The Bulldogs began the week on Wednesday night when the Trail Smoke Eaters visited the Dog Pound. The start to the game was a forgettable one for the Dogs as the Smokies had the jump from the get go, taking a 1-0 lead before the game was a minute old as Paul Mailey scored from the goal line, as he appeared to bank one in off the arm of Frank Slubowski for a 1-0 lead. Logan Proulx and Erik Cooper picked up the assists just 42 seconds into the game. The Dogs would get on the board to tie the game at 1-1 in the second period, just seconds after killing off a 5 on 3 power play for the Smoke Eaters and still down a man as Brandon Adams brought the puck over the blue line and dropped it for Tyler Berkholtz at the top of the left circle where he ripped one top shelf short side on Kiefer Smiley. Brandon Adams picked up the only assist 6:33 into the second. The Dogs would take a 2-1 lead later in the frame when Tanner Hicks took a pass at the left point and pounded a slap shot on net through a screen. Smiley would make the first save, but he couldn?t find the rebound before Sawyer Mick put it home 14:14 into the second with Konrad Litke also picking up an assist on the play. The Dogs took a 3-1 lead just 35 seconds later as Sam Mitchell drove the puck over the line down the right wing to find Tyler Berkholtz in the corner. Berkholtz would fire a shot at the net ? never a bad idea, as the puck hit a Smoke Eater stick and deflected into the top corner for a 3-1 Bulldog lead 14:49 into the second. Sam Mitchell got the only assist. Late in the period the crowd came out of their seats due to a spirited scrap with Justin Morello and Logan Proulx after a long battle against the end boards. The Dogs finished their scoring on the evening an even four minutes into the third when Berkholtz completed the hat trick as Trent Dorais did a good job to get the puck back of the net for Sam Mitchell, who put a perfect pass onto the tape of Berkholtz as he drove the net and put a low shot past Smiley for his first career hat trick and a 4-1 Dogs lead. The only goal the rest of the way came in the final 30 seconds of the game as the Smokies stormed the crease and banged one home to make it 4-2. Cullen Bradshaw got credit for it, with assists to Travis St. Denis and Ryan Aynsley at 19:31. It would be too little too late for the Smokies however as the Dogs salted the final 29 seconds away to snap their four game losing streak.
Shots favoured the Bulldogs 39-28 with Frank Slubowski picking the win while Kiefer Smiley took the loss. Both teams went 0 for 4 on the power play, but the Dogs did score once shorthanded ? a huge turning point in the game.
The Dogs travelled to Nanaimo Friday to take on the Clippers. This game was odd from the get-go, with the games referee unable to make it to the Frank Crane Arena. As a consequence, the game would start with no referee and two linesman. The Clippers had a good start while the Dogs looked flat out of the gate, with the Clippers taking an early lead in shots which led to a 1-0 lead 4:11 in when Andrew Gladiuk threw a puck on net from a sharp angle that found its way through Kiefer Giroux. Brodie Jamieson picked up the only assist. The game would get a full complement of officials late in the period, although no one knew Steven Bratt was on the ice until the whistle blew and he called a penalty against the Dogs. The penalty would be a big one as it ended up in the back of the Dogs net when Ryan Stanimir put a one-timer from the top of the point high past Giroux to make it 2-0 with 3:50 left in the period. Colton Cyr and Kyle Kramer picked up the assists. The Clippers built their lead to 3-0 early in the second when a bad pass up the middle was picked off by Colton Cyr who had two teammates all alone in front of Giroux. Cyr put a perfect pass onto the tape of Kyle Kramer who fed a cross-crease pass onto the tape of Brayden Jaw who one-timed it home before Giroux could get over, 4:44 into the second. The score stayed that way until the Dogs finally connected late in the frame on the power play as Josh Mitchell picked up a loose puck off a Casey Bailey shot that hit the bar and stayed out. Josh lifted the rebound over Charles-Andre Pelletier to make it 3-1 with 2:31 left in the second. Kenney Morrison and Casey Bailey picked up the assists. The Dogs came out on fire in the third period with a noticeable jump in their step and they were rewarded immediately as Trent Dorais picked off a clearing attempt and found Konrad Litke in the slot where he blew a one-timer past Pelletier just 26 seconds into the period to trim the gap to 3-2. The Dogs would keep up the pace, tying the game seven minutes into the period as Marley Keca pinched to keep the puck in the Nanaimo zone. Colton Sobchak would make a nice move to beat a defender and take the puck to the net. Charles-Andre Pelletier would make the first save, but Casey Bailey stuck with the play to get the puck out front for Josh Mitchell who drove the net and somehow managed to bang the puck in to tie the game at 3-3 7:27 into the third with assists to Bailey and Keca. There would be no scoring through the remainder of the third period as the game headed to sudden death overtime. Both overtimes were very cautious with the teams having their chances but combining for just three total shots. The first Clipper shot of overtime was the only one as Colton Cyr scored the winner 2:01 into double OT as he walked down the left wing and ripped a shot from the top of the left circle high short-side on Kiefer Giroux for the game winner.
Shots favoured the Clippers 31-26 with Kiefer Giroux and Charles-Andre Pelletier being the goalies of record. The Dogs went 1 for 9 on the power play while the Clippers went 1 for 8.
Saturday night the Dogs week finished when the two time defending RBC Cup Champion Vernon Vipers rolled into town. The game had good energy from both sides from the start, but the theme for the first 40 minutes of action was mostly penalty killing and goaltending as the Dogs gave the Vipers chance after chance on the power play while only earning two opportunities themselves as they struggled to stop the Vipers momentum. The only goal of the first two periods came off the stick of Darren Nowick on an interesting play as a pass was banked from the right wing in the Viper zone cross-ice up the left wing off the boards just outside the Dogs blue line. A footrace would ensue between Trevor Fitzgerald and Frank Slubowski, with Slubowki racing out and stopping the initial shot by Fitzgerald but he couldn?t corral the puck as Darren Nowick found it and put it through Ryan Renz who made a valiant attempt at filling the open net. The goal was unassisted at the 8:49 mark of the second. The penalty theme continued as the Dogs picked up another penalty immediately after the goal on another body check, and one more late in the period. The game would change on a single shift by Tanner Hicks as he blocked two shots on the penalty kill and then made a diving backhand golf on the loose puck in the corner to clear it down the ice. On his way to the bench he punctuated a shift for the ages as he leveled a Viper with a huge open ice hit at centre ice that finally got the Dog Pound into it. In the scrum after the whistle Vipers Captain David Robinson made one late shove to get two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. That would prove huge when the Dogs tied the game in the first minute of the third period when Tyler Berkholtz got the puck loose behind the net for Casey Bailey, who lost the puck but battled and got it back in the right circle where he turned and fired in one motion, sneaking the puck through the legs of Halcrow to tie the game at 1-1 just 52 seconds into the third period. Assists went to Kenney Morrison and Brandon Adams. The Dogs would use the momentum to have several good shifts of containment with some good chances in the Viper zone but they couldn?t find the go ahead m
