Bulldogs a point from the promised land
Apr 12, 2005 19:19:53 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2005 19:19:53 GMT -5
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HAMILTON – How does a team get it done down the stretch? For the past two months, the Bulldogs have put on an absolute clinic.
Continuing the tear that began in early February, Hamilton made short work of its opposition last week, collecting a near-perfect seven points in four games to effectively wrap up the fourth and final playoff position in the North.
With two games remaining on their schedule, a Wednesday-night tilt against Syracuse and a Friday-night finale against Rochester, the Bulldogs are a mere single point removed from an eighth postseason berth in the nine years of the franchise. The Crunch would need nothing short of a miracle to overtake them at this stage, requiring four wins in their remaining four games and two regulation-time Hamilton losses to do so.
Now at 37-28-7-6, the Bulldogs have continued on a simply masterful run fueled by the arrival of a healthy Mike Komisarek and Steve Begin, the inspired play of Ron Hainsey, the emergence of Chris Higgins, the leadership of Jason Ward, the steadiness of Tomas Plekanec, and the tireless work of Yann Danis. Since Feb. 11, Hamilton has posted the third-best record in the league by going 18-7-1-1 in 27 games, a winning percentage of .704. Only Chicago (.808) and Binghamton (.750) have fared better. The club is 8-1-0-1 in its last 10 contests and a dominant 16-3-1-0 in its last 20 divisional starts, a mark that tells much of the story regarding how it managed to turn a race for fourth place into a cakewalk over the final week.
The Bulldogs’ only recent stumble came last Wednesday in a 4-3 shootout loss to Milwaukee at Copps Coliseum. Hamilton’s 3-2 lead evaporated late in the game when Jordin Tootoo notched a power play marker to send the game to overtime; in the shootout proper, Brian Finley turned aside an impressive seven of eight shot attempts – failing only against Plekanec – to secure the extra point for his team.
Revenge came quickly enough. On Friday, the Bulldogs roared back from a 3-2, third-period deficit by netting three unanswered goals to down the Admirals by a 5-3 final. Marc-Andre Thinel played the hero early, scoring his club’s first two goals in the opening frame, while Begin and Plekanec scored 25 seconds apart to regain the hometown lead midway through the third. Plekanec’s tally, his 27th of the campaign, tied him with Higgins for the team lead. Ward then added an empty-net score at 19:28 to become the third member of club to hit the 20-goal plateau for the season.
Hamilton’s weekend in Winnipeg was a productive one. The Bulldogs took care of the Moose by identical 4-1 scores on both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon; Saturday’s win, though featuring just 14 Hamilton shots (just one shy of the all-time franchise low), officially eliminated sixth-place Edmonton and seventh-place Cleveland from playoff contention in the North.
Montreal talent was firmly in the mix in much of the scoring at Manitoba. Jonathan Ferland, Duncan Milroy, Begin, and Gavin Morgan provided the goals on Saturday, then Begin, Thinel, and Komisarek scored alongside Trevor Daley on Sunday. The Sunday goals from Begin and Thinel were both their third in three games, while Begin’s marker was his 10th of the year in just his 20th game overall. Komisarek’s score was his first of the season; assisting on the play was Hainsey, who tied Scott Ferguson for the all-time franchise mark for most points by a defenseman.
Hainsey now has 16 goals and 65 points in 153 career games with the Bulldogs. Ferguson amassed identical numbers over the course of his 193 games in Hamilton during the 1996-97, 1997-98, and 2000-01 seasons.
After earning a night off on Saturday, Danis was back in nets on Sunday and was named the first star on the strength of his 21-save effort. With his growing franchise record now at 27 wins for the season, the goaltender is a sparkling 6-1-1 in his last eight starts with a shutout, a 1.74 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage.
Ward, though held off the scoresheet on Sunday, is nevertheless winding down the regular season in high style. The 2002-03 AHL MVP leads the team with five goals, 12 points, and a plus-9 rating in his last 10 games. His recent output has pushed him past Higgins into second place in team scoring with 52 points, eight shy of Plekanec for the overall lead.
The Bulldogs, eight points up on the Crunch in the division, will look to make their postseason plans official with a win at Copps Coliseum over Syracuse on Wednesday. In five meetings this year, Hamilton holds a 3-1-0-1 edge over their rivals, while Danis has dominated the Crunch in those game with two shutouts, a 1.55 GAA, and a .958 save percentage.
