Enjoy.
Hammer
P
The first few minutes were rather tame, with neither team looking especially sharp. The Bulldogs had the best early chance, as Keaton Mastrodonato took a hit to create a 2 on 1 that saw Julian Benner skate in alone but be unable to beat Jordan Naylor. The Bulldogs would give up a chance with sloppy control of the puck in neutral ice that saw John Hawthorne come up with a solid save on Nicholas Wilson on a partial breakaway. The Bulldogs would then proceed to dominate the remainder of the period, creating Grade A chances both on the rush and during extended periods of attack in the Nanaimo zone. Jordan Naylor would look sharp on several instances to keep the game scoreless. The Bulldogs earned a power play chance late in the period, but couldn't cash in on it. Shortly afterwards, they finally found the net as Ryan Novecosky made a good defensive play one-on-one to stop a rush before putting the puck off the glass and out of the zone while taking a hit in the process. Michael Sacco and Nicholas Seitz would play catch through centre before Sacco walked up the middle over the Nanaimo line and tried a shot that was blocked. It ended up right on the tape of Seitz who was following the play, and he made no mistake one-timing it home five-hole for his first career goal and a 1-0 Bulldog lead after 20 minutes. Shots were 14-2 Bulldogs.
The trend continued throughout the early moments of the second, as the Bulldogs continued to push the pace and generate offensive chances. They were unable to connect on back to back power play chances though as it remained a one-goal game. The Bulldogs would build their lead just past the midway point of the period on the rush with quick transition, as Ryan Novecosky stood up at his blue line to break up a pass and one-touch it ahead for Tyler Vanuden. He would feed Keaton Mastrodonato over the Nanaimo line up the right wide, where he used speed to get deep before putting a perfect cross-crease pass onto the tape of Vanuden at the back post, where he one-timed it home before Naylor could get over to make it 2-0 at 10:52 of the second. The Bulldogs couldn't build on the momentum, as the Clippers got on the board with under four minutes to play in the frame as a battle out of the corner ended up back at the line. A shot that was deflected was initially stopped by John Hawthorne, and he also came up with a rebound save. The second rebound found it's way home though, as Matthew Moser just managed to squeak it through. Assists on the play went to Marcus Mitchell and Brady Lynn at 16:03 of the second. The Bulldogs earned a power play a minute later with a chance to restore their lead, but again couldn't threaten to cash in as it stayed 2-1 after 40 minutes. Shots in the period were 9-6 Clippers, for a 20-11 Bulldog advantage.
The third period began with the Clippers going to back to back power play opportunities inside the first ten minutes, but the Bulldogs did a good job to kill them off and not give up much in protecting their lead, with both Isaac-Tonkin Palmer and Stephen Castagna being noticable for both blocking shots and getting sticks on pucks. With five minutes to play, the Bulldogs put on an offensive push and had a couple near misses around the Clipper net. Nanaimo would counter on the following shift, with John Hawthorne coming up with a solid save on Matthew Moser at the side of the net through a scramble to protect the lead. The Bulldogs did a good job through the final four minutes to not give up much into the final minute of regulation. The Bulldogs couldn't get a crucial clear, with the Clippers pressing into the final seconds where a puck bounced cross-crease and onto the stick of Ethan Scardina, with what looked like an open net. John Hawthorne would come up with a game-saver on the goal line with his right toe to keep it 2-1 as the buzzer sounded two seconds later.
Third period shots were 8-5 Clippers, for a game total of 25-19 Bulldogs. John Hawthorne picked up the win in net, while Jordan Naylor took the loss. The Bulldogs went 0 for 4 on the power play while the Clippers went 0 for 2.
The Bulldogs are next in action Friday night at home when they host the Victoria Grizzlies.
I'm dying for someone to correct me on this - but as far as I'm aware, this is the first ever 2 and 0 start in franchise history.*UPDATE* I’m reluctant to report I must correct myself...and I have also been corrected by statistician Dan Tisserand. The Bulldogs have twice started a season 2-0. First in 2004-2005. My excuse for missing this one is that I gave up looking farther back on the BCHL website for Bulldog history as three seasons (2006-2009) for some reason don’t exist on the league site. The one Dan found was from 2011-2012. I can’t fathom an excuse for this one, but I have to wonder what the season was doing starting September 24th! I’ll head to he box now and feel shame!
Hammer
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