While the NHL and it’s player’s association continue to do their dance in New Jersey and European hockey takes it’s annual ten day December schedule break, life goes on in the nether regions of North American hockey.
Steve Quailer scored a power play goal with 3:47 remaining in the third period to break a 0-0 tie and give the Hamilton Bulldogs a 1-0 win over the Lake Erie Monsters.
The Hamilton Bulldogs’ goalscorig woes have become epidemic. For the second time in three games they generated over forty shots on goal but managed only one goal in each outing. Despite outshooting the Lake Erie Monsters 43-27 the came out on the short end of a 4-1 score.
The Toronto Marlies defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in a penalty filled at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto Saturday afternoon. It was the second half of a home and home weekend between the clubs. The Bulldogs beat Toronto 6-3 in Hamilton Friday night.
the Hamilton Bulldogs, led by Brendan Gallagher and Alexander Avtsin, came away with a 6-3 win over the Toronto Marlies in the first of a home and home set with the Toronto Marlies Friday night. The teams will meet again in Toronto Saturday afternoon.
Michael Bournival scored the only goal of the shootout and the Hamilton Bulldogs opened their season with a 4-3 victory at Grand Rapids Michigan.
Players on entry level or two way contracts are eligible to be returned to an NHL’s minor league affiliate during the NHL lockout. Louis Leblanc has two seasons remaining in his entry level contract while both Blake Geoffrion and Michael Blunden have two-way agreements. All three played a signiificant number of games with the parent Canadiens last season.
And then there were three. Aaron Palushaj has been crossed off the “to do” list of Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin with the signing of the forward to a one-year two-way contract on Thursday. Yet to come to contract terms are forward Blake Geoffrion and defensemen P.K. Subban and Raphael Diaz. Like Palushaj, all are restricted free agents.
It is often said the Canadiens farm system has dried up, that the majority of the team’s future talent is only now emerging from junior hockey and still years away. If so, how was it that through their injury plagued season the Habs were able to bring eight players into their lineup who held rookie status?
Because of the injury to Brian Gionta, which took him out of the seaason’s second half, right wing on the Canadiens became a serious problem. Gionta’s replacements were a mixture of rookies and fourth line players and the results were predictable. Gionta returns next season but the Canadiens still have a major third line iissue to deal with.
