(image:Chaisson Creative)
A long range double-deflected point shot was the difference Saturday night at the Dawg Pound, as the Clippers sent 1500 fans home unhppy as they earned a 4-2 win.
The Bulldogs got off to a solid start, but Eliot Seguin-Lescarbeau came up with several good saves early to keep it scoreless. At the other end, Ryder Shea came up with a breakaway save in the early minutes to keep it deadlocked. The Bulldogs opened the scoring after a board battle at centre as Kai Matthew skated into the right circle and picked the top corner, glove side. Assists went to Jacob Terpstra and Teague McAllister. The Bulldogs had a four minute power play on the ensuing faceoff, but the Clippers killed it to keep it a one-goal game after 20 minutes.
The Clippers came out with a jump to their step in the second, and quickly tied the game on a 2 on 1 rush when Hayden Fechner went high short-side over the blocker of Ryder Shea. It was 2-1 Clippers on the power play three minutes later, as Charles Beland tipped in a Nathan Larioza point shot. The Bulldogs had a bushel of opportunities through the remainder of the period, but couldn’t beat Seguin-Lescarbeau, or the post – which they hit several times, as it stayed 2-1 into the third.
The Bulldogs began the third on the power play, but couldn’t capitalize on it. The Clippers earned an advantage, but the Bulldogs killed it to keep it a one-goal game. and again it stayed that way into the back-half of the third. The Bulldogs had a couple solid looks in the third, but a pass-first mentality seemed to prevail, as they were unable to tie the game. At the other end, a double-deflected point shot put the Clippers ahead 3-1 with 6:16 to play, as a Landon Pappas one-timer hit a Bulldog defender, and then went off the toe of Mitchell Patrick and past Shea. The Bulldogs would get desperate and finally put the puck on net, and were rewarded for it as a Jacob Terpstra shot hit traffic in front and landed on the stick of Kai Matthew, who went upstairs from the side of the net for this second of the night and third in six periods to make it 3-2 with 36 seconds to play. That’s as close as the comeback came, as the Clippers hit the empty net with 6.6 seconds left to make it a 4-2 final.
Shots were 33-31 Nanaimo. Eliot Seguin-Lescarbeau earned first star honours with the win while Ryder Shea took the loss. The Bulldogs went 0 for 7 on the power play, while the Clippers went 1 foe 4.
The Bulldogs next see action Friday in Duncan, and return home to host Langley next Saturday night.
