The Bulldogs got off to a great start Friday night – the second straight Friday that they faced the Capitals in Duncan, as they had an early lead in shots on goal and good jump in their step. The Capitals would turn the tide in the second half of the period as it was their turn to carry the play and hem the Dogs in. Neither team would find the net through the opening 20 minutes though.
The second period began with the Dogs Coaching Staff shuffling their lines and it proved beneficial when Tryg Strand scored his first of the season when he walked out from behind the goal with a nice power move across the crease where he slid it home past Derek Dun. Assists on the play went to Manny Gialedakis and Evan Tironese 5:46 into the second. Strand would almost score on back-to-back shifts the next time out, but his shot from the slot hit the post and stayed out. The Capitals would tie the game four minutes later on the man advantage on a pretty passing play as Matt Grant found Steen Cooper who put a perfect cross-ice pass to Troy Paterson who put a one-timer off the crossbar and in top corner far side on Jay Deo. The Dogs would finally get a power play chance of their own exactly three minutes later as Kurt Gosselin walked to the middle of the blue line and put a low wrist shot on net that found its home through traffic to make it 2-1. Ryan Lough picked up the only assist on the play at 12:36 of the second. Jay Deo would come up big to protect the lead with several good saves over the dying minutes of the period, including one on a partial breakaway.
The third period was played with good intensity as the Dogs protected the lead as the Capitals pressed for the equalizer. A goalmouth skirmish would see Ryan Hanes pick up two minutes when he threw a punch at the head of a Bulldog defender. While the Dogs didn’t score on the power play, they did score one second after the penalty elapsed on a faceoff in the Capitals end when Mitch Crisanti snapped one off the post and in, stick side on Dun with Zach Funk and Jared Crossan assisting at 7:44 of the mark of the third. The Dogs protected the lead well over the remainder of regulation as the Caps weren’t able to get much going.
Final shots favoured the Capitals 38-35 with Jay Deo picking up the win and first star honours in net while Derek Dun took the loss. The Dogs went 1 for 2 on the power play while the Capitals went 1 for 3. The Dogs return home Saturday night when they host the Merritt Centennials at 7pm.
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