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Hammer’s Weekly Recap

The Bulldogs hosted the Quesnel Millionaires on Thursday night as they began a schedule of three games in three days.

 

It was the Millionaires that came out with more energy right off the bat in this one, drawing two penalties before the game was four minutes old. The Bulldogs would kill them off however, and then they started to turn momentum their way with several hard working shifts. It would be the Millionaires that found the net first though as Taylor Rovatti took a feed on the doorstep from Karl Weberg and put it by Matthew Wong at the 17:08 mark of the first. Kyle Golz was also in on the scoring play. Before the Dogs knew what hit them it was 2-0 Mills as Eric Galbraith scored a beauty coming down the left wing when he put a wrist shot off where the post and crossbar meet at 18:34 of the first. Frank Skerlak picked up the only assist as the Mills took the 2-0 lead into the dressing room. The Dogs had a great chance to break the goose egg early in the second with a 5 on 3 power play chance, but they were unable to find the net. They didn?t let that deflate them though and they got on the board shortly afterwards to make it a one goal game at the 5:10 mark of the second when Taylor Orser took a nice pass through neutral ice from Josh Pineiro and brought the puck down the right side over the Millionaire line. Orser would then throw a quick shot at the net that beat Jeff Malcolm short-side for a 2-1 score and his first goal of the season and first in a Bulldogs jersey. Pineiro would pick up the only assist. Play went back and forth for the next 10 minutes with both teams having their chances, including the Bulldogs having an opportunity to tie it on the power play only to have the Millionaires kill it off. Just a minute later it was 3-1 for the visitors as Eric Galbraith picked up a cross-corner dump in and found Joshua Fersovitch in the slot where he roofed a quick shot past Wong with 5:15 left in the period. Taylor Rovatti also picked up an assist on the play as the Mills again led by two heading into the third.  The Dogs looked to make it a one goal game again early in the third but couldn?t connect on the power play. Seconds after that chance ended, they would go right back to the power play as Joshua Fersovitch picked up a penalty you don?t see too often ? two minutes for being an ineligible player by using two sticks. This time the Dogs would find the net as a won face off ended up on the stick of Josh Pineiro at the left point where he managed to get a wrist shot through a screen and into the top part of the net glove side on Malcolm for a 3-2 Quesnel lead. Curtis Tonello and Chris Moulson picked up the assists on the play at the 6:07 mark. Before the Dogs knew what hit them the Mills were up by two again, with Matt Brown taking a huge hit from Zack Mazo to make a play, getting the puck to Danny McSween who ripped one high past Wong from the high slot for a 4-2 score just 47 seconds later as Matt Brown and Jordan Principalli picked up the assists. The Dogs deserve big credit for not letting what should?ve been a killer goal demoralize them. They just kept on working, and again they were rewarded as Ben Payne found a loose puck in the slot and ripped it five hole on Malcolm for a 4-3 Mills lead with 9:47 to play in regulation. The goal was unassisted. The Dogs appeared to then get the tying goal….Or I should say it didn?t appear to me to be the tying goal, as I thought Matt Frydrysek kicked the puck in at the left side of the net. I certainly got an earful from Matt the next day, as according to him the puck went off the shaft of his stick and in and should have been a good goal. In the end, I guess I just call ?em as I see ?em, and in this instance the referee and I saw the same thing, and that was the puck being kicked in ? as that was the announcement in the building as to why the goal was disallowed. The Dogs would keep pushing for the equalizer, but time would run out on their comeback attempt with Jeff Malcolm and the Millionaires holding the fort to preserve the one goal lead.

Final shots favoured the Bulldogs 37-29 with Jeff Malcolm and Matthew Wong being the goalies of record. The Dogs were 1 for 6 on the power play while the Mills were 0 for 4.

In the end the Bulldogs didn?t play a bad game in this one. They just didn?t play a FULL game and it cost them as they were never able to recover from the 2-0 hole they fell into.

The next night the Bulldogs and Clippers met for the first time this season at the Frank Crane Arena. The Clippers would strike first with Joe Perry finding the back of the net from the high slot by ripping a shot right along the ice through the legs of Matthew Wong.  Zac Ashdown and Carson Schell picked up the assists at the 8:02 mark of the period. As they were still announcing the scoring play on that goal, the Dogs tied it up, with former Clipper Warren Muir being set up on the doorstep by Chris Mouslon for a quick one-timer under the bar for a 1-1 tie just 31 seconds later at 8:33 of the first. The Clippers would score the only goal of the second to lead 2-1 after two, as the Dogs took a penalty that negated their own power play and then saw the Clippers go to the man advantage. On that power play Russell Goodman drove the net and put a shot on goal that Matthew Wong turned away. On the doorstep though was Brad Goodman, and he slammed the rebound home at the 12:31 mark as the Clippers took the one goal lead into the third period. Penalties would be a huge factor in the third, with the Dogs going to the box early in the frame. The Clippers again made them pay, with Anders Franzon throwing a shot on net that again Matthew Wong turned away, but again the rebound was found on the doorstep, this time by Steve Mason for a 3-1 Clipper lead just 3:02 into the period. Another penalty came back to haunt the Dogs, this time a bench minor for too many men. Just 2:38 after it was 3-1 it was 4-1 as a Justin Favreau wrister appeared to hit traffic and re-direct just inside the far post past Matthew Wong 5:40 into the third. Ian Thistlethwaite and Ronnie Smith picked up the assists on the play. Just 26 seconds later the Clippers were up 5-1 when Brandon Fagerheim scoring after cutting in alone on an odd man rush. Assists went to Tyler Pistone and Michael Boivin. This would spell the end of Matthew Wong?s night as Colin Rundell made his BCHL debut coming off the bench in relief. The Dogs would get one back to make it 5-2 just over two minutes later with the prettiest goal of the night, as a tic-tac-toe passing play saw Chris Moulson send a cross-ice pass to Evan Witt, who then sent another pass to the back post to Warren Muir who snuck one inside the post for his second goal of the game, this one coming on the power play. The Clippers added one more power play goal for good measure with 4:27 left in regulation as Colton Cyr found a loose puck in a scramble and snuck it past Rundell. Tyler Pistone and Carson Schell picked up the assists.

Final shots favoured the Clippers 44-27 with Evan Smith picking up the win in net. Matthew Wong gave up five goals in taking the loss, while Colin Rundell was beaten on