Hammer
There wasn't much in the way of chances through the opening minutes of the game, with the Grizzlies having an edge in shots and John Hawthorne coming up with a couple good saves, most notably on a deflection on the rush off Cameron Thompson. The Bulldogs first shot of the game was on 2 on 1 rush short of the midway point of the period, with Kyle Dumba making the save but kicking out a rebound cross-ice that saw a great defensive back check save a goal. The Bulldogs got their game going later in the period, coming close to opening the scoring on the rush when Jackson Doucet hit the crossbar behind Dumba. The Bulldogs earned a power play soon afterwards, and had several good looks on it but couldn't cash in. The Grizzlies earned a late period power play, but it was the Bulldogs having the best chance on it as Isaac Tonkin-Palmer chased down a loose puck for a breakaway but Dumba got his right toe on a backhand deke to keep it scoreless after 20 minutes. Shots in the first were 12-9 Grizzlies.
The opening minutes of the second were somewhat uneventful and similar to the first, with neither side looking especially sharp or taking control of the game. The Bulldogs earned a power play short of the midway point of the period, and again threatened on it with Ryan Miotto stopped in alone by Dumba, as it stayed scoreless into the back half of the period. The Grizzlies came close to opening the scoring on a crazy scramble that saw a sharp angle bid beat Hawthorne seven-hole, but sit on the goal line and not cross it with Hawthorne getting some help and making a couple desperation saves in the paint. Marcus Walter would get his stick on the loose puck outside the crease and poke it up the left wing, where Mitchel Deelstra out-raced Nico Somerville to poke it out of the zone. He would then out race Ryan Fisher to skate in alone on a breakaway where he went backhand-fivehole on Dumba to open the scoring, and send the Teddy Bears flying at 17:57 of the second. It didn't stay 1-0 for long though, as the Grizzlies tied it just 31 seconds later when Cameron Thompson sent Ryan Nolan in alone through the Dogs defence where he went top corner over the blocker of Hawthorne to tie it at 1-1 at 18:28 of the second. The Bulldogs responded well to end the period, creating a couple chances around the Victoria net, but they couldn't take the lead back before the buzzer. Shots in the period were 17-8 Bulldogs, for a two-period total in their favour of 26-20.
The third period saw great pace from the get-go, with good chances both ways. The Bulldogs would earn a penalty shot when Austin Spiridakis was hooked on a breakaway on a great stretch pass. He would make good on the opportunity, beating Dumba through the five hole to make it 2-1 at 6:34 of the third. The Bulldogs pushed for more, but couldn't beat Dumba before John Hawthorne protected the lead with a stop on a partial breakaway by Cameron Thompson, and a follow up rebound save with his right toe. The Bulldogs didn't give up much the rest of the way, but Hawthorne came up huge with a trio of saves on Edward Yan, Charlie Campbell and Khalil Fontana with just under four minutes to play on a one-time bid in tight, a rediculous right toe save on a follow up rebound, and at least one more stop on another rebound when he was down and out that hit him and ended up loose on the goal line where he found it first to cover it and keep it 2-1, for the eventual final score as the Bulldogs didn't give up anything the rest of the way to the buzzer.
Third period shots were 8-7 Grizzlies, for a game total of 33-28 Bulldogs with John Hawthorne earning the win while Kyle Dumba took the loss. Both teams went 0 for 3 on the power play.
The Bulldogs are next in action tomorrow afternoon when they host the Nanaimo Clippers.
Hammer
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