Since then they have earned a split in their last two games dropping a 4-3 decision to Toronto Marlies in Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum on January 23rd, and then bouncing back on Wednesday to blank the IceHogs 5-0 at Portland Illinois.

The Bulldogs will meet the Milwaukee Admirals at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night in Milwaukee.

The addition of Matt D’Agostini and Max Pacioretty who were sent down earlier from the Montreal Canadiens did not hurt the cause.

Brock Trotter scored twice for the fourth time this month, and D’Agostini and Pacioretty each earned an assist each. The shutout was Hamilton’s sixth on the road this season…a franchise record for shutouts on the road in one season.

In the first period, D’Agostini set up Greg Stewart, who redirected the shot past Rockford goaltender Corey Crawford. Grant Stevenson rifled a Tom Pyatt pass over the right shoulder of Crawford, off the crossbar in the second period.

Trotter gave Hamilton a 3-0 lead in the second with Subban assisting. His second goal came in the third when he knocked a rebounded past Crawford.

Joe Fallon replaced Crawford, but to no avail as Conboy hammered home the Bulldogs final goal of the night past t was stopped by Fallon.

At Toronto, were edged by the Marlies 4-3 in a game they were constantly fighting to gain a tie. Yannick Weber assisted on all three goals in the loss to their North Division archrival.

Justin Hodgman, Tim Brent, Viktor Stalberg, and Christian Hanson scored for Toronto.
Curtis Sanford replaced Cedrick Desjardins following the third Marlies goal. Ben Maxwell, David Desharnais, and Stewart replied for the Bulldogs.

At Rochester, the Bulldogs trounced the Americans 6-1 to end a four-game losing streak. Trotter and JT Wyman scored twice each with Pyatt, and Ryan White adding one each. Jeff Taffe replied for the Amerks.

Wills is filling in for longtime Buffalo play-by-play announcer Rick Jeanneret, who is taking a mid-season break. The 33-year-old has been the radio voice of the Bulldogs since 2001 and currently has a streak of calling 766 consecutive Bulldogs game, the longest current streak of any announcer in the AHL. The native of Port Colborne, Ontario has called a number of historically significant games such as the 2004 AHL All-Star game, the AHL’s Conference Finals on three occasions (2002, 2003, 2007) and the Calder Cup Finals twice (2003, 2007). Wills won the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award in the radio category for the 2004-2005 season.

The ‘Dogs will travel to Rockford to meet the IceHogs at 8:05 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 27th. Fans can listen to every ‘Dogs game on the flagship station of the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network, TALK 820. Fans can also listen or watch at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the ‘AHL Live’ or ‘TALK 820’ icons on the Bulldogs website.

Tickets for all Hamilton Bulldogs home games (with the exception of the February 21st game at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec) are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or through charge-by-phone at 905-527-7666. For more information on ‘Dogs season tickets, flex packs, mini packs and group tickets call 905-529-8500 or visit www.hamiltonbulldogs.com.

The Hamilton Bulldogs All-Star’s Cedrick Desjardins and P.K. Subban took part in a total of four events. In the RBC Rapid Fire, Subban scored once on five shots while Desjardins only allowed one goal on 10 shots. In the EA Sports NHL 10 Breakaway Relay, Subban used a deke move to score while Desjardins stopped five of the six shooters he faced. Subban also competed in the Reebok Fastest Skater earning a time of 15.151 while Desjardins participated in the McDonald’s Pass and Score stopping one shot and allowing one goal.

Desjardins claimed the Reebok Top Goaltender award by stopping 16 of 19 shots for the Canadian side. Desjardins, a second-year pro, entered the league’s midseason showcase ranking second in the AHL in goals-against average (1.81), tied for fifth in save percentage (.929), and first in shutouts (5) in 26 games for the North Division-leading Bulldogs.

PlanetUSA defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti set an event record by completing the Reebok Fastest Skater competition in 13.677 seconds. A first-round draft pick (21st overall) by the New York Rangers in 2006, the 21-year-old Sanguinetti hit the All-Star break with 26 points (6-20-26) in 38 games as a second-year pro for Hartford.

