Hamilton Bulldogs 17 Jan

[Mike Patterson]

Went to the 'dogs game in Fredericton tonight. The final score was 7-3 for
the good guys, but it was a closer game than the score would indicate for
the first 50 minutes or so (5-3 up until then).

The first period was the best, with good hockey by both teams. It would up
tied 3-3 at the end of the first; Hulbig potted two for the 'dogs. Gage
showed his worst goaltending of the night, allowing the three goals on, I
believe, 11 shots.

The second period, the Habs were starting to slow down. Bonvie(!!) scored
two goals, one a pretty nice play from Bonsignore along the boards (my
friend said "Was that number 4?!" I said "No way..." - but it was). The
other one was kind of putzy, Bonvie kinda flipped it at the net and it
happened to go over the goalie's glove. Oh well, take 'em where you can
get 'em, Dennis. :)

Third period was all Hamilton. After a lot of simple clearing of the
neutral zone, there were a couple of late goals, by Tuomeinen (I believe; I
forgot to bring my notebook) and a great partial breakaway by Intranuovo.
He had 4 breakaways during the game; he was playing the first line with
Bonvie and Bonsignore.

High points:
- after a lacklustre first period, Bonsignore seemed to come alive in the
second and third. He had a couple of assists, and was playing the puck not
too badly. I don't think he'll ever be a playmaker though, based on his
play the two games I've seen him. He was pushing along the boards a bit,
but he wasn't taking the body as much as he should, given his size. His
faceoffs could also use work; for a first line centre, he loses way too
many. He was also ejected from the circle twice, for what I'm not sure.

- Dennis Bonvie! Two goals, he had a beautiful chance at a hat trick
near the end of the game but the pass from Intranuovo (I think) got caught
up in a Habs defender's skates and the puck was cleared. Oh well, he got
first star, took a couple of penalties (one kind of stupid one for goalie
interference, he got shoved from behind and piled into the goalie, that
resulted in a PP goal for the Habs) and one good one to stop a breakaway
attempt. He caused David Ling to take a stupid penalty also; Ling kind
of took a run at him, slammed him hard. Bonvie wanted to scrap, but Ling
was too busy going to the box for charging. Oh well. He also got the
game's first star, which resulted in quite a bit of noise from the
remaining crowd, and the game winning goal. Scary, kind of like Semenko
getting that hat trick vs the Rangers. ;)

Other points:
- Sean Brown played a very solid game, as did Joe Hulbig (2G).

- Georges Laraque (0P, unless he picked up an assist I didn't hear).
Laraque was checking, shoving, and going for the front of the net all
night. Man, is he ever strong. If he makes it to the NHL, and I hope he
does, he will be a force. His asthma didn't seem to be bothering him
tonight, despite fairly dry weather here; maybe his medication is finally
helping. He never looked as wiped out as he did the last game here in
December.

- Gage, after a shaky first period, played very well for the rest of the
game, stopping a few very good chances, with the help of a goalpost
seemingly moving in on a great shot by a Habs attacker. Still, I don't
know if he'll ever be much more than a pretty good AHL player.

- I wish there was room on the roster in Edmonton for Intranuovo. He's a
great player at the AHL level, and would probably be a not bad one at the
NHL level, especially if he gained some muscle (if it didn't slow him
down). He's always moving, always looking for somebody to bump, and when
he has the puck, look out. He even made Bonvie look good a couple of
times, which is something I wouldn't have thought possible before this
game. (Don't get me wrong, I like Bonvie, he's all heart, but he's also
very little skill - he certainly wasn't drafted for his goal-scoring or his
faceoff ability. Yes he took a faceoff, guess who won it. ;) )

The Canadiens were playing without Bordeleau, but they had their all-star
goalie in (too bad he didn't get any help). Kelly didn't play for
Hamilton; there were 3 other scratches, but I didn't hear the names.
(Interestingly, Belanger was still listed on the roster as being #17,
although there was another player with that number. Maybe somebody else
more familiar with the Bulldogs could tell us who. ;) )

Anyway, that's enough, I think. If Hamilton played the way every night the
way they did tonight, they wouldn't be in last place in the Canadian
Division. :/

Mike