The Bulldogs opened their post-Christmas portion of their schedule Monday night in Duncan when they visited the Cowichan Valley Capitals, and they opened the game with a bang as just 31 seconds in it was 1-0 with Mitch MacMillan setting up David Dziurzynski on the doorstep where he banged it past Alex Peck.
Mark MacMillan also picked up an assist. It would be 2-0 Dogs six minutes later with Warren Muir celebrating his return to the line up after a long layoff by banging home a rebound off a Frank Riddle point shot. Jeff Reppucci also picked up an assist on the play at the 6:30 mark. It was 3-0 Dogs just 37 seconds later when Mitch MacMillan tipped in a Kevin Ross point shot on the power play. David Dziurzynski also picked up an assist at the 7:07 mark of the first. The Capitals would get on the board less than two minutes later when Nick Anderson tipped a Rajan Sidhu point shot past Frank Slubowski to make it 3-1. Shayne Taker also picked up an assist on the play 8:38 into the first. The Dogs would get it back less than two minutes later when Mark MacMillan had his jam in attempt stopped at the side of the net, but the puck dribbled across the line where Mitch MacMillan tapped it in to make it 4-1. Mark MacMillan and Frank Riddle picked up the assists 10:26 into the first. The Capitals would fire back to make it 4-2 on a play that looked like it was out of a basketball game as Shayne Taker flipped the puck high through centre where Colten Derickson picked it up and raced in on the breakaway where he bounced one in off Frank Slubowski to make it 4-2 with 4:16 left in the period. The first half of the second period would be much quieter than the first period, with neither team being able to find the net. Action would pick up in the second half of the frame though with the Dogs striking three times before the period was out. First it was Mitch MacMillan completing the hat trick as he raced down the right wing on the power play and ripped a shot high short side on Peck to make it 5-2. The goal was on the power play, no assists were given on the play at 11:43 of the second. Four minutes later it was 6-2 Dogs when David Dziurzynski stole the puck behind the net and found Trent Dorais alone in front where he ripped a one-timer home past a stunned Peck. The goal came at 15:06 of the second. It was 7-2 Dogs before the period was out when Tye Lewis found a loose puck in the slot and wired it home through Peck with 2:17 to play in the frame. Matt Hatch and Johnny Rogic picked up the assists. That would do it for Alex Peck as he was lifted in favour of Edward Dyson, an AP with the Capitals with Laurent Brossoit attending the World U17?s in Timmins. The Dogs would get to Dyson early in the third with Mark MacMillan walking to the net from the right side and sliding it home just 22 seconds in. Mitch MacMillan and David Dziurzynski picked up the assists. Tye Lewis would make it 9-2 with his second of the game two minutes later when he squeaked a wrist shot through the arm of Dyson from the right circle. Jeff Reppucci picked up the only assist 2:48 into the third. The games scoring would be complete when Johnny Rogic fired a shot from the slot home on a Tye Lewis set up on the power play to make it 10-2 with 11:16 gone in the third.
The third period looked had several incidents that eventually resulted in suspensions to the Capitals. The first incident happened when Ryan Green and Colten Derickson appeared to get the jump on Sam Mitchell and Warren Muir on a faceoff. The second incident erupted when Brandon MacDonald hit Frank Slubowski, resulting in another mini line brawl.
Final shots favoured the Dogs 33-26. Frank Slubowski picked up the win while Alex Peck took the loss giving up the first seven goals. The Dogs were 3 for 7 on the power play, while the Capitals were 0 for 6.
The Dogs final game of 2009 was Wednesday night at the Dog Pound, their third straight against the Capitals, and the final meeting of the two teams in the regular season. There would be no goal 30 seconds into this one like there was on Monday night, and in fact there would be no scoring after one period as each team had their chances but Frank Slubowski and Alex Peck were perfect. The Dogs would draw first blood just over five minutes into the second when Matt Hatch drove the net and poked a rebound off a Johnny Rogic shot home to make it 1-0. Johnny Rogic and Brody Lynott picked up the assists 5:22 into the second. Just seconds after the Capitals had hit the post behind Frank Slubowski, the Dogs made it 2-0 when Frank Riddle threw a quick shot on net from the left point that David Dziurzynski managed to get his stick on to tip past Peck. Mark MacMillan and Frank Riddle picked up the assists 12:25 into the second as the Dogs took that lead into the third period. The Capitals came out flying in the third period, as they trimmed the Dogs lead to 2-1 before the ice was even dry as Mike Hammond found Chris Daniels in the slot where he ripped a shot high glove side past Slubowski. Rajan Sidhu also picked up an assist on the goal, 31 seconds into the third period. The Dogs got that one back quickly, as just a minute and a half later Warren Muir lifted a rebound home after a strong drive to the front of the net by Trent Dorais who came out from behind the net to try and stuff one past Peck. Sam Mitchell also picked up an assist on the goal 2:08 into the third as the two goal lead was back as it was 3-1. The Dogs wouldn?t be able to build on the lead though, as the Capitals battled back to get within one with less than seven minutes to play as Shayne Taker walked in alone on a great pass by Mike Hammond where he scored on a sweet backhand deke to make it 3-2 Dogs. Joel Kern also picked up an assist 12:35 into the third. The Capitals would push hard to tie it up, pulling their goalie in favour of the extra attacker with just over two minutes left. They would hem the Dogs in their end off the faceoff, but they then were whistled for a penalty that saw the Dogs go to the power play. The action would remain 5 on 5 with the Capitals net empty, but they weren?t able to generate a scoring chance as Kevin Ross broke up a pass in his own end and then found Warren Muir, who busted through a check up the right wing, gained centre and hit the empty net for his second of the game and his third in two games after returning from injury. Kevin Ross got the only assist with 40 seconds left in regulation as the Dogs skated away with the 4-2 win.
Final shots favoured the Dogs 35-25 with Frank Slubowski and Alex Peck being the goalies of record. The Dogs were 1 for 5 on the power play while the Capitals were 0 for 4.
The Bulldogs opened 2010 when the Burnaby Express visited the Pound Sunday afternoon. The Dogs had a good start to this one, as they were up 1-0 before the game was five minutes old as Tye Lewis threw the puck down low to Johnny Rogic, who drove the net and put a perfect shot short side, top shelf on Nick Enegren 4:45 in. The lead was 2-0 Bulldogs when Tye Lewis aggressively knocked his man off the puck, brought it behind the Burnaby net and found Frank Riddle at the top of the left circle where he snapped one high glove side on Enegren for a 2-0 Dogs lead 12:49 into the first. Almost immediately
