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Hammer’s Weekly Recap

 

The Bulldogs began their schedule of three games in four days when they visited the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs had a great start to the game, carrying the play and outshooting the Caps 4-0. One miscue and one lucky break later it was all of a sudden 2-0 Capitals before the Dogs knew what hit them. It was 1-0 when a bad pass ended up on the stick of Chris Zaires on a breakaway from the hash marks in on Matthew Wong where he deked and put the puck five hole at the 4:54 mark of the first. Kevin Walrod picked up the lone assist. Just over a minute later the Caps made it 2-0 when Walrod walked to the slot and put a shot at the net that was initially going high on Wong before it hit something in front and went straight down and through the five hole again at the 6:11 mark. Cody Adams and Joey Massingham picked up the assists. It would have been easy for the Dogs to be discouraged at this point, after they had a good start but somehow ended up in a two goal hole. Instead, they kept at it and kept themselves in the game. They would get on the board 2:50 into the second when Warren Muir got a stick on a Kevin Ross slapper from the right point on the power play to tip it up and under the bar glove side on Chris Rawlings for a 2-1 game. Ross would pick up the only assist. The score stayed 2-1 until the dying minutes of the second when the Capitals won a faceoff in their own zone and raced up ice on a 3 on 2 rush. Matthew Wong would make the first save, but the rebound appeared to bounce off a Capital before ending up on the stick of Kevin Walrod with a wide open net off the back post for a 3-1 game with 1:45 left in the second. Assist on the play went to Chris Zaires and Zack Currie. The Dogs came out flying in the third, trimming the gap to 3-2 when Warren Muir found a loose puck in the slot and put it by Rawlings just 1:28 into the period. Chris Moulson and Adam Hout picked up the assists. Things didn?t look good for the visitors with time ticking in regulation and the Capitals going to the power play. Off the ensuing faceoff Chris Moulson forced a turnover at the Dogs line, and raced on what could?ve been a shorthanded breakaway chance. He never got away on the breakaway, but he did draw a penalty that proved huge when the four aside hockey ended and the Dogs ended up on a quick power play that they made short work of when James Kerr was set up in the slot by Josh Pineiro and Evan Witt where he put a low quick one past a stunned Chris Rawlings who didn?t move on the shot as the game was tied 3-3 with 5:09 left in regulation and the comeback was complete. With overtime looming both teams had chances to end it in regulation. First it was the Caps getting two glorious chances after winning a faceoff in the Dogs end with just over two minutes left. Matthew Wong made two great saves to keep the game tied. The Dogs then had their chances to win it in the last minute of regulation with a wild scramble seeing a flurry of chances around Rawlings. Former Capital Brian Kang would have the two best chances right on the doorstep but he just couldn?t find the net as the game headed to overtime. In the sudden death period the Dogs found the winner when Josh Pineiro picked off a pass up the middle and let a quick wrist shot fly from the left point that had eyes and snuck by the outstretched glove of Rawlings into the top corner for the 4-3 Dogs win. The goal was unassisted at 2:34 of OT as the Dogs picked up their second win of the season and the first on the road. It was also their first win in overtime after two previous trips to sudden death.

Final shots favoured the Dogs 35-33 with Matt Wong and Chris Rawlings being the goalies of record. The Dogs were 2 for 4 on the power play while the Caps were 0 for 4.

Friday the Bulldogs visited the Bear Mountain Arena for the second time this season for a meeting with the Grizzlies. This was an incredibly tight game, with a scoreless tie after one period of play and even a scoreless tie after two periods with both goaltenders holding the fort. The first goal of the game came from the Dogs on a power play in the third period, as James Kerr won a faceoff in the Grizzlies zone onto the stick of Ben Payne. Payne would chop a quick shot at the net that eluded Anthony Grieco and slipped through the five hole at the 7:54 mark as the deadlock was finally broken. The Dogs would then have a glorious chance shortly afterwards to go up 2-0 as Ben Payne set up Evan Witt for an in-alone chance off a 2 on 1 rush. Grieco would make a big save though to keep it 1-0. That proved huge minutes later with the Grizzlies tying it at 1-1 as Evan Pighin one-timed a cross crease pass off the back post past Matthew Wong at the 12:03 mark. Cam Reid and Tyler Gubb picked up the assists on the play. Just 2:40 later the Grizzlies would take the lead as Myles MacRae picked the bottom corner far side on an odd man rush set up by Justin Courtnall for a 2-1 score with 5:17 to play. The damage would really be done just 1:09 later as the Grizzlies scored again to lead 3-1 as Tyler Gubb one-timed a pass from the right circle past Wong with a delayed penalty coming to the Dogs. Shawn Stuart and Sean Robertson picked up the assists on the goal at the 15:52 mark of the third. That would be it for the game scoring as the Dogs ran out of time to dig out of the two goal hole.

Shots favoured Victoria 35-23 with Matthew Wong and Anthony Grieco being the goalies of record. Wong was awarded second star efforts in a losing cause.  The Dogs were 1 for 6 on the power play while the Grizz were 0 for 4.

If games were 45 minutes long the Dogs might have won this one, as they did a good job until the late stages of the third period at holding the Grizzlies off the board. Three goals in just over three minutes made the previous 45 minutes a distant memory in the end though, as the Grizz proved that it?s not how you start, but how you finish.

 

Saturday the Bulldogs ended their week the way they began it, by hooking up for a date with the Cowichan Valley Capitals. The Dogs got in penalty trouble early in this one, going to the penalty box twice in the first five minutes of the game. A good penalty kill and some good goaltending though would keep the Capitals off the board. The Bulldogs took the lead later in the period on an odd man rush where Chris Moulson found the trailer in Eliot Raibl who jumped up on the play. Raibl walked in to the high slot where he sent a perfect shot top glove on Rawlings for a 1-0 Dogs lead 12:34 into the first with assists to Chris Moulson and Warren Muir. The score stayed 1-0 until the early moments of the second period when the Dogs missed on an odd-man rush of their own, resulting in the Caps coming up ice on a 3 on 2 where Kevin Walrod sent a cross ice pass to Jake Bouma where he one-timed a low shot five hole on Wong as the game<