The Hamilton Bulldogs troubles continue, adding another loss to their already abysmal record. The Bulldogs have just 1 win in their last 7 games, which came in a shootout. The Bulldogs were in tough right from the get go against the Griffins.
Gustav Nyquist scored a goal just 1:21 into the game, when he skated into the zone, made a pretty move and fired the puck past Cedrick Desjardins. Tomas Tatar doubled the Griffins lead just as time was expiring in the first, when he put a wraparound on net and backhanded the rebound top shelf at 19:59 of the first.
The Bulldogs broke the goose egg 5:41 into the second period, when Frederic St-Denis threw the puck on net from the blueline and beat Griffins goaltender Petr Mrazek. The Griffins would regain their 2 goal lead however, as Tomas Tatar notched his second goal of the night after beating the Bulldogs defence and flicking a backhander over Cedrick Desjardins stick side. Just previous to the goal, Louis Leblanc hit the crossbar with a wide open net from about 5 feet out. The kid is snakebit.
The Bulldogs would not recover, allowing 2 late goals in the third, as Tomas Tatar completed his hattrick. Gustav Nyquist had 1 goal, 2 assists as well.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
1. GR – Gustav Nyquist – 15 – (Nathan Paetsch, Adam Almquist) – 1:22
2. GR – Tomas Tatar – 17 – (Joakim Andersson, Gustav Nyquist) – 19:49
2nd Period:
3. HAM – Frederic St-Denis – 4 – 5:41
4. GR – Tomas Tatar – 18 – (Joakim Andersson, Chad Billins) – 15:43
3rd Period:
5. GR – Luke Glendening – 4 – (Triston Grant, Trevor Parkes) – 15:45
6. GR – Tomas Tatar – 19 – (Gustav Nyquist, Nathan Paetsch) – 17:31
Scoring:
Grand Rapids: 2-1-2—5
Hamilton: 0-1-0—1
Shots:
Grand Rapids: 11-6-9—26
Hamilton: 7-10-5—22
Goaltending:
Grand Rapids: Petr Mrazek (W – 22 shots, 21 saves)
Hamilton: Cedrick Desjardins (L – 26 shots, 21 saves)
Power Play:
Grand Rapids: 0-for-2
Hamilton: 0-for-4
Attendance: 4,297
Three Stars:
1. GR – Tomas Tatar (3 goals, +4, 5 shots)
2. GR – Gustav Nyquist (1 goal, 2 assists, +4, 6 shots)
3. HAM – Frederic St-Denis (1 goal, 3 shots)
