For the third straight game the Bulldogs were flying from the opening puck drop, this time they would score first on as Brandon Halls drove the net and found a rebound off a Lars Hepso shot that he slid home into the open side. Chris Tracy also picked up an assist on the goal 2:21 into the game. The Bulldogs would double the lead on a pretty cross-crease passing play on the man advantage that was finished off by BCHL Leading Scorer Evan Tironese, with Evan Anderson and Chase Van Allen also assisting at 3:08. On the next shift the Clippers would head to the box again as Christopher Rygus was caught spearing Mitch Crisanti between the legs. The Bulldogs struggled to get it going early in the man-advantage, but caught fire at the end of the first penalty, making it 3-0 exactly two minutes into the power play as Turner Popoff absolutely ripped a rolling puck top corner on Jayson Argue from the left circle. Assists went to Evan Tironese and Evan Anderson 5:44 into the first as the Dogs carried that lead into the second period.
The lead was 4-0 Dogs just past the six minute mark of the second when Manny Gialedakis pounced on a loose puck off a Clipper miscue in their end and threw the puck at the net where Evan Tironese deflected it home past Jarrod Schamerhorn for his second of the game at the 6:05 mark. The Bulldogs would protect the lead with back-to-back-to back penalty kills but the Clippers kept the momentum and ending up breaking the goose-egg as Greg Fraser roofed a shot top corner glove side from the slot on a nice set up by Michael McNicholas at the 12:00 mark. The Clippers would go to a 5 on 3 power play later in the period with a chance to trim the gap but the Bulldog penalty killers and Jay Deo held the fort until the late stages of the period when the Dogs went up 5-1 on their first shorthanded goal of the season, and the first of the season for affiliate player Stephen Ryan as he picked up a Ryan Lough pass on the doorstep and roofed his own rebound on the backhand at 19:03 of the period.
The only goal of the third period saw the Clippers trim the gap the rush when Michael McNicholas picked up a Spencer Turcotte pass and snapped one top corner, far side with 8:13 to go. The Dogs went to the power play several times over the remainder of the game but they were unable to connect as it ended up a 5-2 final.
Final shots favoured the Clippers 38-34 in a losing cause for Jayson Argue in net, while Jay Deo picked up 3rdstar honours with the win. The Dogs went 2 for 9 on the power play and 7/7 on the penalty kill. The Dogs are next in action in Cowichan Friday night as they visit the Capitals a week to the day all over again, before they finish the weekend Saturday night at the Dog Pound when the Merritt Centennials come to town. The Dogs weekend isn’t over yet, as they are out in the community tomorrow for the SPCA’s “Pause for a Cause” at Blair Park
Team Sites
Follow the BCHL
