Five up, six to go
Apr 6, 2005 7:04:36 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2005 7:04:36 GMT -5
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HAMILTON – Though it remains far from a forgone conclusion, barring a complete reversal in recent fortunes the Bulldogs will soon secure a playoff berth that once seemed entirely out of reach.
Given the torrid play from Hamilton that has continued through the end of March and into April, it’s easy to forget that less than two months ago the team was struggling to remain out of the North Division basement, 11 long points behind fourth-place Edmonton. The Road Runners, of course, are now firmly choking on the Bulldogs’ dust, as are the fifth-place Crunch and the last-place Barons. These things tend to happen when a single club goes off in the stretch drive, posting an 8-1-1-0 run as Hamilton has done over its last 10 starts against divisional opponents.
The latest victim of the Bulldogs’ onslaught was Grand Rapids, a West Division foe who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time last Sunday. Despite playing effectively their fourth game in four-and-a-half days, Doug Jarvis’ squad thoroughly suffocated the Griffins at Copps Coliseum, downing them 4-1 behind Tomas Plekanec’s team-leading sixth game-winner of the year and Chris Higgins’ team-leading 27th tally of the season. Dan Ellis, seeing his first action in place of Yann Danis since March 12, earned the win in nets against the same Griffins team that had beat him by an identical 4-1 final in his previous start.
In some added excitement that developed after the game’s final whistle, three players were assessed fighting majors, including Jonathan Ferland and Raitis Ivanans. Though there was concern Ivanans might earn a suspension for leaving the bench to join the fray, on Tuesday the AHL announced the suspension of only Griffins’ left wing Peter Vandemeer, who had been tossed from the game for elbowing mid-way through the third period.
Danis’ rest on Sunday was well-earned, coming off a complete domination of the Crunch in a critical showdown on Saturday night. In a game between the two clubs currently battling for the final playoff spot in the division, the product of Brown University turned in his most clutch performance of the season, stopping 43 of 43 shots to record a 3-0 win and his club-record 25th victory of the year. The feat allowed him to surpass the previous mark of 24 shared by Jean-Francois Labbe and Steve Passmore, set by the former in 1998-99 and tied by the latter the following season.
The shutout, meanwhile, was the fifth on the campaign for Danis. A sixth would give him another single-season Bulldogs record and break the current mark he now shares with Eric Heffler, who first set it in 1999-2000. For the week, Danis posted two wins, the shutout, a 1.00 goals-against average, and a .970 save percentage that came off his 98 saves of 101 shots. In his nine starts prior to Ellis’ win on Sunday, the 23-year-old went 6-3-0 with a 1.67 GAA and .935 save percentage.
Danis might well have gone a perfect 3-0 during the week had his teammates mustered a touch more offense on Friday. In the historic 100th and final regular-season meeting between the Bulldogs and Maple Leafs (the AHL franchise in St. John’s will move to Toronto next year as the re-christened Marlies), Hamilton failed to maintain a slim 1-0 lead and ultimately fell, 2-1, when the Leafs notched a pair of second-period tallies that proved to be the difference. The game was played before a Copps Coliseum crowd of 13,692, the third-largest for a regular-season tilt in Hamilton franchise history. Corey Locke, who emerged from the offensive doldrums by counting two goals and two assists on the week, provided the lone score for the home team.
While Ivanans helped close the week doing what he does best – serving as an enforcer – he had opened it in unusual fashion, netting his first goal of the year (a game-winner, to boot), in Hamilton’s 2-1 handling of Manitoba last Wednesday night. The Moose, the second-place team in the North, have had trouble solving the Bulldogs all year, posting a meager 2-4-0-0 record against them through their first six meetings. The clubs will wrap up their season series over the weekend with a pair of games in Manitoba.
With just six games remaining on their schedule, the 34-28-7-5 Bulldogs will enter the week five points up on the 32-29-7-4 Crunch (who hold two games in hand) for the fourth and final postseason slot in the North. Hamilton will once again play four games in five days, hosting Milwaukee on Wednesday and Friday before traveling west to face the Moose on Saturday and Sunday. The Admirals, comfortably locked into a playoff spot in the West at 43-20-4-5 and still vying for the division crown against Chicago, are just 1-1 against the Bulldogs this year.
NOTES: Hamilton captain Jason Ward has five goals and 10 points in his last 10 games… D Ron Hainsey and D Mike Komisarek have each posted a plus/minus differential of plus-8 over their last 10 games… RW Duncan Milroy was named the Bulldogs’ American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year for the second straight season on Tuesday. The honor is handed out annually to the player deemed to have made the most outstanding charitable and community contributions over the course of the campaign.
