Perry scores a pair as the Tigers maul the Miners, 4-0.

CANADIAN PRESS (Hamilton, ON)

Probably the best way to describe the Sudbury Miners effort on Saturday night versus the Hamilton Tigers, can be summarized in a single word.

Ugly.  

Led by Corey Perry, who scored a pair of goals, the Tigers peppered the Miners goal with 60 shots on their way to an easy 4-0 win, in front 17,500 fans at the sold-out Copps Coliseum. 

Rookie Aaron Dell, made 56 saves in his first CCHL game.  He had been called up earlier in the week from North Bay in an effort to try and spark the Miners, who have now lost 5 in a row.

Patrick Kane also scored for the Tigers, while defenseman Seth Jones added his fifth of the year to vault into a tie for goals by a defenseman along with four others.  Jones would also add an assist on the night.

The Miners managed just 17 shots on goal, their lowest total of the season.  Tigers goaltender Pekka Rinne would get the easy shutout, his first of the season. It wasn’t pretty night for all of the Miners but especially for defenceman Ben Hutton.  In the second period, after being on the ice for Jones’ first-period goal and facing relentless Tigers pressure for the majority of the frame, Hutton made a blind breakout pass to Jesper Fast that landed on Corey Perry’s stick and ultimately ended up behind Dell.

“You make one bad pass, turns into a turnover, turns into a goal,” said Hutton after the game. “It’s hockey. You try to make a play….try to give your team a spark and if the play works you’re the hero. If it doesn’t, you’re the s—t.   And that best describes our play tonight.  S—t.” “It’s not back to the drawing board. It’s figuring out what our drawing is right now,” said Miners forward Vincent Trocheck, who was playing in his first-ever game against the Tigers after spending years with the organization. “We know it. We just haven’t put it all together yet. It’s going to come soon. It’s just a bad display tonight.”

MINERS NUGGETS

- With the loss, the Miners now sport a 6-12-0 record.  They are now 0-2 versus the Tigers this year. 

- The lone bright spot for the Miners continued to be their penalty kill.  The Miners held the Tigers scoreless in 7 chances on Saturday night.  They currently sit at the top of the league. 

- The Miners continue their road trip on Monday night, as they travel to Georgetown to take on the Millers.  Game time is 7:00pm.