Bye bye Bulldogs: Looking back at the AHL in Hamilton

The Hamilton Bulldogs jumped into the American Hockey League with a bang, but it appears they'll exit with a whimper.

The 'Dogs will play host to the Lake Erie Monsters in their final game of the season Saturday, but their playoff hopes areover the 6-3 loss to theMonsters Friday night officially eliminates Hamilton from qualifying for the post-season.

The AHL Bulldogs started the tenure in Hamilton as the Cinderella story when their inaugural team made it all the way to the Calder Cup Finals. They exitby lmissing the playoffs for the fourth season in a row.

It means Saturday's 7 p.m. game is last AHL game in Hamilton, as the OHL is coming to town next year.

We spoke with colour commentator Al Craig who called 16 of the 19 season in Hamilton to look back at some of his favourite Bulldogs moments ahead of their final game, a game in which they'll be giving away $25,000 in gifts to fans in attendance.

'We are not worthy'

Dennis Bonvie has made a career out of the sin bin. But as a member of Hamilton inaugural 1996-97 Bulldogs team, he racked up a then-record 522 penalty minutes. To celebrate his mark, Bonvie was surprised by none other than the Hanson Brothers of Slap Shot fame, Craig said.

"And then they all got down on their knees," Craig laughed, saying the Hanson brothers began to chant, "We are not worthy."

On Carey Price and the 2007 Calder Cup

Carey Price is undoubtedly one of the best goalies in the National Hockey League right now. In Hamilton, he carried the Bulldogs to their only Calder Cup in 2007 after being called up from the Western Hockey League's Tri-City Americans.

He played two regular season games and then the entire playoffs. He's been in the NHL ever since, where people have often remarked on his laid back, calm demeanorCraig said. It was evident during that playoff run.

"You know the way he plays right now? You wonder is the guy into it or what's going on?" said Craig, "(Price is a) quiet individual, a very cerebral guy."

Ahead of the opening round series, reporters were asking then-head coach Don Lever about "his demeanour and how he would handle this playoff situation in the pros."

Lever's response?

"He said, 'I'm sure if you went into the dressing room right now you'd probably find him sleeping in the corner,'" Craig said.

Best team, worst finish

The 2002-03 season was by far, Craig said, the best roster Hamilton ever had. As a farm team for twoNHL teams in the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers, the Bulldogs coasted to a league best 110 points in 80 games.

The roster of players included Jason Ward, Michael Ryder, Jarret Stoll. Tomas Plekanec, Fernando Pisani, Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin, Mathieu Garon and Ty Conklin, to name a few, and was coached by Claude Julien.

The team went to a Game 7 in the Calder Cup Finals, playingat home in front of the then-largest AHL playoff crowd of 17,428 against the Houston Areos.

"It was just a great series, and the Bulldogs, on my recollection, simply laid an egg," Craig said of the 3-0 loss. "They just came out flat and stayed that way. We were shocked."

Current NHL alumni

The Hamilton Bulldogs have had nearly 200 players go from the AHL to NHL in their 19 seasons. Here are a few notable players currently playing in the NHL:

Carey Price, Jaroslav Halak, P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, Tomax Plekanec, Francois Beauchemin, Nathan Beaulieu, Andre Benoit, Jason Chimera, Kyle Chipchura, Daniel Cleary, Trevor Daley, David Desharnais, Devan Dubnyk, Brendan Gallagher, Ron Hainsey, Jan Hejda, Shawn Horcoff, Chris Higgins, Maxim Lapierre, Mikhail Grabovski, Shawn Horcoff, Steve Ott, Benoit Pouliot, Michael Ryder, Mike Ribeiro, Jarret Stoll, Dustin Tokarski, Raffi Torres and Yannick Weber.

By the numbers

Most games played

1. Alex Henry 486

2. Duncan Milroy 346

3. Jean-Philippe Cote 334

4. Jonathan Ferland 329

5. Gabriel Dumont - 317

Most Goals

1. Corey Locke 85

2. Duncan Milroy 75

3. Gabriel Dumont 72

T4. Brian Swanson 71

T4. Tomas Plekanec 71

Most Assists

1. Corey Locke 144

2. Peter Sarno 123

3. David Desharnais 121

4. Brian Swanson 108

5. Tomas Plekanec 105

Most Points

1. Corey Locke 229

2. David Desharnais 182

T3. Duncan Milroy 179

T3. Brian Swanson 179

5. Tomas Plekanec 176

Most penalty minutes

1. Dennis Bonvie 817

2. Alex Henry 770

3. Martin Laitre 657

4. Terran Sandwith 498

5. Jean-Philippe Cote 477

Most wins

1. Yann Danis 81

2.CedrickDesjardins 56

3. Robert Mayer 49

4. Steve Passmore 47

5. Curtis Sanford 45

Save percentage (min. 25 GP)

1.Jaroslav Halak - .930

2. Curtis Sanford - .928

3. Mike Condon - .922

T4. Eric Fichaud - .921

T4. Dustin Tokarski - .921

Best GAA (min. 25 GP)

1. Curtis Sanford 2.03

2.Jaroslav Halak 2.10

3. Eric Fichaud 2.29

4.Jean-Francois Damphousse 2.30

5. Dustin Tokarski 2.34

Longest game

134:56 minutes playing time; 5 hours 54 minutes actual time on June 4, 2003 vs. Houston (2-1 win for Hamilton)