Marc-Antoine Pouliot’s goal with just nine seconds left in regulation capped a furious come back as the Hamilton Bulldogs downed the Syracuse Crunch 7-6 in a wild one at the War Memorial Friday night.
The Crunch opened the scoring in this one just prior to the midway point of period number one on a power play goal from Geoff Platt. Syracuse’s rookie sensation collected a rebound off the end boards of a Joakim Lindstrom shot and beat Olivier Michaud short side for his 7th of the year and an early Crunch advantage.
Syracuse extended that lead just 50 seconds into the second period on their second power play goal of the game. Alexandre Picard re-directed a Joe Motzko drive past Michaud for his first goal as a professional and a 2-0 Crunch lead.
Syracuse’s lead was short lived. Bulldog forward Jean-Francois Jacques scored three times in a span of 3:50 for the natural hat trick and a 3-2 Hamilton advantage.
Jacques re-directed a gorgeous cross ice feed from defenseman Andre Benoit past an outstretched Andrew Penner for his first of the period and came back just over a minute later and roofed a shot past Penner to tie things at two.
Jacques completed the hat trick at the 7:37 mark of the second, this time via the power play. Camped in front of the Crunch crease, Jacques backhanded the rebound of a Ron Hainsey drive by Penner for his third goal of the period.
Syracuse recaptured the lead on a pair of goals from a pair of impressive first-year players. Geoff Platt potted his second of the game and his eighth of the season to tie things at three and Andrew Murray’s re-direct of a Marc Methot offering made it 4-3 Crunch.
Andrei Kostitsyn’s power play goal with 39 seconds remaining in the second closed out the scoring in the period. Kostitsyn one-timed a Maxim Lapierre feed past Penner to even things at four heading into the final twenty minutes.
Two more power play goals by the Crunch, both with Syracuse holding a two-man advantage, put the Crunch back up two early in the third. Andy Delmore’s first as a member of the Crunch made it 5-4 Syracuse and Aaron Johnson followed that up with a power play goal of his own to give the Crunch a two-goal cushion.
Turns out that wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs scored three unanswered, the last with just nine seconds left in regulation, for the win. Andrei Kostitsyn’s second of the game, a power play marker at the 10:41 mark, cut Syracuse’s lead to one and Andre Benoit tied it at six just under a minute later to set the stage for Marc-Antoine Pouliot’s late game heroics.
With Hamilton holding a man advantage Pouliot, Edmonton’s first round selection in 2003, corralled a loose puck behind the Crunch cage and stuffed a wrap around behind Penner for the game-winner.
Olivier Michaud recorded 25 saves to pick up the win for the Bulldogs. Andrew Penner turned aside 30 Hamilton shots in a losing effort for the Crunch.
Crunch Ice Pack :
Date: Friday, October 28, 2005
Where: War Memorial at Oncenter
Opponent: Hamilton Bulldogs
Attendance:
5,271
Boxscore:
First Period-Scoring-1. Syracuse, Platt 7 (Lindstrom, Delmore), 9:44, (pp). Penalties-Kostitsyn, Ham (slashing), 1:40; Lemieux, Ham (hooking), 4:04; Methot, Syr (interference), 6:05; Lemieux, Ham (interference), 8:27; Canzanello, Syr (hooking), 9:47; Pouliot, Ham (tripping), 10:09; Balastik, Syr (hooking), 15:43; Ham, Bench Minor (too many men, served by Vandermeer), 19:47.
Second Period-Scoring-2. Syracuse, Picard 1 (Motzko, Platt), :50, (pp). 3. Hamilton, Jacques 2 (Benoit, Hainsey), 3:47. 4. Hamilton, Jacques 3 (Lemieux, Kostitsyn), 5:58. 5. Hamilton, Jacques 4 (Hainsey, Benoit), 7:37, (pp). 6. Syracuse, Platt 8 (Johnson, Motzko), 9:44, (pp). 7. Syracuse, Murray 3 (Methot), 12:17. 8. Hamilton, Kostitsyn 2 (Lapierre, Syvret), 19:21, (pp). Penalties-Archer, Ham (roughing), 3:32; Picard, Syr (tripping), 3:32; Johnson, Syr (holding), 7:22; Smith, Ham (interference), 9:12; Archer, Ham (boarding), 9:40; Mauldin, Syr (hooking), 17:54.