Canadian forward Blair Jones of the Norfolk Admirals claimed the Reebok Hardest Shot contest with a blast clocked at 100.7 miles per hour, becoming just the fourth AHL player in the event’s history to top the century mark. Jon Matsumoto from the Adirondack Phantoms recorded the best mark in the Ducks Unlimited Accuracy Shooting event by hitting four of five targets.

Desjardins combined with Albany’s Justin Peters (12 saves) and Manchester’s Jonathan Bernier (12 saves) to help the Canadian AHL All-Stars halt a three-year losing streak in the Skills Competition.

The Canadian squad will go for the sweep when the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic continues on Tuesday night (8:00 p.m. ET) with the annual AHL All-Star Game. Check theahl.com for air times and channels along the AHL All-Star Classic television network.

To view all results, visit http://theahl.com/2010-skills-competition-p140032.

Saturday night at Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Bulldogs dropped their fourth consecutive game to the Grand Rapids Griffins 3-1. The loss extends the ‘Dogs losing streak to a season-long four games.

The Bulldogs return to action at Rochester against the Americans, Friday (January 22) at 7:05 p.m.

Friday night, following a scoreless first period, the Bulldogs opened the scoring at 3:37 of the second period. David Desharnais skated behind the Rochester net and the fed a pass across the front of the net to Brock Trotter. Trotter, then one-timed a shot past Rochester goaltender Alexander Salak.

The Amerks tied the score 1-1 at 4:45 of the middle period on the power play. Jeff Taffe took a pass from Daniel Steiner before using a deke on Hamilton goaltender Cedrick Desjardins. The deke put Desjardins out of position and allowed Taffe to slide the puck past him.

Hamilton regained the lead at eight-minute mark on a goal by Mathieu Darche from Yannick Weber. Weber shot from the point, but Salak stopped it. He could not hold on to it and Darche batted the puck before it was kicked across the goal line by a Rochester defender. Darche was credited with the goal with Weber and Tom Pyatt drawing the assists.

Rochester tied the game a second time at 18:12. Michael Duco carried the puck into the Bulldogs zone and rushed the Hamilton net. He fired a shot that was partially stopped by Desjardins but it trickled over the line. Keaton Ellerby and Salak drew the assists.

Rochester took the lead 18 seconds later at 18:30 of the second period. Chris Taylor fired a cross-ice pass to defenseman Clay Wilson, who was pinching in from the point. Wilson wired a shot that beat Desjardins along the ice through his knees.

Hamilton tied the score again at 1:05 of the final period. Trotter chipped the puck to the front of the net, and it bounced off Salak and into the back of the net. Desharnais took a pass from Ryan White and then sent it to the stick of Trotter behind the net.

Rochester regained its lead at 4:43 on a power play. Jamie Johnson fed the puck to Michal Repik, who fired a slap shot along the ice that beat Desjardins on the glove side. Matthias gave the Amerks a 5-3 lead at 5:37 after Matthias and Duco skated in on a two-on-one, before Matthias blasted a shot past Desjardins.

Maxwell made the game 5-4 at 8:25 of the final period while on the power play. Desharnais received the puck from Trotter while at the left side of the net. Desharnais faked a shot before dishing a cross-ice pass to Maxwell, who one-timed a shot past an out-of-position Salak.

Hamilton clawed their way back into the game at 16:30 of the third with a shorthanded goal by Mike Glumac to knot the score at 5-5. Shawn Belle carried the puck into the Rochester zone before sending a pass back to P.K. Subban at the left point. Subban passed to Glumac who snapped the puck past Salak.

Overtime period solved nothing, and the game went to a shootout with Trotter and Desharnais scoring for Hamilton. Evgeny Dadonov, Steiner, and Taffe connected for the Amerks for the victory.

Saturday night, Grand Rapids opened the scoring at 17:23 of the first on a goal by Tomas Tatar who set up by Patrick Rissmiller in front of the net. Tatar one-timed the shot past Hamilton goaltender Curtis Sanford.

The Griffins grabbed a 2-0 lead at 3:25 of the second when Francis Pare skated in alone on Sanford, and used a forehand-to-backhand deke before sliding the puck past the goaltender for a shorthanded goal. Cory Emmerton had the assist.

The Bulldogs scored at 7:48 of the final period when Ryan White beat Daniel Larsson in the Gryphons goal. Desharnais drew the assist on the play. Emmerton added an empty net goal at 19:53 to seal the deal for Grand Rapids.

