(image:Lyndon Cassell photography)
The game was tight early, with not much in the way of scoring chances either way. The Eagles had the first good chance, but Ryder Shea came up with a save on a 2 on 1 rush to keep it scoreless. Two minutes later, the Bulldogs opened the scoring when Jacob Terpstra poked a Samuel Leonard rebound home off a won draw in the attacking zone. Another won draw in the attacking zone saw the Bulldogs take a 2-0 lead late in the first, with Wyatt Blace going high glove on Jaiden Sharma with assists to Zeke Nicholson and Brady McIsaac.
Ryder Shea again came up big early in the second, stopping a 2 on 0 to keep it 2-0. The Bulldogs went up 3-0 soon afterards, as Cole Bishop poked the puck ahead for Jacob Terpstra, who scored his second of the game with a quick release in tight five-hole on Sharma. The Eagles turned the game on it’s head later in the period, with two quick goals to make it 3-2, the first from Gavin Rocha on the power play, followed by Ryan Staples just over a minute later. The Bulldogs answered quickly to restore their lead as Kenyon McIsaac found Grayson Badger in the slot where he went upstairs blocker side to make it 4-2. The Bulldogs added to their lead late in the period, with Wyatt Davis taking a Kenyon McIsssc pass and firing it on net where it was deflected home by Brendan Ruskowski to make it 5-2 after 40 minutes.
The Eagles came out with a push to open the third, spending extended periods of time in the Bulldog end, but Ryder Shea was solid when called upon to protect the lead. The Bulldogs then spent the better part of the back half of the period keeping pucks deep in the Eagles zone to salt the remainder of the time away.
Shots were 41-31 Eagles, with Ryder Shea earning second star honours with the win while Jaiden Sharma took the loss. The Bulldogs went 0 for 4 on the power play while the Eagles scored once on three opportunities.
With the win, the Bulldogs take a 2-1 series lead, and look to take a 3-1 stranglehold tomorrow heading to Surrey for Friday’s game five.
