Well, we knew this Bulldogs team was young, the youngest team in the AHL in fact, but did we know they were still young enough to still get spooked by Monsters?
That’s what happened last night in Lake Erie. The Bulldogs looked like a team afraid to check under their bed for the boogeyman (which is a polite way of saying they shit the bed). Not only did they manage zero goals in the contest. Not only did they allow 4 goals but they were grossly outshot, by a margin of 47-17 in fact.
47 to 17. Let me put that in context. They were outshot by a margin of 30, the margin in which they were outshot is larger than the total amount of shots they put on net. I don’t think I need to say much more.
Per period the Bulldogs shot break down was:
First Period: 4 shots
Second Period: 8 shots
Third Period: 5 shots
On the flip side, Lake Eries shot break down:
First Period: 22 shots
Second Period: 11 shots
Third Period: 14 shots
Despite the crazy shot advantage the Bulldogs did manage to keep the game close for the first two periods. Late in the first period Stefan Elliott scored a power play marker for his second of the season. Aside from that Cedrick Desjardins stood on his head to keep the Dogs’ in the game.
They went into the third period trailing by only one, but eventually the Monsters pressure would crack Desjardins who gave up 3 quick goals to start the third period. Elliott notched his second of the game, followed by Mark Olver and Bill Thomas who beat him in the first ten minutes to put the Monsters up 4-0.
Despite giving up 4 goals Desjardins played well, stopping 37 shots in two and a half periods. Robert Mayer relieved Desjardins after Olver’s goal and stopped all 6 shots he faced.
The Bulldogs will hit the ice next on New Years eve against the Rochester Americans. We shall see which team comes to play, the team that scored 6 goals against the Saint John’s IceCape; or the team that were outshot by 30 against Lake Erie.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
1. LE – Stefan Elliott – 2 – (Patrick Bordeleau, Mike Connolly) – 18:23 (PP)
2nd Period:
No Scoring
3rd period:
2. LE – Stefan Elliott – 3 – (Brad Malone) – 5:13
3. LE – Mark Olver – 6 – (Jamie MacQueen, Bill Thomas) – 5:31
4. LE – Bill Thomas – 10 – (Tyson Barrie, Brad Malone) – 8:24 (PP)
Scoring:
Lake Erie: 1-0-3-4
Hamilton: 0-0-0-0
Shots:
Lake Erie: 22-11-14-47
Hamilton: 4-8-5-17
Goaltending:
Lake Erie: Calvin Pickard (W – 17 shots, 17 saves)
Hamilton: Cedrick Desjardins (L – 41 shots, 37 saves), Robert Mayer (6 shots, 6 saves)
Power Play:
Lake Erie: 2-for-7
Hamilton: 0-for-3
Attendance: 11,097
Three Stars:
1. LE- Stefan Elliott (2 goals, +2, 6 shots)
2. LE- Bill Thomas (1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 5 shots)
3. LE- Calvin Pickard (17 saves)
