The Dogs began their trip Friday in Powell River, making their second visit of the season to face the Kings. These teams hadn?t played since September 20th, but it felt like the back half of a home and home when Isaac Smeltzer and Trevor Wilson dropped the gloves the moment the puck hit the ice to begin the game. I would challenge even the most biased Powell River fan to say this was anything but a clear Smeltzer victory, which might?ve fired up the Bulldogs right off the bat as they appeared ready to go from the first few shifts of the game.
Action was back and forth throughout the period with both teams having their chances, before the Dogs struck first in the final minutes of the frame, as Daniel Moriarty picked up a loose puck of an Evan Michalchuk shot that had missed the goal. Moriarty quickly centered for Marcello Ranallo, who tapped it into the open side for the 1-0 Dogs lead with 2:37 left in the period. The score stayed 1-0 Dogs all the way to the halfway point of the game, mostly due to several key stops by Harrison May and the Kings had several in alone chances late in the first and early in the second. It was then Chris Rawlings who made what might?ve been a turning point stop, as he kept the game at 1-0 sliding across his net from his left to his right to get a shoulder on a shot that was labelled for the top part of the net off the stick of Zack Mazo. The Kings would finally crack Harrison May with a Neil Chambers snapper from the right circle on a one on one rush that went far-side, post and in, for a 1-1 tie with 11:15 gone in the second. The goal was unassisted. Either the Dogs didn?t react well to the Kings getting on the board or the Kings got a boost from the goal, (or both) as before the Dogs knew what hit them they went from leading 1-0 to trailing 4-1 before the period was done. First it was a horrendous turnover just 3:03 later seeing the Kings go up 2-1 as Brock Sawyer found an errant pass just a few feet in front of Harrison May. Sawyer threw a shot low stick-side and in, unassisted, for the 2-1 Kings lead at the 14:18 mark. 54 seconds later the Kings lead was 3-1 with one that looked to be 4 or 5 feet offside to me from the booth, as a Kings player came off the bench on the line change inside the Bulldog blue line. Again, just from my view. The puck went to the goal mouth off the stick of Kyle Leahy before being directed in by Brennan Strang at the 15:12 mark as it was 3-1 Kings. Trevor Wilson had the second assist. Shortly after that, the Kings went to the power play and the Dogs couldn?t stop the bleeding as Brennan Strang and Kyle Bodie did a good job battling in the right hand corner before feeding the puck to Wilson in the high slot/top of the point area. Wilson fired a perfect one-timer off the left post and in past David Aime, who had come on in relief of Harrison May after the third Kings goal to make his Bulldogs and BCHL debut. Aime had no chance on the shot as the Kings led 4-1 with 2:47 left in the second and into period three. The Dogs didn?t let the deficit discourage them as they came out in the third and made every effort to make a game of it, with scoring chances being generated by a strong worth ethic. David Aime would make several big stops with the Bulldogs down a man to keep them in the game at 4-1. The penalty kill would be huge minutes later when the Dogs went to a 5 on 3 power play where they made it a two goal game as Daniel Moriarty found a rebound and tapped it in off of an Isaac Smeltzer point shot that was tipped on goal by James Kerr as it was 4-2 with 9:38 left in the third. The Dogs remained on the power play as they had scored on the 5 on 3, but they couldn?t find the net to really make a game of it. The Dogs generated several good chances shorthanded later in the period, but again couldn?t get that next crucial goal before penalties became a major factor as the Kings went to a 5 on 3 power play. David Aime would make the first save on a Brock Sawyer one-timer from the high slot, but he couldn?t control the rebound off of his shoulder as Neil Chambers tapped it in for his second of the game with the other assist to Jason Cohen for a 5-2 Kings lead with 2:52 left in the game. Just 17 seconds later another scramble saw Kyle Leahy tapping in a rebound on the 5 on 4 power play to make it 6-2 with 2:35 left with Mark McKamey getting the only assist. Final shots favoured Powell River 39-30. The Kings were 3 for 6 on the power play; the Dogs were 1 for 4.
I thought the Dogs played much better in this game than the final score would indicate, but all it took was one goal to get Powell River going. Next thing you know, it?s 4-1. The final two goals in the last three minutes should again reiterate to the Dogs how penalties are something to be avoided. Take away the final six minutes of the second and final three minutes of the third, and the Dogs played one of their best games of the year. This game was another reminder that a 60 minute effort is imperative.
The next day the Bulldogs began the ?amazing race road trip? as I call it, taking two ferries with a 45 minute or so drive in between them as they made their way down the Coast from Powell River through Saltery Bay to Earl?s Cove then Sechelt to Langdale, and finally to the Lower Mainland. The end destination was the South Surrey Arena to face the Eagles on their turf for the second time this season. The travel won?t be an excuse, but it was possibly a factor as before the game was 30 seconds old the Dogs were in the penalty box and immediately on their heels. They would kill off the penalty, but the Eagles kept coming. They were rewarded with a goal 4:29 in as Adam Hartley found a rebound and buried it on the doorstep off of a John Bokla shot on net. The second assist went to Max Grassi. Just 28 seconds later it was 2-0 Eagles, as a horrendous turnover right up the slot ended up on the tape of Eagles leading scorer Scott Knowles. David Aime would make a great first save, but there was no help on the rebound as Cameron Sinclair found it first and roofed it. Adam Basford picked up the second assist on the even strength goal at the 4:57 mark. The Dogs did a good job after this point to hold on and not let the hole get deeper, as it was 2-0 Eagles after one period. The second was played close to the vest, as the Dogs came out with better energy looking for the crucial next goal while not pushing too hard to give up that next goal to Surrey. The Dogs would have their chances, but again it was one mistake and that was all it took as Max Grassi scored one of the prettiest goals I have seen all year, undressing a Bulldog defensemen before dodging David Aime?s poke check attempt and then roofing a back hand under the bar for a 3-0 Eagles lead with 7:28 to go in the period. Cameron Sinclair and Nolan Toigo drew the assists on the goal as it was 3-0 Eagles into period three. The third period didn?t start how the Bulldogs wanted, as before the ice was dry the Eagles were up 4-0 as the Eagles won a faceoff in the Bulldogs zone back to Nolan Toigo on the blue line. Toigo put a shot on goal that was stopped by David Aime, but Adam Basford found the rebound and put it home 1:17 into the period. The score stayed 4-0 until the eleven minute mark when a bad bounce ended up in the back of the net as an Adam Hartley shot was blocked by a Bulldogs defenseman but ended up caroming into the net off of John Bokla for a 5-0 lead. Just 53 seconds later the games scoring was completed as Cameron Sinclair was allowed to walk right into the slot on an odd man rush where he snapped a shot stick-side on Aime with Max Grassi and John Bokla drawing the assists. Final shots on the game favoured the Eagles 39-20, with Andrew Hammond getting the shut out in net for the Eagles. The Dogs were 0 for 3 on the power play while the Eagles were 0 for 8.