J.S. Trzcienski is the Site Manager for canadiens.com.
HAMILTON – How does a team get it done down the stretch? For the past two months, the Bulldogs have put on an absolute clinic.
Continuing the tear that began in early February, Hamilton made short work of its opposition last week, collecting a near-perfect seven points in four games to effectively wrap up the fourth and final playoff position in the North.
With two games remaining on their schedule, a Wednesday-night tilt against Syracuse and a Friday-night finale against Rochester, the Bulldogs are a mere single point removed from an eighth postseason berth in the nine years of the franchise. The Crunch would need nothing short of a miracle to overtake them at this stage, requiring four wins in their remaining four games and two regulation-time Hamilton losses to do so.
Now at 37-28-7-6, the Bulldogs have continued on a simply masterful run fueled by the arrival of a healthy Mike Komisarek and Steve Begin, the inspired play of Ron Hainsey, the emergence of Chris Higgins, the leadership of Jason Ward, the steadiness of Tomas Plekanec, and the tireless work of Yann Danis. Since Feb. 11, Hamilton has posted the third-best record in the league by going 18-7-1-1 in 27 games, a winning percentage of .704. Only Chicago (.808) and Binghamton (.750) have fared better. The club is 8-1-0-1 in its last 10 contests and a dominant 16-3-1-0 in its last 20 divisional starts, a mark that tells much of the story regarding how it managed to turn a race for fourth place into a cakewalk over the final week.
The Bulldogs’ only recent stumble came last Wednesday in a 4-3 shootout loss to Milwaukee at Copps Coliseum. Hamilton’s 3-2 lead evaporated late in the game when Jordin Tootoo notched a power play marker to send the game to overtime; in the shootout proper, Brian Finley turned aside an impressive seven of eight shot attempts – failing only against Plekanec – to secure the extra point for his team.
Revenge came quickly enough. On Friday, the Bulldogs roared back from a 3-2, third-period deficit by netting three unanswered goals to down the Admirals by a 5-3 final. Marc-Andre Thinel played the hero early, scoring his club’s first two goals in the opening frame, while Begin and Plekanec scored 25 seconds apart to regain the hometown lead midway through the third. Plekanec’s tally, his 27th of the campaign, tied him with Higgins for the team lead. Ward then added an empty-net score at 19:28 to become the third member of club to hit the 20-goal plateau for the season.
Hamilton’s weekend in Winnipeg was a productive one. The Bulldogs took care of the Moose by identical 4-1 scores on both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon; Saturday’s win, though featuring just 14 Hamilton shots (just one shy of the all-time franchise low), officially eliminated sixth-place Edmonton and seventh-place Cleveland from playoff contention in the North.
Montreal talent was firmly in the mix in much of the scoring at Manitoba. Jonathan Ferland, Duncan Milroy, Begin, and Gavin Morgan provided the goals on Saturday, then Begin, Thinel, and Komisarek scored alongside Trevor Daley on Sunday. The Sunday goals from Begin and Thinel were both their third in three games, while Begin’s marker was his 10th of the year in just his 20th game overall. Komisarek’s score was his first of the season; assisting on the play was Hainsey, who tied Scott Ferguson for the all-time franchise mark for most points by a defenseman.
Hainsey now has 16 goals and 65 points in 153 career games with the Bulldogs. Ferguson amassed identical numbers over the course of his 193 games in Hamilton during the 1996-97, 1997-98, and 2000-01 seasons.
After earning a night off on Saturday, Danis was back in nets on Sunday and was named the first star on the strength of his 21-save effort. With his growing franchise record now at 27 wins for the season, the goaltender is a sparkling 6-1-1 in his last eight starts with a shutout, a 1.74 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage.
Ward, though held off the scoresheet on Sunday, is nevertheless winding down the regular season in high style. The 2002-03 AHL MVP leads the team with five goals, 12 points, and a plus-9 rating in his last 10 games. His recent output has pushed him past Higgins into second place in team scoring with 52 points, eight shy of Plekanec for the overall lead.
The Bulldogs, eight points up on the Crunch in the division, will look to make their postseason plans official with a win at Copps Coliseum over Syracuse on Wednesday. In five meetings this year, Hamilton holds a 3-1-0-1 edge over their rivals, while Danis has dominated the Crunch in those game with two shutouts, a 1.55 GAA, and a .958 save percentage.
J.S. Trzcienski is the Site Manager for canadiens.com.
