BULLDOGS WIN HOME OPENER

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The Hamilton Bulldogs hosted the St. Johns Ice Capps in their home opener Friday night. With two short-handed goals the Bulldogs would open their season on a high note.

Returning Bulldogs, Greg Pateryn and Mike Blunden connected as Pateryn ripped one past Eddie Pasquale to score the first goal of the season and put Hamilton on the board. It would take about five minutes before the Ice Capps could answer with a goal of their own.

Blunden would put one of his own in early on in the second period for the Bulldogs to pull ahead. The lead wouldn’t last for long, as Ben Chairot would find the back of the net to tie things up at two. The rest of the second period would be scoreless.

Patrick Holland, another returning Bulldog came up the left side to score a goal short handed, giving the Bulldogs the lead. The goal would come just over five minutes into the third and from then on the Dogs were able to hold off St. Johns and take the win. This may be the first game-winning goal this season for Holland but last season he had a total of three game winners on home ice.

With a total of 12 power plays through out the contest (6 a piece) Hamilton was unable to capitalize on any of their power plays and managed to kill five of their six penalties.

After just one game Goalie Dustin Tokarski sits in the 14^th spot in the AHL leaderboards after making a total of 33 saves. Tokarski currently has a .943 save percentage. At the end of last season he sat in 13^th with .909 save percentage, with a total of 1085 saves in 48 games for the Dogs.

Hamilton and the Ice Capps won’t meet up again this season until the middle of December at home. Mike Blunden would be the first star of the game after giving the helper to Pateryn before putting in a goal of his own. The Bulldogs will play again at Copps Collusium in Hamilton on Saturday night when they host the Grand Rapids Griffins In a 7pm match up.

NEXT GAME PREVEW

The Bulldogs host the Grand Rapid Griffins in their second game of the season, and second game on home ice. The Griffins are coming off a loss, after the Marlies topped them 3-4 in extra time earlier on this week, while the Bulldogs fresh off a win from Friday night’s game. Last season the Dogs and Griffins met up a total of 4 times, with the Dogs winning just once at the beginning of the season.
Last season the Bulldogs ended with an under .500 record and ranked last in the Division… after last nights win they sit in the number two spot just under the Marlies who are currently 2-0.  As for the Grand Rapids they currently hold a 1-1 record.  Griffin’s Gustav Nyquist is currently in the leaderboards in the 11^th spot with three points after putting in a goal and three assists in their past two games. 

MCMASTER HOSTS TORONTO FRIDAY NIGHT

Friday Night the Marauders host Toronto at 7pm for the first of three home games. Toronto is currently just above McMaster in the standings, and with a Mac win, will be tied. The Marauders headed to Toronto back in September when they kicked off their 2013 season.
The last time they played against each other McMaster came out with an 8-5 win, and was led by Carter Williams with three goals and a helper to total four points. Mark Phillips put in three goals. Phillips and Williams are currently both tied for points to lead the Marauders.

As for Toronto Andrew Masson and Michael Buwalda combined have put in 78 percent of the goals for the team this season. Masson put in two against the Marauders while Buwalda put in one.

Buwalda put in three goals in Toronto’s game last week against Western, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Mustangs as they fell to a 9-5 loss.
As for McMaster both Mark Phillips and Mitch Iszkula put in two goals against Brock along with Derrick Hastings who found the back of the net for one. McMaster fell to a 15-5 loss on the road last Sunday.

McMaster is currently 3-6 this season, but continues to keep their playoff hopes alive. The last three games of this season will be played at home. For live game updates follow @McMasterLax on twitter.

MARAUDERS HEAD TO GUELPH IN HOPES TO BREAK STREAK.

The Marauder’s are back on the road Wednesday for a game against the 3-1 Guelph Gryphons in hopes to break the losing streak. Guelph is coming off a loss after their game against the Badgers, while McMaster is coming off a two game losing streak after the weekend. The teams have yet to meet up this season but last year Guelph was 2-0 against the Marauders.

Guelph’s last game was just over week ago in St.Catharines when they headed to Brock. Jordan Critch led with three points after giving a few helpers out, but the leading goal scorers were Curtis Knight and Seamus Shanahan who both put in two. Knight currently leads the Gryphons in goals with 13 so far this season. Ryan Serville who had a two-point performance last game is currently sitting in the top five for the OUA West with 19 points (11+8).

Mark Phillips currently leading the Marauders in goals and points with eight goals, put in four against the Voyageurs this past weekend. Phillips is currently within in the top 20 for goals through out the OUA west. Mitch Iszkula also with a four point-performance against Laurentian (1+3) also put in the lone goal against the Mustangs on Friday Night.

Mcmaster’s next home game will take place on October 2 at 8:30 when they host the Brock Badgers at Alumni Field.

MCMASTER HOSTS WESTERN IN REMATCH FRIDAY NIGHT

Friday Night the Marauders host the Western Mustangs at Alumni Field in a 7pm contest. The last time these two met up was earlier this month when the Mustangs came out on top with a 13-2 win in London.

Leading the Mustangs was Dylan Ham with a 7-point performance (6+1) followed by Shane Morlack with 6 point (3+3).  As for the Marauders the two goal scorers were Jamie Batten and Mark Phillips with one each.

Last week the Mustangs took on the Brock Badgers to bring their win streak to two games. Leading the Mustangs was Sam Neeb who put in three goals as well as a helper for a total of four points. Ryan McCory, who currently leads western in points and goals had a three point performance (2+1). McCory had a three-point game against the Marauders after putting in a hat trick.

Mcmaster hosted Laurentian last Sunday night and managed to get back into the win column after rallying in the fourth. Carter Williams currently leads Mcmaster with a total of 8 points this season (5+3). Williams put in four points (2+2) against the Voyaguers followed closely by Justin Beatty with a three-point game.

After Mcmaster’s win last Sunday night; Mcmaster and Western go into Friday’s game both with a 2-1 record and tied in the standings. The match up will be the first of two for the Marauders this weekend as they are on the road to take on the Voyageurs at Laurentian Saturday night.