The Bulldogs week of action began as they hosted the Victoria Grizzlies at the Pound on Saturday. The game started well for the home side as Mark Morikawa found the net 3:56 in as he put an end board bounce off an Eliot Raibl point shot off of traffic and in past Matthew Wong. Marcello Ranallo picked up the second assist on the power play goal.
Shortly afterwards the Dogs had a good chance to build on their lead when they went to a 5 on 3 power play for over a minute and a half. The Grizzlies would kill it off though, as the score stayed 1-0. The Grizzlies would tie it up at 1-1 off a faceoff in the Dogs zone where Justin Courtnall beat David Aime with a wrist shot from the right circle 10:29 in from Patrick Sails and Cam Reid. Later in the period the Dogs had another extended power play chance to retake the lead as a five minute major for checking from behind to Andrew Pickering saw them go on a three minute man advantage. Again the Dogs were unable to find the net. As that penalty was nearing completion, the Dogs were whistled for two quick infractions as the period ended with the Grizzlies going on a 5 on 3 as the second period began. It would be the Dogs turn to kill off the two man advantage this time as the Grizzlies were unable to beat David Aime. The Grizzlies would eventually go ahead one second past the halfway mark of the game as Keenan Desmet was sent in alone on a breakaway where he deked to the backhand and lifted it past Aime for a 2-1 Grizzlies lead 10:01 into the second. Tyler Matheson and Devon Lang picked up the helpers. The Dogs would tie it up late in the period, with the second end board-bounce goal of the game for the Dogs as Daniel Moriarty fed a pass to Marcello Ranallo who walked to the slot and put a shot wide. The bounce came off the boards and wound up on the tape of Lee Patzer who was driving the net, who tapped it over Wong for a 2-2 tie at the 16:53 mark of the second. The Dogs would come out in the third and re take the lead as James Kerr was the recipient of a passing play from Evan Witt and Ben Payne. Kerr would rip a shot far side past Wong from the left circle for a 3-2 Dogs lead 3:27 into the third. The lead was short-lived as the Grizzlies tied it up just two minutes later, with Devon Lang beating a Bulldog shot blocker and David Aime with a slap shot from the top of the right circle for a 3-3 tie 5:28 in, with Ashford McMaster and Keenan Desmet picking up the assists. Just 3:06 later the Grizzlies scored again and this one was certainly an odd goal as Jonathan Milhouse slapped a rolling puck from the right wing that knuckled its way in past David Aime. I actually thought that the puck was way high and past the goal, but it surprisingly dipped into the top corner for a 4-3 Victoria lead. The first whistle after the goal the Bulldogs Coaching staff pulled David Aime and in came Harrison May. It would prove to be only temporary though, as Aime came back in after the next whistle. Shortly after that, the Dogs tied the game at 4-4 when Evan Witt took a pass from Ben Payne in the left circle and beat Matthew Wong with a quick release with 6:19 left in the third. The Dogs would push hard for the go ahead goal in the late stages of regulation, but Matthew Wong came up with several big stops to take the game to overtime. The Grizzlies had all the offense in the first overtime, out shooting the Dogs 4-0 but this time it was David Aime shutting the door. Into the 3 on 3 double overtime the Dogs would out shoot the Grizzlies 6-3 but neither goaltender would flinch as seventy minutes of hockey would settle nothing as the game ended in a 4-4 tie. Final shots favoured the Dogs 42-39. The Dogs were 1 for 5 on the power play while the Grizzlies were 0 for 4.
While this game didn?t find a winner, it was wildly entertaining with end to end action, plenty of scoring chances, and plenty of big hits. In the end, both teams were certainly deserving of a point.
Everything that Saturday?s game had was what Sunday?s hosting of the Nanaimo Clippers lacked from the Bulldog perspective. The game was physical from the early moments, but the Dogs were immediately on their heels as they were sent to the penalty box 32 seconds into the game. The Dogs would kill the penalty off, but the Clippers got on the board shortly afterwards when Mikael Bedard beat Harrison May with a wrap around inside the far post for a 1-0 Clippers lead 5:20 in. Eric Filiou picked up the only assist for a 1-0 Clipper lead after one period. The Dogs had several glorious chances in tight on Michael Garman in the first, most notably a Chris Moulson chance that clanged off the post and stayed out. The Clippers took a 2-0 lead early in the second when AJ Gale walked into the slot off a faceoff in the Dogs end and beat Harrison May low stick-side. Eric Filiou and Jason Beattie picked up the helpers. The score would stay 2-0 as the Dogs were unable to threaten on two consecutive power plays that could?ve swung the game. Instead, it was the Clippers that went ahead 3-0 with 2:28 to play in period as a turnover at the Dogs line saw Chad Ziegler send Andrew Cherniwchan in alone on the breakaway where he dodged Harrison May?s poke check attempt and potted the puck into the open side. The Clippers built on the lead early in the third as Jason Beattie was given credit for a rebound that found the back of the net 2:50 into the period. Although it appeared Mikael Bedard was the goal scorer, he was given an assist on the play along with AJ Gale. The lead became 5-0 Clippers when Kevin Noble threw a wrist shot from the blue line through traffic that found the top corner at the 10:27 mark. Justin Favreau and AJ Gale were the set up men on the power play goal. The Dogs would give their fans something to cheer about 90 seconds later as what had to have been the longest goalmouth scramble in recent memory saw the puck jammed past Michael Garman 10 wacks later with Daniel Moriarty being the goal scorer and Lee Patzer and Marcello Ranallo picking up the assists. Just 36 seconds later the Bulldogs found the net again, with James Kerr getting a shot away in a hurry from the right circle short side on Garman for a 5-2 score. Evan Witt and Josh Pineiro picked up the assists. From my memory Ben Payne also had a hand in the play, working the puck out of the corner. It would be too little too late though for the Bulldogs as the remainder of the game was uneventful as the Clippers snapped a four game losing streak with the victory. Final shots favoured the Clippers 41-25 with Harrison May and Michael Garman being the goalies of record. The Dogs were 0 for 5 on the power play, while the Clippers were 1 for 4.
I?m not sure if Saturday?s game took too much out of the Dogs, or if the Clippers deserve all the credit. Or maybe it?s a bit of both. What I am sure of is that the Dogs didn?t look like the same team on Sunday that they looked like over the last 10 games.