The Bulldogs will play host to the Monsters in a rematch Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. in Copps Coliseum.

Hamilton opened the scoring at 3:28 of the first period with a powerplay goal by Mikael Johansson. Johansson took a pass from Andre Benoit at the right faceoff dot and rifled a shot that beat Lake Erie goalie Tyler Weiman low on the blocker side.

Brock Trotter netted a second powerplay goal for the ‘Dogs at 11:23 of the first. Ben Maxwell fired a pass to Trotter, who used a forehand-backhand deke to get the puck past the sprawling Weiman, off the crossbar and into the net.

Lake Erie cut the lead in half at 4:57 of second with a powerplay goal of their own.
Brian Willsie took a pass at the left side of the net before trying to stuff it between the pads of Hamilton goaltender Cedrick Desjardins.

Willsie, who failed in his first attempt for Lake Erie, flipped the puck to Ryan Stoa in front of the net. Stoa then batted the puck home past Desjardins.

Stoa tied the game 2-2 at 9:23 of the final frame. Hensick engineered the play to Stoa in the slot, who then rifled a shot past the glove of Desjardins and into the net. Wes O’Neill assisted on the scoring play.

The Monsters ended the game in overtime at 3:58 when Hensick took a pass from Willsie before sending it on to Marty Sertich. Sertich, who was in front of the net, ripped a shot that sailed past Desjardins, and into the net for the win.

Brock Trotter led the way with three goals while teammate Mike Glumac added two more for the victory. However, some sloppy play in the Hamilton end almost rendered their efforts pointless.

Monday, (January 11), Hamilton will play host to the Lake Erie Monsters at 7:30 p.m. in Copps Coliseum.

Hamilton opened the scoring at 1:43 of the second period as Ben Maxwell fired a shot on net that was turned aside by Grand Rapids goaltender Jordan Pearce. Pearce then stopped a second shot from Glumac, but could not get a handle on the third shot. Trotter grabbed the rebound and slid the puck past the Griffins goalie.

Trotter added his second goal of the period at 7:16 on a power play. David Desharnais took a pass from Yannick Weber who was stationed to the right of the net. Desharnais fed a cross-crease pass to Trotter, who waited patiently before sending a shot over the sprawlling Pearce.

The Bulldogs added a third goal at 16:05 as Glumac tipped Andre Benoit’s shot from the point between Pearce’s pads from in front of the net, Sean Belle set up the play initially.

Glumac added his second goal at 2:31 of the third. Frederic St. Denis fired a shot on net that was stopped by Pearce, but the goaltender could not contain the rebound. Glumac grabbed the loose puck and stuffed it underneath Pearce.

Grand Rapids got on the scoreboard five minutes later when Patrick Rissmiller fed a pass to Mattias Ritola, who raced in on Hamilton goaltender Cedrick Desjardins. Ritola faked a shot that put Desjardins out of position. Ritola then skated around the goaltender and deposited.

The Griffins cut the lead to 4-2 at 9:15 of the third. Jamie Tardif intercepted a sloppy clearing attempt by Desjardins, which left the goaltender behind the net and out of position. Tardif picked up loose puck and fired it into the open net.

Trotter fired home the insurance goal at 19:58 of the third with the net empty. Glumac fired a shot from his own end that just missed the net. Trotter raced down the ice to grab the loose puck and fire it into the net for his hat-trick goal.

Next up for the ‘Dogs are the Lake Erie Monsters, Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Copps Coliseum.

It was a game of contrasting styles with the Wolves playing a style Hamilton fans had become familiar, a style similar to the way coach Don Lever had played during his National Hockey League career, of up and down the wing and swarming the net. Hamilton on the other hand played to the outside, and waited for an opportunity to present itself.

Chicago opened the scoring after a scoreless first period with a powerplay goal by Johnny Pohl at 1:54 of the second set up by a Jason Krog blast on net that was initially stopped by Hamilton goalkeeper Cedrick Desjardins. He could not contain the rebound, which Pohl whacked into the net. It was the only puck he failed to corral during his first star of the game performance.

Bulldogs tied the score 1-1 at 18:07 of the middle frame while on the powerplay with Desharnais stationed to the right of the net. He then fed a backhand pass to PK Subban on the right hash mark who snapped a shot through the legs of Chicago goalie Peter Mannino.