HAMILTON – Though it remains far from a forgone conclusion, barring a complete reversal in recent fortunes the Bulldogs will soon secure a playoff berth that once seemed entirely out of reach.
Given the torrid play from Hamilton that has continued through the end of March and into April, it’s easy to forget that less than two months ago the team was struggling to remain out of the North Division basement, 11 long points behind fourth-place Edmonton. The Road Runners, of course, are now firmly choking on the Bulldogs’ dust, as are the fifth-place Crunch and the last-place Barons. These things tend to happen when a single club goes off in the stretch drive, posting an 8-1-1-0 run as Hamilton has done over its last 10 starts against divisional opponents.
The latest victim of the Bulldogs’ onslaught was Grand Rapids, a West Division foe who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time last Sunday. Despite playing effectively their fourth game in four-and-a-half days, Doug Jarvis’ squad thoroughly suffocated the Griffins at Copps Coliseum, downing them 4-1 behind Tomas Plekanec’s team-leading sixth game-winner of the year and Chris Higgins’ team-leading 27th tally of the season. Dan Ellis, seeing his first action in place of Yann Danis since March 12, earned the win in nets against the same Griffins team that had beat him by an identical 4-1 final in his previous start.
In some added excitement that developed after the game’s final whistle, three players were assessed fighting majors, including Jonathan Ferland and Raitis Ivanans. Though there was concern Ivanans might earn a suspension for leaving the bench to join the fray, on Tuesday the AHL announced the suspension of only Griffins’ left wing Peter Vandemeer, who had been tossed from the game for elbowing mid-way through the third period.
Danis’ rest on Sunday was well-earned, coming off a complete domination of the Crunch in a critical showdown on Saturday night. In a game between the two clubs currently battling for the final playoff spot in the division, the product of Brown University turned in his most clutch performance of the season, stopping 43 of 43 shots to record a 3-0 win and his club-record 25th victory of the year. The feat allowed him to surpass the previous mark of 24 shared by Jean-Francois Labbe and Steve Passmore, set by the former in 1998-99 and tied by the latter the following season.
The shutout, meanwhile, was the fifth on the campaign for Danis. A sixth would give him another single-season Bulldogs record and break the current mark he now shares with Eric Heffler, who first set it in 1999-2000. For the week, Danis posted two wins, the shutout, a 1.00 goals-against average, and a .970 save percentage that came off his 98 saves of 101 shots. In his nine starts prior to Ellis’ win on Sunday, the 23-year-old went 6-3-0 with a 1.67 GAA and .935 save percentage.
Danis might well have gone a perfect 3-0 during the week had his teammates mustered a touch more offense on Friday. In the historic 100th and final regular-season meeting between the Bulldogs and Maple Leafs (the AHL franchise in St. John’s will move to Toronto next year as the re-christened Marlies), Hamilton failed to maintain a slim 1-0 lead and ultimately fell, 2-1, when the Leafs notched a pair of second-period tallies that proved to be the difference. The game was played before a Copps Coliseum crowd of 13,692, the third-largest for a regular-season tilt in Hamilton franchise history. Corey Locke, who emerged from the offensive doldrums by counting two goals and two assists on the week, provided the lone score for the home team.
While Ivanans helped close the week doing what he does best – serving as an enforcer – he had opened it in unusual fashion, netting his first goal of the year (a game-winner, to boot), in Hamilton’s 2-1 handling of Manitoba last Wednesday night. The Moose, the second-place team in the North, have had trouble solving the Bulldogs all year, posting a meager 2-4-0-0 record against them through their first six meetings. The clubs will wrap up their season series over the weekend with a pair of games in Manitoba.
With just six games remaining on their schedule, the 34-28-7-5 Bulldogs will enter the week five points up on the 32-29-7-4 Crunch (who hold two games in hand) for the fourth and final postseason slot in the North. Hamilton will once again play four games in five days, hosting Milwaukee on Wednesday and Friday before traveling west to face the Moose on Saturday and Sunday. The Admirals, comfortably locked into a playoff spot in the West at 43-20-4-5 and still vying for the division crown against Chicago, are just 1-1 against the Bulldogs this year.
NOTES: Hamilton captain Jason Ward has five goals and 10 points in his last 10 games… D Ron Hainsey and D Mike Komisarek have each posted a plus/minus differential of plus-8 over their last 10 games… RW Duncan Milroy was named the Bulldogs’ American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year for the second straight season on Tuesday. The honor is handed out annually to the player deemed to have made the most outstanding charitable and community contributions over the course of the campaign.