HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hamilton Bulldogs scored on three of their first six shots in the opening 6:02, and then netted the last four goals of the game, in a 7-3 victory over the Connecticut Whale before 6,018 at the XL Center on Friday night.
The Whale (21-17-2-5) rallied from the early deficit to tie on Jason Williams’ 5-on-3 goal 31 seconds into the second period. But the Bulldogs would then score four times in the game’s final 21:58.
Coach Ken Gernander wasn’t about to use having six players, including five forwards, on call-ups to the parent New York Rangers as an excuse.
“This left a bad taste in our mouths,” Gernander said. “I’m a lot disappointed in our start. On the three goals, there were a lot of mistakes, and there were quite a few guys who weren’t ready right from the get-go. When our margin for error is pretty slim right now, you can’t afford that.
“I’m not going to single anybody out, but I was definitely upset with some of the goals and some of our guys’ play. I’m not happy with our team game and obviously our team defense when you give up seven. We’re a better defending team than that, and if there’s any person who’s going to be singled out, I think it was pretty poor from start to finish.”
Gernander also hasn’t happy with some of the Whale’s penalties, which led to an early 5-on-3 on which Brendon Nash produced a 3-0 lead and goaltender Chad Johnson’s quick exit in favor of Pier-Olivier Pelletier, who signed a professional tryout contract on Wednesday after being 6-9-4 with a 3.33 goals-against average in 21 games with Laredo of the Central Hockey League.
Was Gernander’s quick hook because of Johnson or the team?
“Both. Both,” Gernander said. “I didn’t like the first two goals, and the third was a 5-on-3. It was a pretty tough game for Pelletier. I thought he did all right for a bit, and then their chances started to come at the end. I’m not going to be as judgmental or critical of his game as Chad because he’s been around all season with us.
“I don’t know what effect the first goal had, but we’ve been a pretty resilient bunch and battled back with some good special teams goals. But when you’re not 100 percent mentally engaged, it kind of lapses. You gather it back in because there’s going to be repercussions if you keep playing like that. We battled back, but then it goes again. There’s a lot of room for improvement, a lot of things that were less than acceptable.”
But having the Rangers’ roster now include defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forwards Mats Zuccarello, Dale Weise, Kris Newbury, Chad Kolarik and Brodie Dupont, scheduled to make his NHL debut Saturday, wasn’t in Gernander’s mind.
“We’re not asking guys to reinvent themselves or create a new game for themselves overnight,” Gernander said. “For the most part, everybody has been here, everybody knows the system, so I think they should just be able to adhere to what we’re asking them to do, play within themselves the best they can, win your one-on-one battles, make sound decisions with the puck. They might sound rather trivial, but that’s all that was asked of them.”
Hamilton coach Randy Cunneyworth, who played five seasons with the Hartford Whalers, said adhering to the system is why the Bulldogs (25-13-1-4) have been able to win four in a row after losing their top two scorers, All-Stars David Desharnais (10 goals, 35 assists) and former New Canaan High and Taft School-Watertown standout Max Pacioretty (17, 15), on recalls to the Montreal Canadiens.
“We’ve had some changes, but what is great about the guys is they’ve bought into the system,” Cunneyworth, whose team beat Rochester 7-0 in its previous outing Tuesday. “They’ve seen how seamlessly guys a few years ahead of them have gone up and worked into Montreal’s system. I think they envision themselves doing the same thing in due time, and that’s really what it’s all about.”
The Whale fell behind 3-0 in the opening 6:02, when the Bulldogs’ Hunter Bishop, Aaron Palushaj and Nash scored on six shots, causing the quick departure of Johnson.
Just 1:40 into the game, Bishop took a drop pass from Gabriel Dumont and beat Johnson high to the stick side. Then on the Bulldogs’ first power play, Nash passed to Palushaj, who got around Whale defenseman Michael Del Zotto and flipped a backhander that trickled in through Johnson’s legs at 3:05. The Bulldogs completed their early burst on a 5-on-3 as Ben Maxwell found Nash in the left circle at 6:02 for a 3-0 lead.
Johnson was pulled in favor of Pelletier, signed to a PTO as a replacement for Cameron Talbot, who sustained high ankle sprain in a 6-3 victory over the league-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Sunday.
The Whale quickly responded as Ryan Garlock raced down right wing and flipped a seemingly harmless backhander from the goal line extended that somehow got between All-Star goalie Curtis Stanford and the post 49 seconds after Pelletier appeared. The goal ended a 128:31 shutout streak for the veteran Sanford, who came in off back-to-back 22-save shutouts that had lowered his league-leading goals-against average and save percentage to 1.67 and .940.
The Whale got to 3-2 at 14:48 on a 5-on-3 when Evgeny Grachev converted the rebound of a shot by Tim Kennedy, who had peeled himself off the ice after being crosschecked into the boards by Brett Festerling without a penalty being called.
The Whale nearly tied it on their next power play, but Stanford made stellar stops on Jason Williams’ deflection and Garlock’s rebound. On an ensuing Bulldogs rush, Pelletier stopped Dany Masse, but referee Mark Lemelin awarded Masse a penalty shot because of a hook on Tomas Kundratek with 3:29 left. But Pelletier stopped Masse’s shot to keep it a 3-2 game.
“Pelletier’s stop was a rallying point for a window of time,” Gernander said, “but it didn’t sustain us through the course of the game.”
The Whale got a golden opportunity to get even or take the lead when Dumont slammed Devin DiDiomete into the boards, earning a 5-minute major and game misconduct with 3:02 left. Chris McKelvie, recalled from Greenville of the ECHL on Thursday, came to the defense of DiDiomete and got two minutes for roughing and five minutes for fighting.
All-Star right wing Jeremy Williams hit the crossbar with 29 seconds left in the period, but the Whale tied it 31 seconds into the second period as Wade Redden rushed into the offensive zone and dropped a pass to Jason Williams, who beat Sanford to the stick side.
The Whale then had two good chances to take their first lead, but Sanford denied Kennedy in the slot and Jason Williams off the wing. Then at 6:28, Jeremy Williams hit the post.
The Bulldogs nearly regained the lead with 4:04 left in the period, but Pelletier stopped Palushaj’s one-timer and Alexander Avtsin’s rebound. After Sanford robbed Grachev coming out of the right corner, the Bulldogs reclaimed the lead for good when Avtsin found a wide-open J.T. Wyman in front for an easy finish with 1:58 left in the period.
The Bulldogs again displayed their quick striking power with three goals in 5:58 to start the third period.
Masse got inside of Del Zotto and deflected Alex Henry’s shot past Pelletier at 1:03 for his first goal of the season, then the Bulldogs got their second 5-on-3 goal when Ben Maxwell beat Pelletier high to the glove side at 5:20. Then at 7:01, Maxwell deflected in Palushaj’ shot.
Garlock also said missing six players was no excuse for such an effort, which should improve at Springfield Saturday night.
“We had a real good week of practice,” Garlock said. “Maybe there were guys playing in positions they’re not used to, but everybody has to look at it as an opportunity, and we’re all going to have the same opportunity (Saturday) night. It’s an opportunity that guys might wait for all year, myself included. I’m loving all these minutes I’ve been getting, and I know a lot of guys who are feeling the same way.
“We still have a lot of good players in the locker room who are more than capable of winning a lot of games. They’re a team that we don’t see often. We know they’re a real good team, and we just had a few lapses that ended up costing us.”
Story by Bruce Berlet of the Connecticut Whale
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