Spruce Kings 5 Bulldogs 4, double OT

The Dogs got off to a great start in this one, taking a 2-0 lead by the 12 minute mark of the first on goals by Casey Bailey - on the PP, and Liam Darragh, shorthanded.

The Spruce Kings got on the board minutes later on the powerplay as the Dogs were handed consecutive penalties to make it 2-1 after one.

The 2-0 lead might have been a bad thing, as the Dogs appeared to relax, while the Spruce Kings just kept working.

They would get rewarded with two goals 14 seconds apart 8 minutes into the second to lead 3-2 as the Dogs called time out to try and right the ship. Its beyond me how the players still think that they are capable of taking their foot off the gas and they can still control the game, as there has been so many examples of losses this season where they did just that and got burned.

Maybe they thought that as the Spruce Kings are the leagues worst team, they could pull it back a little. It certainly wasn't the case, as the Spruce Kings led 3-2 after two on the benefit of good old fashioned hard work.

The Dogs got back to just that in the third period. After a slow start to the frame, they got back to the basics - taking the body and getting the puck on net. They would be rewarded for their efforts with a powerplay chance that proved huge as Colton Sobchak fired a Trent Dorais centering pass home to make it 3-3 with 6 minutes to go.

The Spruce Kings would go up 4-3 with 4:44 to play on a penalty shot generated on a breakaway that looked offside by a considerable margain - thems the breaks I guess.

If there is one thing the Dogs never do, its quit. Undaunted by the goal they kept at it, tying the game at 4-4 with less than two minutes to play when Brandon Adams fired a rebound home at the side of the net after great efforts to win battles by his linemates, Liam Darragh and Sawyer Mick.

The game would head to overtime, with each team having great chances to win it through the first OT and into double OT.

The game would be decided on an awful penalty call in double OT, from an official working his second straight game in PG - I always have a problem with that - as Connor Varley would get called for highsticking at centre ice, resulting in the game winning penalty shot with less than a minute to go in double OT.

To describe the penalty - Connor Varley chips the puck past a Spruce King at neutral ice. Varley is beating the Spruce King up the boards when the player INTERFERES with him, as he trys to get to the puck to create a 2 on 1. As a consequence of Varley attempting to fight through the uncalled interference, he gets his stick up and clips the Spruce King.

I can add a whole bunch of adgetives to describe the penalty call, and quite frankly, I want to, but I'll just stick with the facts and leave it at "awful"

In the end, it should have never got to that point, but credit to the Spruce Kings for the win - their first in 21 games over someone not named Quesnel.

The Dogs try to salvage their roadtrip when they visit the Millionaires in Quesnel tomorrow. The pregame show kicks off at 4:45 on 93.3 The Peak.

Hammer

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