Hamilton grabbed the lead at 5:28 of the third when Desharnais stripped the puck from a Chicago defender and whacked a backhand shot past the Wolves netminder. Mannino went for a poke check, but missed thus allowing it to trickle through his pads and into net. There was some question after the game as to whether Ryan White actually touched the puck or successfully screened Mannino.

White, however, sealed the deal for Hamilton when he scored into the empty net on a pass from TJ Wyman at 19:56 of the third. Wyman threw the puck into the slot to White, who flicked it into the yawning net for the final goal of the night.

The score however, could have been higher had the Bulldogs displayed more of a willingness to got to the net earlier in the game. By not doing so, they missed several good scoring opportunities. In the third period, they took control of the affair following White’s powerplay effort two minutes and 21 seconds into the frame.

The Bulldogs now had a record of 23 wins, nine losses, two overtime losses, and three losses by shootout while second place Milwaukee is 19-12-1-5 in the Western Division of the western Conference. It was their third consecutive loss.

Next up are the Chicago Wolves, Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. Former Hamilton coaches Don Lever and Ron Wilson coach the Wolves.

The Admirals got on the board at 4:27 of the opening period as Triston Grant picked off a pass intended for a ‘Dogs player and sent a pass to Ben Guite for a shorthanded goal. Guite’s shot deflected off a stick and past Hamilton goaltender Cedrick Desjardins.

Hamilton responded two minutes later when Alex Henry led a rush down the ice before throwing a pass to Andrew Conboy. Conboy in turn fired a shot before piling into the backboards that was stopped by Milwaukee goalie Chet Pickard. The rebound bounced onto the stick of Greg Stewart who whacked it past Pickard into the open side of the net.

The Admirals grabbed a 2-1 lead at 10:19 of the second when Colin Wilson fed a pass to the point to Reid Cashman, who snapped a shot through traffic to beat Desjardins on his glove side.

The Bulldogs tied the score at 10:49 when Brock Trotter dug the puck out of a scrum in the left corner of the Milwaukee end, fed a pass to Mathieu Darche, who scooped the puck and fed a pass to Ben Maxwell in front of the net. Maxwell tapped it home to Pickard’s right.

Wilson gave Milwaukee a 3-2 lead at the 13-minute mark of the second on a two-on-one break. Cal O’Reilly chipped a pass to him, and he was away. Wilson snapped a shot over the glove of Desjardins and into the top of the net.

Stewart added his second goal of the game at 17:02 of the middle period after taking a centring pass from behind the net from Ryan Russell. Stewart one-timed a shot that squeezed through the pads of Pickard.

One minute and 19 seconds after Stewart’s goal, the Admirals regained the lead, 4-3 when Nolan Yonkman hammered a shot home after taking a pass at the point from Wilson.

The third belonged to Hamilton. White tied the score on a play engineered by Darche and Andre Benoit. Benoit faked a shot from the point before sending the disk to White at the left circle dot. Ryan fired a shot that bounced off the skate of a Milwaukee defender and into the top corner of the net.

White’s second goal came at 11:03 when his shot from the left sideboards deflected off a Milwaukee player and into the back of the net. Maxwell’s second goal sealed the deal at 15:38 when he split the defence and deked Pickard on a play set up by Brock Trotter.

The Bulldogs outshot Lake Erie in every period and the game 33-17, but could not get the best of the game’s third star, goalkeeper Tyler Weiman.

The ‘Dogs opening goal came with 2:11 left in the game off an end-to-end rush by defenceman PK Subban, who tossed the puck to the corner of the net to a waiting JT Wyman for the tap in.

Unfortunately, two minutes later, Wyman turned over the puck to Lake Erie’s Justin Mercier at centre ice, for their final goal into an empty net. It was Mercier’s second goal of match.

Lake Erie opened the scoring at 7:02 of the first period. After a intercepting a failed clearing attempt, Marty Sertich fired a pass to Mercier in the slot. Mercier then rifled a shot past Hamilton goalie Cedrick Desjardins. The Monsters took a 2-0 lead at 5:40 of the third when Matthew Ford wristed a shot over Desjardins blocking glove.

Ben Maxwell completed the scoring 25 seconds later as he deflected a Mathieu Carle shot from the point into the Monsters net.