The Alberni Valley Bulldogs did it again. They handed the formidable Nanaimo Clippers their second loss of the season – 5-4 in double overtime last night in front of delighted fans at the Pound. In doing so, they have also smeared the impeccable road record of the Clippers who, prior to last night's game, have not lost, so far, an away game this season.
The victory was definitely a big boost for the struggling Bulldogs who are currently languishing in the cellar of the Coastal Conference.
The highlight of the game, no doubt, was provided by Josh Pineiro who scored his first two goals in the BCHL last night. His penalty shot deserved to be the play of the game. Pineiro in the second overtime was upended by a Clipper as he skated into the Nanaimo zone. Pineiro thought it was just going to be a power play for them.
“I didn't know it was a penalty shot,” said Pineiro after the game. “They said penalty shot. I just tried to calm down and relax.”
While gathering his thoughts, Pineiro remembered something he saw on TV. “I saw a Statsny's move on the highlights so I said, 'what the hell I'll try it.' And it paid off for me,” said the ecstatic forward who is from Huntington Beach, California.
“This night is unbelievable,” said Pineiro. “I scored my first goal in the BCHL and my second goal was very exciting. I'm on cloud nine.”
The Bulldogs are the only team in the BCHL to have beaten the Clippers this season. And they did it twice.
It didn't look that way in the first period with the Bulldogs handing the Clippers two power play goals by Brodie Zuk and Eric Filou. In the second period, the Bulldogs surrendered another goal at 1:17 scored by Brad McConnell.
The Bulldogs got the spark they needed when Pineiro bulged the twine on the man-advantage at 11:36. It was a goal the got the Bulldogs skating hard, producing hard checks offensively and defensively and they were handsomely rewarded when Sawyer Eichel made it 3-2 at 14:51.
The Bulldogs defence, with Harrison May between the pipes, also performed well, denying the Clippers on several ocassions.
In the third period, the Bulldogs just came out hard and earned them a power play opportunity. Isaac Smeltzer, who played like a heavy load has been lifted off his back when the Bulldogs shifted the captaincy to Daniel Moriarty, scored on the power play at 2:59 to tie the game at 3-3. Lee Patzer put the Bulldogs ahead for the first time with a power play marker at 9:56. The Clippers got a lucky break at the midway mark. Bulldogs Shane Malone took a penalty that ended up to be a seven minute power play for the Clippers. McConnell scored from the point at 11:13 to square things at 3-3. But the Bulldogs weren't out of the woods yet as they still had to kill five more minutes. They gallantly held off the Clippers and forced the game into overtime.
The first 4-on-4 OT was scoreless but in the sudden death 3-on-3, it was the Clippers that erred when they took down Pineiro and gave the Bulldogs a penalty shot and the win.
“We've been saying to work hard and push hard,” said Pineiro. “This is really huge for us. Everybody is so happy right now. I think it's a change of events for our team. Watch us go up the ladder in the points.”
The Bulldogs improve their record to four wins, 11 losses and one overtime loss. The Bulldogs were outshot by the Clippers 42-31 and were 3-for-5 on on the man-advantage while Nanaimo was 3-for-10.
Prior to the game, the Bulldogs made some key changes to the team's leadership. Moriarty, who is serving a three-game suspension and was not in action last night, took over the captaincy from Smeltzer. Evan Michalchuk will no longer be an assistant captain and that duty has been shifted to Lee Patzer
Bulldogs head coach and general manager Alan Kerr explained the changes.
“If we picked our captains and assistants today knowing what we do now, these are the players that we would have in these roles,” said Kerr. “In fairness to Evan Michalchuk and Isaac Smeltzer, they did nothing wrong as leaders. They played hard and did everything they could but when the team doesn't go how you want it to go, changes have to be made. Without dismantling the team and making significant changes we felt that this was an interim step to see how the team would react”
Notes: The Bulldogs had in their line up last night Alberni Valley Minor Hockey product Robert Lindores who originally was affiliated with the Clippers. But Bill Bestwick released him, and the Bulldogs signed him up as an AP.
