The Bulldogs three game weekend began Friday night at the Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo. This would be a very tightly played and at times plodding game. It would be the Clippers taking a 1-0 lead 7:27 in when Cody Bremner converted a perfect pass on a 2 on 1 by Carson Schell. Teal Burns also picked up an assist on the play. The game would stay 1-0 all the way until the 10:12 mark of the third period when Matt Hatch banged home a rebound off of a Luke Fenske point shot. Johnny Rogic would also pick up an assist on the play.
The game would go to overtime where the first session of sudden death was again slow and cautious, with neither team wanting to make a mistake to lose the game. The second overtime session brought immediate action, as Mark Segal would make a great blocker save off of Nick Cecere. Then off a faceoff in the Nanaimo end the Clippers raced away on a 2 on 1 after a blocked point shot. Frank Slubowski would end up making a great save off of Andrew Gladiuk on the cross ice pass from Kyle Kramer. On the ensuing faceoff the Dogs would race away on an immediate 2 on 1 where Matt Hatch drove wide down the right wing and found Johnny Rogic going to the net who ripped it into the open side past Segal for his second OT winner of the season, and his 4th overall.
Final shots were 28-27 Bulldogs as Frank Slubowski picked up the win and first star honours in net. Mark Segal took the loss in his first career start. The Dogs were 0 for 7 on the power play, while the Clippers were 0 for 4.
Saturday night saw the Bulldogs host the Westside Warriors as they came out flying, scoring as many goals in the first five minutes of the game as they scored in 66 minutes the night before. Things got going when Matt Hatch drew a penalty before the game was 30 seconds old. On the power play the Dogs got a good bounce as Mark MacMillan had his cross crease pass hit Joel Woznikowski and deflected past Kevin Jebson. Kevin Ross and David Dziurzynski picked up the assists at the one-minute mark. Four minutes later it was 2-0 as David Dziurzynski found Mitch MacMillan going to the net down the left side where he snapped one stick-side past Jebson to make it 2-0 at the 5:29 mark. Mark MacMillan also assisted on the play as the Dogs led 2-0 into the second. In period two the Dogs got in penalty trouble going down two men, but they got out of the trouble with a couple of great shot blocks by Warren Muir and Kevin Ross and some good goaltending by Slubowski. The Dogs would then make it 3-0 on Mitch MacMillan?s second as he banged in a David Dziurzynski wrap around. Mark also picked up the second assist 6:17 into the period. It would then be the Dogs turn to go to work on the 5 on 3 where Mitch completed the hat trick with a beauty shot blocker-side top shelf from the slot at the 13:19 mark. Assists went to Kevin Ross and Nick Cecere on the back end for setting it up. The period ended with one more goal as Matt Hatch made it 5-0 with 36 seconds to play in the second putting a rebound in the open side. Mark MacMillan and Nick Cecere picked up the assists. It would Hatch again finding the net just short of three minutes into the third when he blew a slap shot through the legs of Cam Gorchynski from the top of the left circle with the Dogs shorthanded. Johhny Rogic drew the only assist as he dug the puck loose on the fore-check. The goal came at 2:57 of the third. The Warriors would break Frank Slubowski?s shut out attempt on a Max French wrap around 7:02 in to make it 6-1. Colton Sissons and Dru Morrison picked up the assists. The game would have a crazy ending as with eight minutes to play Caylen Walls would get dinged for coming off the bench to fight Trent Dorais resulting in a forever long string of power plays as Walls was given four for leaving the bench and two for instigating, and Alex Grieve picked up two for slashing. Two more Westside minors saw the Dogs up two men for even longer as they scored twice ? first it was Warren Muir converting a cross-crease pass from Sam Mitchell at the 14:00 mark. Ryan Corbiell also picked up an assist on the play. It was then Nick Cecere making it 8-1 with a shot from the line with Muir screening with 3:14 to play. Sam Mitchell and Ryan Corbiell again picked up the assists as the game ended with the Dogs scoring eight at home for the first time in two years.
Final shots favoured the Dogs 38-30 with Frank Slubowski and Kevin Jebson being the goalies of record. The Bulldogs went 5 for 12 on the power play while the Warriors went 0 for 6.
Sunday afternoon brought the third game in two and a half days for the Dogs as the Penticton Vees rolled into town playing their fourth in four and a half days. The Vees had a great start as they got to Scott Lewan early as he was making first start since game one of the season. It was 1-0 Vees 1:57 in on a shot by Luke Curadi from the line as he beat Lewan on one the goaltender would probably want back. Jake Johnson and Eric Filiou picked up the assists. It would be a 2-0 lead for Penticton 4:39 in when Beau Bennett scored low short side on the power play with assists going to Joey LaLeggia and Denver Manderson. The flow of the period changed in mere seconds when Brody Lynott stepped up at the line and hammered Denver Manderson as he chipped the puck out. The Vees defence of their star player was swift as Lynott faced with 2 Vees players with their gloves off as he got up, the second in appearing to be Luke Curadi who threw him down to the ice and threw two punches with Lynott on his knees. Casey Bailey would then come to the aid of Lynott. It would all play out with Curadi getting 5 for fighting and 2 for instigator, and Lynott would get 2 for roughing. Casey Bailey would get the 3rd man in and a game ejection. When play resumed the Vees would receive a plethora of penalties seeing the Dogs going on a 4 on 3 and then 5 on 3 power play. It would actually be the Vees who ended up with the best chance, as Eric Filou raced in alone on a shorthanded breakaway where it appeared he has Lewan beat but he stayed with it and somehow got his left toe behind him to keep it out. Then, from his side, he managed to stop the follow up chance to keep it 2-0 and keep the Bulldogs in it. The Dogs finally found the net when Luke Fenske one-timed a Ryan Corbiell pass from the point that was re-directed home by Sam Mitchell at the top of the crease to make it 2-1 at the 16:28 mark of the first. The Dogs weren?t able to build on it as the Vees started the second like the first as the found the net early with Logan Johnston banging a rebound home from the top of the crease. Eric Filiou got the only assist 1:34 into the second. The score stayed that way until Ben Sexton would increase the lead to 4-1 with eight minutes left in the second when he deflected a Matt Paltridge point shot off of a faceoff win in the Dogs end. Alex Szczechura got the only assist at the 12:17 mark of the second. The Dogs would get that right back just over a minute later when Tyler Berkholtz dug the puck out of the corner and found Cecere at the left point where he put a shot on net that was stopped by Sean Bonar, but he couldn?t grab the rebound as Jesse Halikas scored his first career goal to make it 4-2 Vees 13:28 into the second. Trent Dorais and Nick Cecere were given the assists on the play. The Vees would play a simple third period to hold their lead, mostly dumping the puck in from centre and changing to keep their shifts short. The Dogs battled and battled to get going, and they made a game of it and got the crowd into it with 3:16 to play as Warren Muir found a loose puck off a Robert Lindores wrap around that he slid into the open side to make it 4-3. With power of the crowd was felt almost immediately as the Dogs started to fly as they generated a flurry of chances off a l
