SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Hamilton Bulldogs left wing Max Pacioretty has been named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Month for November. Pacioretty led all AHL scorers with 10 goals and added seven assists for 17 points in 13 games as the Bulldogs surged to the top of the Western Conference with a 9-3-0-1 record for the month.
Pacioretty’s 10 goals in November surpassed his previous career high for an entire season, established when he scored nine times in 71 games between Hamilton and Montreal as a rookie in 2008-09. He began the month with back-to-back two-point nights, putting up a goal and an assist in each half of a two-game sweep of Manitoba on Nov. 2 and 3. Pacioretty scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Grand Rapids on Nov. 13, and began a stretch of four consecutive multiple-point games with two assists at Rochester on Nov. 19. Pacioretty celebrated his 22nd birthday on Nov. 20 at Toronto by providing all of the Hamilton offense in a 4-3 shootout loss at Toronto, scoring all three Bulldogs goals in regulation and the team’s only tally of the shootout. He scored twice more in a 3-2 win at Adirondack on Nov. 24, and notched a goal and an assist to close out the month on Nov. 28 at Syracuse.
In recognition of his achievement, Pacioretty will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Bulldogs home game.
A third-year pro from New Canaan, Conn., Pacioretty is tied for third in the AHL with 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 21 games for Hamilton this season. Montreal’s first-round draft pick (22nd overall) in 2007 split each of his first two seasons between the Bulldogs and Canadiens, and now shows six goals and 19 assists for 25 points in 86 career NHL contests to go with 19 goals and 46 assists for 65 points in 76 AHL games.
Other nominees for Reebok/AHL Player of the Month include Abbotsford goaltender Leland Irving, Binghamton center Corey Locke, Bridgeport goaltender Kevin Poulin, Charlotte center Zac Dalpe, Chicago center Jason Krog, Connecticut right wing Jeremy Williams, Hershey center Mathieu Perreault, Lake Erie center Mark Olver, Manchester center Andrei Loktionov, Milwaukee goaltender Mark Dekanich, Norfolk left wing Johan Harju, Oklahoma City left wing Linus Omark, Peoria right wing Dave Spina, Portland right wing Mark Mancari, Providence center Jamie Arniel, Rochester right wing Bill Thomas, Rockford left wing Jeremy Morin, San Antonio right wing Brett MacLean, Springfield left wing Matt Calvert, Syracuse left wing Matt Beleskey, Texas center Travis Morin, Toronto goaltender Jussi Rynnas, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton center Dustin Jeffrey and Worcester defenseman Sean Sullivan.
