(Image: Ty Hedden)
The game began with the Grizzlies ending up in big time penalty trouble, and the Bulldogs earning more power play opportunities in the first eight minutes of the game than they had earned in their previous four road games combined. They cashed in on the first 5 on 3 power play, as Kai Matthew buried a cross-ice one-timer past Paolo Frasca, with assists to Jacob Terpstra and Caden Tremblay. The Bulldogs squandered the following three opportunities, as it stayed 1-0 until the late stages of the first when the Grizzlies tied it when an Evan Stastny shot hit the cross bar and caromed off of Max Silver in the crease and in to tie it at 1-1 after one.
The Grizzlies were awarded a power play early in the second, but it was the Bulldogs instead that retook the lead as Leim Smith broke the play up at the line, and raced in on a partial breakaway. He was taken down, but Wyatt Davis followed him to the net and jammed it in to make it 2-1. The Grizzlies had a 2 on 1 rush from their own blue line moments later, but Leith Hunter defended it well to intercept the cross ice pass attempt. The Bulldogs built their lead to 3-1 on the power play shortly afterwards, as Brenden Espenell found Samuel Leonard, who’s one-timer ended up on the tape of Teague McAllister in tight, who finished it with a backhand fivehole to make it 3-1. Victoria responded in short order, as Samuel Rousseau was set up by Owen Warnick wide open in the slot, and he made no mistake going high glove on Ryder Shea to make it 3-2 after two.
The score stayed that way into the back half of the third, when the Bulldogs padded their lead as Brenden Espenell drove the puck into the zone and put a shot on net that resulted in a rebound off of Frasca that Patrick Vogl lifted home to make it 4-2 with 6:29 to play. The Grizzlies pulled their goalie with 3:33 to play to go up 6 on 5, but the Bulldogs snuffed out the comeback attempt as Caden Tremblay rimmed the puck to centre ice where Wyatt Blace sealed the deal to make it a 5-2 final,
Shots on goal were 41-24 Bulldogs, with Ryder Shea earning the win while Paolo Frasca took the loss. The Bulldogs went 2 for 7 on the power play, and also scored once while shorthanded, while the Grizzlies went 0 for 2.
The teams meet again tomorrow night at the Dawg Pound. Game time is 7:00pm.
