The game was fairly passive, tight and sloppy early as neither side appeared sharp and in sync. The Clippers would earn a power play just under five minutes into the game. but the Bulldogs killed it off with Luke Pearson again being razor sharp as the Clippers ran up a 10-1 edge in shots. The Clippers would earn an almost immediate follow up power play, that was hard to accept as Tim Gould was hooked off the puck by Tyler Williams who was chasing him. Gould then hooked him back in similar fashion, but was penalized. It would be a big consequence, as the Clippers took advantage of it to lead 1-0 when Tim Washe deflected home a Robbie Drazner point shot five-hole on Pearson. Devon Mussio also drew an assist on the play at 9:00 of the first. The Bulldogs were unable to generate much throughout the period, and the Clippers doubled their lead with under a minute to play in the period as Scott Mahovlich went to the net and was tied up by a Defender and took advantage of the opportunity to stand in the crease and impede Pearson from moving in the paint as Travis Walton potted a loose puck in the crease to make it 2-0 at 19:14 of the first. Shots after one were 20-4 Nanaimo.
The Bulldogs earned a power play early in the second, but if anything lost momentum as they struggled with the puck and failed to even get set up in the attacking zone. As the period wore on, the Bulldogs continued to struggle to generate anything, and found themselves in a 3-0 hole just over six minutes into the period as Travis Walton carried the puck up the right wing and over the Bulldog line before throwing a cross-ice pass to the deep slot for Ethan Scardina, who blew a one-timer home short-side past the blocker of Pearson to make it 4-0 at 11:13 of the second. The Bulldogs showed an increase in passion in the back half of period, initially leading to a power play opportunity. While they didn't score on it, they looked good on it and earned momentum and chances and got the crowd into it a bit. They would finally find the net with just under two minutes to play in the period, as Jacob Bosse found a loose puck off a draw in the Nanaimo end and walked in untouched where he beat Jordan Naylor with a quick release, blocker side to make it 4-1 at 18:15 of the second, with Jackson Doucet drawing the lone assist. Shots in the second were 13-8 Clippers, for a 33-12 edge after 40 minutes.
The third period saw the Bulldogs have an extra jump to their step, but they were unable to mount any sustained attack to trim the deficit. The Clippers would further add to their lead just short of the midway point of the period when Ethan Scardina was set up in the deep slot in the right circle, where he put a quick release high, short-side off the post and in past the glove of Pearson to make it 5-1. Jack O'Brien also assisted at 9:32 of the third. The Clippers would add one more four minutes later on a fortuitous bounce as Devon Mussio appeared to fan on a shot, but it worked out as it went wide at a sharp angle and hit a sliding Bulldog defender to sit on the lip of the crease where Kyler Kovich tapped it into the open net to conclude the scoring at 13:22 of the third.
Shots in the third were 16-13 Bulldogs, for a game total in Nanaimo's favour of 46-28 with Jordan Naylor earning the win while Luke Pearson took the loss. The Bulldogs went 0 for 2 on the power play while the Clippers went 2 for 4.
With the win, the Clippers clinch 1st place in the Island Division, meaning they'll meet the Bulldogs in Round One of the playoffs.
Hammer
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