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BULLDOGS BLANK BEARS IN GAME 1

Friday, June 1, 2007 - 08:17PM

HAMILTON 4 HERSHEY 0

HERSHEY, PA – Carey Price registered a 46-save shutout as the Hamilton Bulldogs blanked the Hershey Bears 4-0 on Friday night in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Final at the Giant Center. The Bulldogs now lead the best-of-seven championship 1-0 and have yet to trail a series in the entire 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs.

A thunderstorm in Hershey knocked the power out in the arena at the Giant Center and delayed the start of the game for 28 minutes. The puck dropped at 7:28 p.m. and the 2007 Calder Cup was under way.

After a scoreless first period, the Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead with two power-play goals early in the middle stanza. Matt D’Agostini opened the scoring of the game and series just 1:21 into the frame after picking up the rebound of Dan Jancevski’s shot and burying his third marker of the playoffs. Mikhail Grabovski then notched his third tally of the post-season exactly 2:33 later by dancing into the Bears zone and snapping a wrist shot past Hershey’s netminder Frederic Cassivi.

Hamilton built a 3-0 lead at 11:35 of the second period when Corey Locke went end-to-end with the puck and unleashed a backhand shot into the top of Hershey’s night. The unassisted marker was Locke’s team-leading ninth goal of the playoffs and second point of the night, as he also drew an assist on D’Agostini’s opening tally.

Locke then put the game away for Hamilton at 13:37 of the third frame with his second goal of the night. Locke picked up a loose puck at the side of Hershey’s net and beat a sprawled out Cassivi to make the score 4-0.

Between the pipes, Carey Price was named the game’s first star with a perfect 46-save performance for the Bulldogs. At the other end of the ice, Cassivi turned aside 21 of 25 shots in a losing effort for the Bears.

Hamilton had a large advantage on special teams, going 3-for-6 on the power play and a perfect 9-for-9 on the penalty-kill.

The Hamilton Bulldogs will continue their quest for the Calder Cup at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 2nd when they take on the Hershey Bears in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Final at the Giant Center. Fans can listen to the game on the flagship station of the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network, 820 CHAM ‘The Legend,’ beginning with the Park's Furniture Pre-Game Show at 6:30 p.m. The game will also be televised on Cable 14 in Hamilton at 7:00 p.m. Fans can also listen or watch at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the ‘B2 Networks’ or ‘820 CHAM’ icon on the ‘Dogs website.

The ‘Dogs next home game will be Game 3 of the Calder Cup Final when the Hershey Bears invade Copps Coliseum at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, online at ticketmaster.ca, or through charge-by-phone at 905-527-7666. For Season Ticket Holders, Game 3 will be Round 4, Home Game A.

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:
(no scoring)

2nd Period:
1. HAM – Matt D’Agostini-3 (Dan Jancevski, Corey Locke) – 1:21 (pp)
2. HAM – Mikhail Grabovski-3 (Eric Manlow, Danny Groulx) – 3:54 (pp)
3. HAM – Corey Locke-9 (unassisted) – 11:35

3rd Period:
4. HAM – Corey Locke-10 (Dan Jancevski, Maxim Lapierre) – 13:37 (pp)

Scoring:
Hamilton: 0-3-1--4
Hershey: 0-0-0--0

Shots:
Hamilton: 12-10-3--25
Hershey: 16-10-20--46

Goaltending:
Hamilton: Carey Price (46 shots, 46 saves)
Hershey: Frederic Cassivi (25 shots, 21 saves)

Power Play:
Hamilton: 3-for-6
Hershey: 0-for-9

Attendance: 10,257

Three Stars:
1. HAM – Carey Price
2. HAM – Corey Locke
3. HAM – Dan Jancevski

Pearson Dunn Player of the Game: Mikhail Grabovski