Game Notes From The Dog Pound: Hamilton 3 Toronto 2

Here are some comments and observations from the Hamilton vs. Toronto game at Copps Coliseum on February 12.

1 Here’s a look at last night’s line combos and D pairings

Tenute – Blunden – Dumont

Leblanc -Holland- Murovich

Fortier – Stortini – Chaput

Avtsin – Hagel – Laveille

Pateryn – Beaulieu

Ellis – DeSantis

Stejskal – Corbin

One thing I like about these line combos is the fact they broke up Stortini and Hagel putting them with some skilled players that could use a little protection.

Bournival, Tinordi and St. Denis all are day-to-day.

2 The PK went 6 for 7 breaking a string of 26 in a row without giving up a goal. They have now killed off 32 of 34 for the month of February. Pateryn, Beaulieu and Dumont saw a lot of PK time last night being the most effective.

3 The Dogs went 2 for 7 with the man advantage for the night. This brings their total so far for the month of February to 3 goals in 28 chances. Beaulieu, Pateryn, Chaput, Tenute and Dumont saw a good chunk of PP time tonight with all 5 being on the ice for the both PP goals. Dumont and Tenute had 2 PP assists each while Beaulieu and Chaput each had 1 PP goals.

4 Robert Mayer had another strong game earning the win giving him back to back wins and 10 total wins so far this season. Mayer held the Dogs in the game in the first period stopping 10 of 11 shots he faced making many big saves. Mayer had rough second period giving up a goal on just 5 Marlie shots but settled down in the third to seal the deal. On the second Marlie goal I thought there was goalie interference but there was no call or review of the goal. Note Robert has 5 wins 3 losses and 2 shootout losses in his last 10 starts.

5 Beaulieu played some big minutes in the first period picking up the slack as Morgan Ellis went to the dressing room mid period and didn’t return till the start of the second period. Beaulieu saw time on the PP and PK and was credited with the game winning goal on the power play late in the third period. Personal note here I still think it went off Dumont who was parked in front of the net. With both Tinordi and St. Denis on the self with injuries Beaulieu is playing big minutes and is becoming the go to guy on the Dogs D along with his partner Pateryn. Together they have been the best pair of late.

6 Leblanc just couldn’t buy a goal last night. He had 4 shots on goal and missed a couple of open nets. He has really stepped up his game of late seeing action on the PP and playing top 6 minutes again. It will only be a matter of time before Louie starts burying a few. Between the ankle injury and switching from center to winger it has been a rough year for Louie. Personally I like Louie as a center I think he is a more effective player when playing there.

7 No guest coaches tonight as you may know Martin Lapointe was helping out behind the bench on Friday night and Patrice Brisebois was there Saturday night. Tonight they were sitting in the upper bowl observing the game with a third individual which I couldn’t identify. I was really impressed with Brisebois behind the bench he was a real rah-rah type of guy handing out lots of back pats and words of encouragement to the guys. It was nice to see for a change it seems like the guys were feeding off his energy.

8 For the second game in a row Zack Stortini was on the ice taking faceoffs with the game on the line deep in our zone. Strange move to say the least since his main claim to fame is fighting but it seems to be working. Zack does have the ability to man handle the opposing center knocking him off his game. Speaking of fights Stortini took on Dewane in a fight that lacked any real homerun shots by either guy I’d say it was a draw.

9 Dallas Eakins had a rough night behind the bench for the Marlies. Apparently he thought the powerplay goal scored by Beaulieu was batted in by a high stick. He argued the play and was given a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. This just enraged him more causing him to go ballistic and throw his playboard onto the ice. Next he grab a chair picked it up but had second thoughts and put it down. He was then accessed a game misconduct and stromed out as the crowd at Copps started chanting ole ole. Believe me it was worth the price of admission just to see that. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the league take further action on this matter.

10 Dogs were outshot 11 to 3 in the first period due to the fact they spent almost half the period killing penalties. Their first shot of the game came around the 10 minute mark of the period, you don’t win games playing like that. The second period they dominated the shot clock out shooting the Marlies 16 to 5 if it wasn’t for the play of Rynnas the Dogs could have easily been up by 2 or 3 goals. In the third period the shots were 9 a piece bringing the game total to 28 for the Dogs and 25 for the Marlies.

11 That ends the 12 game season series between the two teams. The Dogs had 5 wins 5 losses 1 OT loss and 1 shootout loss for 12 points. Not a bad record considering the Marlies had a ton of NHL players on their roster due to the lockout. I believe right now there are 6 or 7 former Marlies on the current Leaf roster.

12 A look at the 3 stars of the game

1st star Nate Beaulieu of Hamilton with 1 goal 1 shot and a -1 rating wouldn’t have been my pick for 1st star. I would have picked Gabriel Dumont with 3 assists 5 shots and a +1 rating he was involved in all of Hamilton’s goal. Played both PP and PK blocked some shots and played an all around good game.

2nd star Joey Tenute of Hamilton with 3 assists 2 shots and a +1 rating would also have been my pick for 2nd star. He like Dumont was involved in all of Hamilton’s goals tonight.

3rd star Jake Gardiner of Toronto with 1 assist 4 shots and 0 rating wouldn’t have been my pick for 3rd star. I would have given it to Nate Beaulieu of Hamilton with 1 goal 1 shot and a -1 rating he played great in all situations. Note: Gardiner was on the ice for both of Hamilton’s powerplay goals.

13 Premium player of the game went to Gabriel Dumont with 3 assists 5 shots and a +1 rating wouldn’t have been my choice because he would have been my 1st star. Instead I would have picked Mike Blunden who had 1 goal 3 shots and a +1 rating.

14 If the Dogs keep playing like they have the last couple of games they might just get back into the playoff race. At this time that might seem like an impossibility since they are both last in the conference and last overall in the league. But some of the teams ahead of them are starting to lose players to the NHL which helps the Dogs. Right now they are blocking shots, getting good goaltending, playing good D and killing penalties at an insane rate. If they could just start scoring some goals especially on the PP where they have been brutal all year. They have to start cashing in on missed chances if they can do this then they might just get back into it.