'DOG DAYS' OF THE SEASON

HAMILTON, Ontario – Mike Glumac and Brock Trotter recorded four points apiece to lead the Hamilton Bulldogs to a 5-2 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins at the Copps Coliseum on Saturday.

The Griffins (20-19-0-1) now stand at the halfway point of their season, and with the loss they trail the division-leading Bulldogs (26-9-2-3) by 16 points.

Returning to Van Andel Arena on Friday to kick off a 3-in-3 set, the Griffins will host the Peoria Rivermen for a 7:00 p.m. face off.

The opening period ended in a stalemate, however things looked promising for the Griffins, who at one point had a 10-1 lead in shots.

In the middle frame, the Bulldogs became the first team this season to post 19 shots in a single period against the Griffins, enabling them to take a commanding 3-0 lead. At 1:43, Trotter put his team up 1-0 when the buried the rebound of a Glumac shot from the top of the crease.

During a 5-on-3 opportunity, Trotter picked up his second goal of the game when he took a cross-ice pass from David Desharnais, and lifted a shot under the cross bar at the 7:16 mark. The Bulldogs then scored their second power play goal of the game at 16:05. Glumac was camped out in front of the net, and screening Jordan Pearce, he tipped Andre Benoit’s shot off the post and into the net for a 3-0 lead.

In the third period, Glumac picked up his second goal of the night when he slammed home Frederic St. Denis’ centering pass at 2:31.

Grand Rapids battled back with a goal at the 6:52 mark. At the right circle, Mattias Ritola caught a pass from Tomas Tatar and weaved his way across the crease to score his tenth goal of the season. The Griffins then climbed within two of Hamilton with 10:45 remaining in the period. Cedrick Desjardins chased the puck behind his own net, and Jamie Tardif brilliantly cut off his clearing attempt in the right corner, and fired a shot in to the vacant net from just above the goal line.

With 1:10 remaining in regulation, Pearce was pulled for an extra attacker, but Trotter finalized a 5-3 score sheet by sliding his hat trick goal in to the open net with just two seconds remaining.

Pearce made 33 saves for Grand Rapids, while Desjardins put together a 25-save performance for a Hamilton win.

Three Stars: 1. HAM Trotter (3 goals, 1 assist); 2. HAM Glumac (2 goals, 2 assists); 3. GR Ritola (1 goal).