There was lots of flow to this contest early as it took until the 3:49 mark of the period to see the first whistle as almost everyone got into the game as the Coaches rolled through their lines. Each side would have their chances through the first 10 minutes but Christopoulos and Brendan Barry stood tall to keep it scoreless. There would be no scoring throughout the first period as the game was played relatively tight, with the Vees out shooting the Dog 12-7.
The second period saw the Vees with 40 plus seconds of carry over time on the power play. The Bulldogs would do a solid job of killing it off, and killing off two more penalties through the period only giving up a handful of shots to keep it 0-0 through the midway mark of the period. The Bulldogs would manage to draw their first penalty of the game from the neutral ice Referee in the back-half of the second, leading to their best offensive chances of the game but no goals to speak of as Brendan Barry came up with a series of shoulder saves on high hard drives from the slot by Brett Stewart, and he also got some help from a goalie's best friend as Mitch Makin rang one of the rebounds off the post. It would stay scoreless through 40 minutes, with the Dogs out shooting the Vees 12-9 for a two period total favouring Penticton 21-19.
After 40 minutes with no scoring to speak of, it took just 12 seconds into the third period for the Bulldogs to find the net as Chris Schutz pounced on a turn over inside the Vees line and walked in on goal where he snapped a beautiful top corner shot past the blocker of Barry to make it 1-0, un-assisted. Less than two minutes later the Bulldogs built the lead to 2-0 when Everett Putz did a good job to support on the fore check and dig the puck loose and throw a pass to the slot for Brett Stewart. His shot would just miss the net low, short-side and bounce at the side of an open net where a scramble ensued with a sliding Vees defender appearing to knock the puck into his own net and then the net off it's moorings. The Referee in position at the net immediately signaled it goal, although all four Officials would conference about it at centre ice before staying with that call to make it 2-0, with Dylan Haugen getting credit for it, from Josh Adkins and Everett Putz at 2:10 of the third. The Vees would be awarded three more power plays through the remainder of the third period, each time pulling their goalie for an extra attacker to make it a 6 on 4 situation with up to 15:00 remaining in the third period. Despite the extra man an a flurry of chances each time they gambled, Billy Christopoulos was fantastic and his penalty killers were outstanding two protect the lead. Two huge back-to-back saves on backdoor one-timers stand out, as he robbed both Riley Alferd and Demico Hannoun on opposite sides of the net. The Dogs would finally seal the deal into the empty net late in regulation after Dylan Haugen was hauled down without the puck chasing it but still couldn't draw a penalty. Josh Adkins would break a pass up at the Vees line and score into the empty cage to make it 3-0 at 19:37, un-assisted.
Final shots favoured the Vees 37-30 with Billy Christopoulos picking up the win and first star honours in net while Brendan Barry took the loss. The Dogs went 0 for 1 on the power play while the Vees went 0 for 6.
The Dogs next see action Tuesday night in Cowichan when they visit the Capitals.
Hammer
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