to Cleveland to take on the Lake Erie Monsters. The loss against the Monsters was not only their second straight loss… but also their second straight loss that ended in a shootout.

Brad Malone of the Monsters would open the scoring just after 18 minutes of play, for his third of the season. He put in his fourth of the season in the second period; to score both goals for Lake Erie. Malone’s first goal came on the power play after a tripping call on Greg Pateryn.

Within the first two periods of the game the Bulldogs managed just 9 shots on net with no goals, to go into the third with the Monster’s leading 2-0.

The third period was a huge change for the Bulldogs as they came out strong and managed to out shoot the Monsters 14-4. At 4:51 Nick Tarnasky connected with Gabriel Dumont and Joonas Nattinen for the Bulldogs first goal of the came and start off a third period come back.

Hamilton was able to capitalize on the powerplay for the first time this season as Taranasky put in his second of the game on the power play. The goal came just about 5 minutes after his first. It would be the last goal of the third, to end regulation time tied at 2.

With three goals from Lake Erie during the shoot out the Dogs would fall to a 3-2 loss for their first road game of the 2013 season. The Bulldogs stay in third in the Division under the Marlies and Monsters.

The Bulldogs had a total of 10 minutes on the man down and 17 on the man up. Dustin Tokarski started in net for the Dogs, for his second game of the season. With 24 saves, his save percentage dropped to .934 moving him to 15^th. As for his goals against average, he’s currently ranked twelfth with a 1.92 average.

Tarnasky would be the third star of the game after notching Hamilton’s two goals in the third period.

Shoot out:
Lake Erie – Mike Sgarbossa – Goal
Hamilton – Gabriel Dumont – No Goal

Lake Erie – Mark Olver – No Goal

Hamilton – Maxime Macenauer – No Goal

Lake Erie – Bryan Lerg – Goal

Hamilton – Nick Tarnasky – No Goal

Lake Erie – Joey Hishon – Goal

Stars:
1 – Brad Malone (Lake Erie)

2 – Joey Hishon (Lake Erie)

3 – Nick Tarnasky (Hamilton)

The Bulldogs continue their road trip as they head to Toronto to take on the Marlies on October 20^th. They will be back at home on Tuesday when they host the Rockford IceHogs.