The Dogs opened the final weekend of the regular season Friday night when they visited the Clippers at the Frank Crane Arena. The Bulldogs iced a much different line up than the one that carried them throughout the season, as they scratched David Dziurzynski, Mitch MacMillan, Mark MacMillan, and Kevin Ross.
The Clippers got on the board early after winning a long battle in the Bulldog end as Mike Domsodi controlled the loose puck and found Andrew Gladiuk alone in the slot as he ripped one past Scott Lewan to make it 1-0 just 2:18 into the game. Kyle Weber also picked up an assist on the play. The Dogs would battle back to tie it at 1-1 just six minutes later on the power play as Johnny Rogic fed the puck down low to Matt Hatch, who drove the puck hard to the net. Loic Boivin made the first save, but Casey Bailey was on the top of the crease to bang the rebound home to tie it at 1-1 8:26 into the first. The score would stay that way until Bulldogs Affiliate Player (and Nanaimo Native) Evan Richardson scored his first career goal as he walked to the net down the right wing and threw a shot through the legs of Boivin to make it 2-1 6:06 into the second. The goal was unassisted. Both teams would have their chances over the remainder of the period but the goalies stood tall and neither team could get a break around the net as it was 2-1 Dogs heading into period three. The third period began with a bang as the Dogs went to the power play with Clippers Head Coach Bill Bestwick picking up a bench minor, game misconduct, and gross misconduct all before the period began. The Dogs weren?t able to take advantage of the power play though. Just a minute later they would go to the power play again when Cody Bremner picked up a minor and misconduct and then a game misconduct, but again the Dogs couldn?t capitalize to build on their lead. That would prove to be big as the Clippers went to the power play with nine minutes to go and they made good on it, taking advantage of two Bulldog penalty killers losing their sticks as Teal Burns put a one-timer off a Bulldog shot block and in for a 2-2 tie with 8:44 to play. Luc Olivier Blain and Andrew Gladiuk picked up the assists. Neither team would find the net through the rest of regulation as the game went to sudden death overtime for the third time in four games at the Frank Crane Arena this season. With double OT looming the Dogs completed the season sweep on Nanaimo ice as 15 year old AP Evan Richardson stole the puck at centre and wheeled over the Nanaimo line where he put a wrist shot past a Nanaimo defender and off the glove of Boivin into the back of the net. It was quite a sight to see as the Dogs came off the bench to mob the hero right in front of all of their fans that had made their way over the hump to cheer them on.
Final shots favoured the Clippers 29-28. Scott Lewan picked up the win, running his streak to 11 straight wins while Loic Boivin took the loss. Both teams were 1 for 3 on the power play.
The Dogs returned home Saturday night to finish off their regular season as they hosted the Langley Chiefs. The Coaching Staff again made significant roster chances, as Matt Hatch, Johnny Rogic, and Tye Lewis came out of the line up. The Dogs would have ample opportunities to take a lead in the first period with four straight penalties to Langley resulting in consecutive power plays including two 5 on 3 chances. While they couldn?t score on the 5 on 3 they eventually found the net late in the frame as Warren Muir drove the net and jammed in a Kevin Ross feed to make it 1-0 with 2:30 to play in the first. The Chiefs would go to the power play just a minute after the goal and they made quick work on the man advantage as Colten Hayes took a huge hit from Tyler Berkholtz but made a great play in doing so as he found Trevor Gerling with a drop pass. Gerling would take the puck down low and then feed a perfect pass to the slot for Jordan Sims who one-timed it into the open side for a 1-1 tie 19:08 into the first. The second period would see no scoring, but that was thanks mostly to Frank Slubowski who was razor sharp as the Chiefs outshot the Dogs 11-4 in the frame. The Chiefs wouldn?t be denied though as they took a 2-1 lead just over three minutes into the third when Mac Roy tipped in a Tim Daly shot from the left circle. Assists on the play went to Joe Walter and Colton Beck 3:07 into the third. The Dogs would have several chances to tie it up on back to back power plays but they couldn?t beat Mark Friesen before the Chiefs added some insurance as Mitch Pacey drove the net and redirected a Dennis Robertson shot past Slubowski to make it 3-1 Chiefs. Kody Dhaliwal also picked up an assist 11:54 into the third. Any hopes of a Bulldog comeback ended as they took two penalties in the final two minutes.
Final shots favoured the Chiefs 32-26 with Frank Slubowski (named the third star of the game) and Mark Friesen (who picked up first star honours) being the goalies of record. The Dogs went 1 for 9 on the power play while the Chiefs were 1 for 8.
With the win in Nanaimo the Bulldogs ran their road winning streak to 19 games. With the loss to Langley the Bulldogs overall win streak is snapped at 9 games. The Bulldogs record breaking regular season ends with a record of 45-12-1 and 2, good for 93 points, a franchise record for both wins and points in a season. The Dogs won?t see game action again now until March 9th when they open the second round of the playoffs on home ice.
