The Alberni Valley Bulldogs defeated the Victoria Grizzlies 3-2 on Wednesday night at the Multiplex before a crowd of 933 fans.
The clubs were scoreless after 20 minutes before the Bulldogs finally broke through on Booker Daniels 4th of the year at 9:28 of the 2nd period as he finished a pretty play with Brandon Buhr.
The Grizzlies would find the equalizer early in the 3rd period as Connor Eddy finished a beautiful 3-on-1 rush to beat Hobie Hedquist. Ellis Rickwood & Matthew Wood picked up the assists.
The Bulldogs regained the lead under 3 minutes later as Ethan Layer got a PP marker for his 6th of the year. Kobe Assam appeared to put the game away with his 2nd at 15:15 of the 3rd. The goal turned out to be the game winner instead of the insurance marker. With the net empty, Matthew Wood got his 20th of the year with just 0.3 seconds left in the game as he corralled a bounce off the end boards and put it home.
Hobie Hedquist was in great form and was rewarded as the game’s 1st star as he made 29 saves on 31 shots. Kyle Kelsey was equally sharp turning aside 30 of 33 Bulldogs shots.
The win pushed the Bulldogs record to 13-8-3-0 and they’ve now improved to 8-1-2-0 on home ice. The Grizzlies dropped their 4th in a row to fall 12-14-0-0.
This was the Bulldogs final home game before Christmas as they will hit the road for a pair of games this weekend to close out the schedule before the Christmas break. The Bulldogs take on the Surrey Eagles on Friday & Chilliwack on Saturday.
ENERGY PLAYER OF THE GAME:
Kobe Assam – AVB
THREE STARS:
*** Stephen Castagna – AVB
** Ethan Leyer – AVB
* Hobie Hedqist – AVB
