The Alberni Valley Bulldogs exploded for four 3rd period goals as they pulled away from the Nanaimo Clippers for a 7-2 win at the Dawg Pound on Monday night.
The Bulldogs led 3-1 after 20 minutes, and 3-2 after 40 minutes before scoring early and often in the 3rd to chase Clippers starter Jordan Naylor from the crease.
Adam Jeffrey paced the Bulldogs attack with his 5th & 6th goals of the season while Josh Van Unen (4th), Lukas Jirousek (9th), Brandon Buhr (10th), Chase Klassen (10th), and Logan Walker (2nd) all scored for the Bulldogs in the win. Ryan Nause chipped in with 3 assists from the back-end.
Luke Pearson was solid for the Bulldogs, especially while the game remained tight. Pearson finished the night with 44 saves and earned his 9th win of the season. Pearson now has a sparkling .928 save percentage on the year.
The win moved the Bulldogs to within 2 points of the idle Victoria Grizzlies for top spot in the Island Division pod. In baseball terms, the Bulldogs are a game back of the Grizzlies with 4 to play. The pod could very well come down to the two remaining head-to-head match ups between the two clubs. The win improved the Bulldogs record to 9-3-3-1. The Clippers fell to 6-10-0-0.
Bulldogs were 2 for 3 with the man advantage, while the the penalty kill was a perfect 5 for 5.
THREE STARS:
*** Ryan Nause- AVB (3 a)
** Adam Jeffrey- AVB (2 g)
* Chase Klassen- AVB (1 g 2 a)
