recap from Hamilton paper:
waymoresports.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=HamiltonWMS/Layout/Article_Layout&c=Article&cid=1036364471370&call_pageid=991828049690&pubid=991822340684Dogs take 3 of 4 weekend points
Nov. 4, 2002. 12:41 AM
Hamilton defeats Philadelphia, ties Rochester
Garry McKay
The Hamilton Spectator
Cathie Coward, the Hamilton Spectator
Hamilton's Jason Ward tries to get a shot past Rochester defenceman Rory Fitzpatrick during last night's 2-2 AHL tie at Copps It was the kind of weekend you might expect from the youngest team in the American Hockey League.
The Hamilton Bulldogs took three out of four points in a pair of home games but turned in completely different performances.
On Saturday, the Dogs looked solid in a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Phantoms.
Last night, however, they looked listless, played almost entirely on the perimeter in the offensive zone and could only get a 2-2 tie with the Rochester Americans, who are the only winless team in the league.
And to make matters worse, the Dogs let a victory slip away when Rochester's veteran centre François Methot pulled the old go-ahead play on Hamilton rookie Jarret Stoll on a faceoff deep in the Hamilton zone with just under six minutes left in the game.
Methot slipped the puck past Stoll, stepped around him to retrieve it and threw a perfect pass across the front of the net to Jason Botterill who beat Eric Fichaud for the tying goal.
"If you don't put young guys in those situations they'll never learn," said Hamilton coach Claude Julien. "He was our best faceoff man."
Method said he, Botterill and Norm Milley talked between periods about trying the play.
"I noticed that their centremen never looked at what I was going to do. They just tried to draw it back.
"I told them just to look at my eyes because I wasn't going to say anything."
Stoll had opened the scoring for the Bulldogs in the first period. Methot tied it for the Amerks in the second.
Fernando Pisani put the Bulldogs up 2-1 on a power-play goal at 11:14. He parked himself in front of the net and scored on a pass from Jason Ward while being knocked to the ice.
It was one of the few times all game that a Bulldog was anywhere near the front of the Rochester net.
"That's how I got the majority of my goals last year, standing in front of the net and taking a couple of shots. Sometimes that's what you have to do to get the goals," said Pisani.
"We're disappointed with the tie. We made some bad decisions with the puck and not getting it down deep."
"They have an older D and you have to take advantage of that. You have to get it down low and keep pounding them. If you do that they tire in the third and you can take advantage of that."
On Saturday, Pisani, Jani Rita, Marcel Hossa, and Jason Ward scored for the Bulldogs.
Mark Greig and Ben Stafford replied for Philadelphia.
The Bulldogs are off today. They're back tomorrow morning at Copps to prepare for two more home games this week.
They host Syracuse Wednesday night and entertain the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Friday.
HITS AND MISSES
Molson Cup Three Stars
Saturday: 1. Jani Rita, Hamilton. 2. Jarret Stoll, Hamilton. 3. Mark Greig, Philadelphia.
Sunday: 1. Fernando Pisani, Hamilton. 2. François Methot, Rochester. 3. Eric Fichaud, Hamilton.
PartSource Hamilton Sparkplug of the Game
Saturday: Fernando Pisani.
Sunday: Benjamin Carpentier.
Shots on goal
Saturday: Hamilton 33, Philadelphia 25.
Sunday: Hamilton 30, Rochester 30.
Power plays
Saturday: Hamilton 1-6, Philadelphia 1-2.
Sunday: Hamilton 1-4, Rochester 0-3.
Attendance
Saturday: 2,750.
Sunday: 2,212.
Up next
The Bulldogs host Syracuse on Wednesday at 7 p.m. This is the game rescheduled from Oct. 11.
gmckay@thespec.com or 905-526-3242.
