Blake Geoffrion (51) of the Hamilton Bulldogs warms up prior to an American Hockey League game against the St. John's IceCaps at the Bell Centre in Montreal Friday, February 24, 2012Peter Mccabe/The Globe and Mail
Michael Bournival was the only player to score in the shootout Saturday as the Hamilton Bulldogs edged the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-3 in American Hockey League action.
Blake Geoffrion, Aaron Palushaj and Gabriel Dumont all scored in regulation for Hamilton (1-0-0). Robert Mayer stopped 17-of-20 shots before turning aside five Griffins in the shootout.
Jeff Hoggan had a power-play goal in the third period to tie the game for Grand Rapids (0-1-1). Francis Pare and Trevor Parkes also scored, while Tom McCollum turned aside 33-of-36 shots before stopping 3-of-4 Bulldogs in the shootout.
Hamilton scored twice in the final three minutes of an otherwise tight opening period. Geoffrion slipped a backhand past McCollum while falling to the ice in the slot at the 17:09 mark, before Palushaj deflected the puck into the net.
Grand Rapids' Landon Ferraro fed a pass into the right circle to Trevor Parkes, who whipped a shot behind Mayer at the 46-second mark of the second for the first short-handed goal of his career.
A point-blank try by Brendan Smith was stopped by Mayer, but Pare knocked in the rebound at the left post to make it 2-2 just 5:24 into the second.
Hamilton used a goal from its fourth line to pull back on top at 4:53 of the third, as Dumont's shot from along the goal-line managed to elude McCollum.
The Griffins clawed back to forge a tie, with Hoggan beating Mayer on a backhand from the slot at 9:39.
Both goaltenders made four saves to send the game to a shootout.
Hamilton went 0 for 6 on the power play, while Grand Rapids was 1 for 3.