The Bulldogs took to the ice Friday night at home when they hosted the Langley Chiefs. The game started as good as any this season for the Dogs, but unfortunately it wasn?t a sign of things to come.
Just 3:11 into the game the Bulldogs scored their fastest goal to start a game when Kevin Ross finished off almost two straight minutes of pressure in the Langley zone on the power play when he one-timed a shot from the blue line through the legs of Wyatt Waselenchuk. The shot appeared to change direction. Assists on the play went to Branden Gracel and Chris Moulson. There would be no scoring for the remainder of the first, as the Dogs took two consecutive penalties right after the goal that might have stopped any momentum they gained from taking the early lead. The second period began and before the Dogs knew what had hit them their 1-0 lead became a 2-1 deficit as the Chiefs scored two goals in just 22 seconds. The first was a rather harmless looking play as a dump in ended up in the right hand corner. No one thought to cover the front of the net though, as a centering pass hit a Chief on the doorstep. Colin Rundell would make one point-blank save, but Milos Gordic jammed in his own rebound for a 1-1 tie. Trevor Elias and Mac Roy picked up the assists. Off the ensuing puck drop, the Chiefs again dumped the puck in and again the front of the net was left uncovered and Brad Goss was there to tap a shot at the net past Rundell before he ran into the goaltender. And this is where things get a little confusing. Referee Ryan Benbow would immediately wave off the goal and signal a penalty against Goss. After some assistance from his linesmen, he would reverse the call and allow the goal. However, the penalty to Goss still stood. I?m quite sure I have never seen an instance in hockey ever where a player was awarded a goal and also given a penalty all at the same time. From the view in the booth the goal looked like a good one, with the player scoring before he made contact with the goaltender. At any length it was 2-1 Langley 45 seconds into the second with the Goss goal being set up by Colton Beck. The Chiefs kept coming and built their lead to 3-1 just 3:50 later as the seas seemed to part in the middle of the Dogs zone as Colton Beck was able to walk right into the slot where he took a feed from Brandon Thompson off the right wing and beat Colin Rundell with a blocker side wrist shot 4:35 into the second. Brad Goss picked up the second assist. That would do it for Colin Rundell?s night as Matthew Wong came in off the bench. Wong would do his job, making an incredible save on a bad turnover that saw Langley on a 3 on 1 rush where he did the splits going from left to right to get a toe on a shot labelled for the wide open side to keep the game at 3-1. The Dogs wouldn?t be able to muster any offense though over the remaining 25 minutes, with the Chiefs leading 3-1 after two and limiting them to just five shots in the third period. With just over a minute left in regulation the Dogs would get a faceoff in the Langley end where they pulled Wong for the extra attacker in a last ditch effort to make a game of it. Unfortunately they would go to the penalty box seconds later putting the Chiefs to the power play. Again Wong was pulled to make it a 5 on 5 situation, but the Chiefs would make it 4-1 with the empty net power play goal as Milos Gordic intercepted a cross ice pass in the neutral zone and then set up Trevor Elias to rub some salt into the wound.
Final shots favoured the Chiefs 25-24 with Wyatt Waselenchuk and Colin Rundell being the goalies of record. The Dogs were 1 for 8 on the power play while the Chiefs were 1 for 7.
The start was a great one for the Dogs, but it might not be a stretch to say that they lost this game in the first minute of the second period where the Chiefs potted two in 22 to turn the game around, or the first four minutes of the period when the Chiefs did all the damage they needed offensively.
Saturday brought the Victoria Grizzlies to town. For the third game in a row, the Dogs had their best start of the season so far, this time getting on the board before the game was even a minute old they attacked the Grizzlies end right off the hop. Anthony Grieco would make several saves initially, but a loose puck finally came to Brian Kang who ripped home his first as a Dog from the left side of the slot for a 1-0 Bulldog lead 59 seconds in. Brett Mohler picked up the only assist on the play. The Grizzlies would get the equalizer on a nice set up and a quick release by Myles MacRae from the hash marks that found its way inside the post low on Matthew Wong. I thought it was Brian Nugent that made the pass to MacRae off the right-side boards in the Dogs zone but Cam Reid was given the assist on the play as it was 1-1 13:30 into the first. The second period began with the teams playing four-aside before the Grizzlies went to a power play chance. They made short work of the short power play, with Justin Courtnall being able to find a rebound on the doorstep and put it by Wong who made a great initial toe save on a Derek Lee re-direct off a Jordan Heywood shot at the net. The goal came just 42 seconds into the second as it was 2-1 Victoria. The Bulldogs would battle back to tie it up, as Chris Moulson got the puck back to the right point for Shae Naka who put a low hard one on goal. Grieco would make a good right toe save to keep it out, but Evan Witt was there to jam the rebound under the pad for a 2-2 tie 7:25 into the second. The Grizzlies would take the lead again and the game would change dramatically at the 12:17 mark of the second when Tyler Matheson busted through the Dogs defence and in alone on the breakaway where he put a nifty five-hole deke past Wong for a 3-2 Victoria lead with 7:43 left in the period. In the seconds after the goal Taylor Orser would be given a two minute checking to the head penalty as he got caught in the traffic of the Grizzlies celebrating, resulting in the Grizzlies not only taking the lead but going on the man advantage. Less than a minute later they made good on it, with Jordan Heywood putting a perfect shot from the right faceoff dot short side top shelf on Wong. Assists on the play went to Cam Reid and Evan Pighin at the 13:13 mark as the Grizzlies took a 2-2 game to a 4-2 game in less than a minute. Another penalty would come back to bite the Dogs later in the period with Jonathan Milhouse putting a wrist shot from the left circle that hit Brian Nugent planted in the crease before bouncing in. Myles MacRae picked up the second assist as it was 5-2 Grizzlies with 2:08 to go in the second. Credit again to the Dogs for not quitting, as they came out on fire in third and trimmed the deficit to 5-3 as Eliot Raibl one-timed a shot from the top of the blue line high past Grieco just 1:34 in. Brian Kang and Evan Witt picked up the assists. That would be as close as the Dogs would get with several near misses around the Grizzlies net.
Final shots favoured the Dogs 36-31 with Matthew Wong and Anthony Grieco being the goalies of record. Special teams were a huge factor, with Victoria going 3 for 6 on the power play and the Dogs going 0 for 4.
