Ron Hainsey and Steve Begin each scored twice as Hamilton earned a sweep of an important two-game series at Rexall Place with a 5-1 win over Edmonton on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs outscored the Road Runners 12-4 in the two contests and now sit alone in fourth place in the North Division. Syracuse is two points back, and Cleveland and Edmonton are four points off the pace.
Hainsey scored two power-play goals on the day, giving the Bulldogs the lead for good midway through the second period. All seven of Hainsey’s goals this season have come with the man advantage.
Begin scored twice in a span of 2:41 during the third period to break the game open. He has six goals in 12 games since joining Hamilton.
Trevor Daley recorded three assists and Yann Danis made 22 saves for the Bulldogs. Edmonton’s Tyler Moss allowed the five Hamilton goals on just 24 shots.
The Road Runners have just two wins in their last 21 games (2-13-1-5).
Elsewhere on Saturday:
Cleveland pulled out a split of its two-game set with Syracuse as Ryane Clowe scored twice in a 3-1 victory… Joffrey Lupul and Curtis Glencross scored two goals apiece as Cincinnati routed Milwaukee, 7-0… Joey MacDonald stopped 34 shots for Grand Rapids in a 2-1 win at San Antonio, moving the Griffins into a tie for fourth place in the West Division… Jason Spezza had a goal and two assists and Ray Emery made 38 saves as Binghamton defeated Norfolk, 6-2… Kyle Wellwood, Matt Stajan and David Ling each picked up a goal and three assists as St. John’s thumped Manitoba, 7-2… Kari Lehtonen ran his personal winning streak to 13 games with 21 saves in Chicago’s 3-2 win over Utah… Ari Ahonen made 25 saves as Albany beat Springfield, 1-0, handing the Falcons their 15th straight road loss… Jon Sim broke a tie with 4:39 left in regulation, his 18th goal in the last 15 games, and Philadelphia beat Hershey, 4-2… Eric Staal scored twice for Lowell in a 4-3 win over Worcester, which dropped its fifth in a row… Bruno Gervais scored with 20 seconds left in overtime to give Bridgeport a 3-2 win over Hartford… Tim Gleason‘s goal with eight seconds to go gave Manchester a 2-1 overtime victory over Portland… Hannu Toivonen made 28 saves in regulation and four in overtime and was 5-for-5 in the shootout as Providence beat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 2-1.