Third Period-Scoring-9. Syracuse, Delmore 1 (Simon), 5:35, (pp). 10. Syracuse, Johnson 3 (Delmore, Platt), 7:15, (pp). 11. Hamilton, Kostitsyn 3 (Jacques, Hainsey), 10:41, (pp). 12. Hamilton, Benoit 4 (Hainsey, Lemieux), 11:37, (pp). 13. Hamilton, Pouliot 2 (Lapierre, Lambert), 19:51, (pp). Penalties-Delmore, Syr (hooking), 2:09; Jacques, Ham (hooking), 4:24; Lambert, Ham (slashing), 5:28; Hainsey, Ham (delay of game), 6:36; Picard, Syr (roughing), 10:07; MacMillan, Syr (), 10:58; Motzko, Syr (goaltender interference), 12:34; Methot, Syr (cross-check), 13:36; Nowak, Syr (hooking), 18:05.
Shots on Goal-Hamilton, 7-14-16---37; Syracuse, 9-16-6---31.
Power Play Opportunities-Hamilton, 5-11; Syracuse, 5-10.
Goalies-Hamilton, Michaud (2-3-0), 31 shots-25 saves; Syracuse, Penner (1-1-0), 37 shots-30 saves.
Referee-Gord Dwyer (39); Linesmen-Jim Harper (59), Mike Emanatian
(69).
Three Stars:
1. Jean-Francois Jacques: Recorded the natural hat in the second, added an assist late for a four-point night.
2. Geoff Platt: Another huge night for Platt with two goals and two assists.
3. Ron Hainsey: Finished the night with four helpers, three of which came
on the power play.
Lineups:
Bulldogs:Goal: Ty Conklin, Jeff Deslauriers, Olivier Michaud.
Defense:Jonathon Aitken, Andrew Archer, Dan Smith, Jeff Paul,
Jean-Phillippe Cote, Mathieu Roy, Andre Benoit, Danny Syvret, Ron Hainsey.
Forwards: Garth Murray, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Peter Vandermeer,
Duncan Milroy, Jonathon Ferland, Andrei Kostitsyn, Francis Lemieux, Michael
Lambert, Maxim Lapierre, Ryan Barnes, Jean-Francois Jacques, Corey Locke.
Crunch:Goal:Pascal Leclaire, Andrew Penner Defense: Marc Methot, Jeff MacMillan, Jamie Pushor, Andy Canzanello, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Aaron Johnson, Andy Delmore. Forwards:Tyler Kolarik, Ben Simon, Geoff Platt, Bill Lindsay, Andrew Murray, Peter Sarno, Joe Motzko, Alexandre Picard, Brandon Sugden, Joakim Lindstrom, Greg Mauldin, Jaroslav Balastik, Brett Nowak.
Pre-Game Skate:
Scratched for the Crunch center Peter Sarno (wrist) and right wing Brandon Sugden (back). The Bulldogs didn’t dress right wing Jonathon Ferland along with defensemen Jonathon Aitken, Jeff Paul and Mathieu Roy.
Crunch One-Timers:
On Thursday the Crunch announced that have reassigned defenseman Mark Flood to Dayton of the ECHL. Flood appeared in two games with the Crunch, without recording a point………..Brandon Sugden was a surprise scratch from Friday’s tilt. Sugden came out for pre-game, but returned to the locker room with over 12 minutes left in warm-ups after tweaking his back. He is expected to be ready to go on Saturday in Wilkes-Barre………….Head Coach Gary Agnew dressed seven defensemen on Friday and it paid off when Ole-Kristian Tollefsen was forced to leave game late in the first period. Tollefsen appeared to be slew footed by Hamilton left wing Peter Vandermeer and went hard into the end boards. The original diagnosis was a bruised back and he was taken for x-rays after the game. His status for Saturday is uncertain.......... Syracuse scored five power play goals on Friday, three with a two-man advantage. They had only recorded a total of six prior to Friday’s contest………..They also allowed five power play goals to the Bulldogs………….Former Crunch player Mike Pandolfo was named the ECHL Player of the Week last week after recording two goals in the Reading Royals 3-2 victory over Johnstown. It was Pandolfo’s first ever ECHL game.
From the Hangar :
The Bombers downed the Toledo Storm 4-3 in a shootout at Toledo. Former Crunch members Brian Gornick, Tyson Teplitsky and Jeff Szwez all scored and both Gornick and Scott Cameron added a pair of assists for Dayton. Mike Ayers picked up the win for the Bombers, who are now 2-1 on the season.
On Deck:
The Crunch hit the road on Saturday for the first of four straight away from home. They kick things off by paying a visit to Wachovia Arena to play the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. On Friday the baby Pens stretched the season opening winning streak to eight games with a 5-2 win over the Hershey Bears. Tomas Surovy scored twice for the Pens and Michel Ouellet added three assists. Game time Saturday evening is set for 7:00 P.M. The game can be heard on 620 WHEN along with the internet at www.syracusecrunch.com and can also be viewed on the internet via the B2 Network.