Pens blank Bulldogs
Mar 23, 2005 22:55:41 GMT -5
Post by Habit on Mar 23, 2005 22:55:41 GMT -5
slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/AHL/2005/03/23/970472-cp.html
Pens blank Bulldogs
HAMILTON (CP) - Dany Sabourin has one objective when he gets the call in net for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins - to play at the same high level as his friend, starter Marc-Andre Fleury.
Sabourin did exactly that Wednesday, stopping 31 shots to make Colby Armstrong's goal stand up in the Penguins' 1-0 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs 1-0 in the American Hockey League.
With Fleury getting the night off, Sabourin earned his first shutout of the season in his 15th appearance.
"We played with a lot of desire tonight," said Sabourin, 24. "That was maybe one thing in the last couple of games that we didn't show, for me too. I came here with a lot of desire to stop every puck. It worked out."
The native of Val-d'Or, Que., a one-time Calgary Flames draft pick, faced an odd-man rush just a few minutes into the game but made one of his best saves of the night to deny Chris Higgins from in close.
Sabourin also robbed Andrei Kostitsyn with a solid glove save four minutes into the third period with the Bulldogs pressing to tie the game.
"Dany Sabourin deserved that shutout," said Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Michel Therrien. "At this time of the year, you need a solid performance from your goaltender and Dany certainly did that tonight."
The shutout improved his already impressive numbers - Sabourin had a 1.95 goals against average and a .933 save percentage entering the game.
The Penguins registered just 14 shots on goal, which was the lowest total allowed by Hamilton all season.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (33-20-6-6) had lost four of the five previous games before grabbing the two important points at Copps Coliseum. They entered
the night in fourth place in the East Division, five points ahead of the Hershey Bears.
Hamilton (29-26-7-5), fighting for fourth in the North Division with the Edmonton Road Runners and Syracuse Crunch, was shutout for the first time since Dec. 29, a 2-0 loss in Cincinnati.
"They got into that kind of game where they were able to protect their lead," said Hamilton head coach Doug Jarvis. "They played a strong positional game and they kept us to the outside. We just didn't battle enough to get to those areas we needed to to get an equalizer.
"I wish we had more presence around the front of that net area."
The Penguins took the lead on Armstrong's 18th goal of the season, which came on a power play.
Ramzi Abid drove to the net and took the initial shot, which was stopped by Hamilton goaltender Yann Danis, but Armstrong was credited with the opener
after he got his stick on the puck in the middle of a huge scramble at 8:57.
"I saw it between his legs and poked it in the net," said Armstrong. "Took a little bit of a beating for it but it paid off. Who would've known we would've won 1-0 but those are the kind of goals we need to get right now."
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton finished 1-for-6 with the man advantage.
Hamilton failed to cash in on its five power-play opportunities.
"Lately, we've been giving up too many goals against," said Therrien. "When we took that lead, you could see the urgency of the guys to play well defensively. We gave up some shots but most of them weren't that dangerous."
Notes - Higgins had a three-game goal-scoring streak snapped. . . . Wilkes-Barre won the only other meeting between the two teams this year, a 6-1 thumping of the Bulldogs back on Nov. 21. . . . Sabourin made four appearances with Calgary last season and went 0-3-0 in his only NHL action. . . . Hamilton's previous low for shots allowed in a game was 19 in a 3-1 home win over Cleveland on Nov. 5.
Pens blank Bulldogs
HAMILTON (CP) - Dany Sabourin has one objective when he gets the call in net for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins - to play at the same high level as his friend, starter Marc-Andre Fleury.
Sabourin did exactly that Wednesday, stopping 31 shots to make Colby Armstrong's goal stand up in the Penguins' 1-0 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs 1-0 in the American Hockey League.
With Fleury getting the night off, Sabourin earned his first shutout of the season in his 15th appearance.
"We played with a lot of desire tonight," said Sabourin, 24. "That was maybe one thing in the last couple of games that we didn't show, for me too. I came here with a lot of desire to stop every puck. It worked out."
The native of Val-d'Or, Que., a one-time Calgary Flames draft pick, faced an odd-man rush just a few minutes into the game but made one of his best saves of the night to deny Chris Higgins from in close.
Sabourin also robbed Andrei Kostitsyn with a solid glove save four minutes into the third period with the Bulldogs pressing to tie the game.
"Dany Sabourin deserved that shutout," said Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Michel Therrien. "At this time of the year, you need a solid performance from your goaltender and Dany certainly did that tonight."
The shutout improved his already impressive numbers - Sabourin had a 1.95 goals against average and a .933 save percentage entering the game.
The Penguins registered just 14 shots on goal, which was the lowest total allowed by Hamilton all season.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (33-20-6-6) had lost four of the five previous games before grabbing the two important points at Copps Coliseum. They entered
the night in fourth place in the East Division, five points ahead of the Hershey Bears.
Hamilton (29-26-7-5), fighting for fourth in the North Division with the Edmonton Road Runners and Syracuse Crunch, was shutout for the first time since Dec. 29, a 2-0 loss in Cincinnati.
"They got into that kind of game where they were able to protect their lead," said Hamilton head coach Doug Jarvis. "They played a strong positional game and they kept us to the outside. We just didn't battle enough to get to those areas we needed to to get an equalizer.
"I wish we had more presence around the front of that net area."
The Penguins took the lead on Armstrong's 18th goal of the season, which came on a power play.
Ramzi Abid drove to the net and took the initial shot, which was stopped by Hamilton goaltender Yann Danis, but Armstrong was credited with the opener
after he got his stick on the puck in the middle of a huge scramble at 8:57.
"I saw it between his legs and poked it in the net," said Armstrong. "Took a little bit of a beating for it but it paid off. Who would've known we would've won 1-0 but those are the kind of goals we need to get right now."
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton finished 1-for-6 with the man advantage.
Hamilton failed to cash in on its five power-play opportunities.
"Lately, we've been giving up too many goals against," said Therrien. "When we took that lead, you could see the urgency of the guys to play well defensively. We gave up some shots but most of them weren't that dangerous."
Notes - Higgins had a three-game goal-scoring streak snapped. . . . Wilkes-Barre won the only other meeting between the two teams this year, a 6-1 thumping of the Bulldogs back on Nov. 21. . . . Sabourin made four appearances with Calgary last season and went 0-3-0 in his only NHL action. . . . Hamilton's previous low for shots allowed in a game was 19 in a 3-1 home win over Cleveland on Nov. 5.