Special victory for Bulldogs

A near-perfect night on special teams led the Hamilton Bulldogs to a 5-4 win over the Cleveland Barons at Gund Arena on Saturday night.

Cleveland’s four-game winning streak came to an end, and the Bulldogs moved a point ahead of the Barons and into fifth place in the North Division.

Hamilton was 3-for-3 on the power play and scored two shorthanded goals while killing of eight of nine Barons man advantages.

Chris Higgins had two goals and an assist during the Bulldogs’ four-goal second period. Ron Hainsey finished with a goal and two assists and Tomas Plekanec added three assists.

Trevor Daley and Steve Begin also scored for Hamilton. Ryane Clowe led the Barons with two goals.

Elsewhere on Saturday:
Matt Hussey scored twice during a five-minute power play early in the third period, leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 4-3 win over visiting Philadelphia… Chris Kelly had two goals and Jason Spezza recorded four assists as Binghamton beat Albany, 5-2… Justin Mapletoft scored twice and Dieter Kochan made 49 saves to help Bridgeport to a 4-1 win over Norfolk… Mike Bishai‘s overtime goal gave Edmonton a 2-1 win over Syracuse and ended the Road Runners’ nine-game winless slide… Chris Kunitz scored in the opening minute of the second period, the only goal in Cincinnati’s 1-0 victory over Utah… St. John’s scored on five of eight shootout attempts to earn a 3-2 victory over Hershey… Darryl Bootland scored 24 seconds into overtime to lift Grand Rapids over Chicago, 3-2, ending the Wolves’ six-game winning streak… Jozef Balej scored twice and Jason LaBarbera made 29 saves for his 20th career AHL shutout as Hartford beat San Antonio, 2-0… Paul Gaustad scored twice and Jason Pominville had three assists as Rochester held off Manitoba, 5-4.