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A tight start from both sides, with not much in the way of chances or whistles, but the teams playing somewhat tentative due to the magnitude of the stakes. The Grizzlies had the best early chance when Carson Schamerhorn went out to play the puck and coughed it up. He would make an initial desperation save getting back into his net before he got some help from Tyler Cooper who made a toe save on the crease to keep it scoreless. The Bulldogs would have a couple of looks later in the period, with Ryan Finnegan being stopped by the glove of Matt Galajda and two or three other good chances seeing the puck fail to cooperate and miss the net. The Grizzlies would appear to take a 1-0 lead in the back half of the period on a turnover in front of the Bulldogs net that saw Brayden Gelsinger walk in tight and lift one top corner, far-side over the blocker of Schamerhorn. I thought there was no question that the puck went in and was a good goal, but the Referee at the net waved it off. After a conference between all four Officials the Referee went and consulted with the goal judge, which is somewhat of a funny comparison to Sunday when the goal judge had the light on in Coquitlam for a Bulldog goal and the Referee wouldn't even look at him, better yet go and have a discussion with him. At any length the call was no goal as it stayed 0-0 after one with a low shot total favouring the Grizzlies 7-5.
The second period through the first 10 minutes was somewhat similar to the first period as both teams played it pretty tight to the vest with a combined 18 shots through the midway point of the second. Things would pick up in the back half of the period after the Bulldogs failed to generate either chances or momentum on a power play opportunity, which was almost immediately followed up by a Victoria man advantage. They would make quick work of it, going up 1-0 just 14 seconds into the advantage as Dante Hahn put a one-timer on net from the left circle that was stopped by Carson Schamerhorn, as was a follow up rebound. The puck would then appear to carom off a Bulldog defender cross-crease where Brayden Gelsinger fired it into the open side. PJ Conlon also drew an assist on the play at 14:43 of the second. Again immediately following the goal the Bulldogs were penalized with the Grizzlies connecting 45 seconds into the power play when a point shot by Kevin Massy hit traffic and took a Grizzlies bounce right onto the tape of PJ Conlon at the side of the net where he fired it through the legs of Schamerhorn. Dante Hahn also drew an assist on the play at 15:44 of the second just 1:01 after the 1-0 goal. Less than two minutes later all four Officials would miss a hand pass by the Grizzlies at the Bulldog line. Seconds later the Grizzlies would regroup and go up 3-0 on a net drive that saw Tyler Welsh fire the puck home five-hole on Schamerhorn, with PJ Conlon and Cole Pickup drawing the assists at 17:25. Off the ensuing puck drop Josh Adkins would take a fairly visious elbow to the head on a targeted hit at the red line by Cody Van Lierop. No arms would go up from the Officials, prompting Troy Dobbs to approach him and challenge him. Both players would drop their gloves somewhat simultaneously, with Van Lierop maybe landing the only punch of a what wasn't much of a fight before the Linesman stepped in. After a full 10 minutes to sort it out, it would be ruled a one-man fight, with Dobbs picking up seven minutes and Van Lierop picking up a double minor for roughing. There would be no scoring the rest of the way, with the Grizzlies out shooting the Dogs 11-4 in the period for a 18-9 advantage after 40 minutes.
The Grizzlies would have two plus minutes of power play time when the third period kicked off, and the Dogs problems were further compounded when they took another penalty early in the period putting themselves down two men for a full two minutes. The Grizzlies would again make quick work of the advantage, as Brayden Gelsinger circled the wagons in the attacking zone going from the right wing, across the deep slot, and to the net down the left side where he went top corner, short-side high on Schamerhorn. Kevin Massy and PJ Conlon drew the assists 1:11 into the third. The next ten minutes saw the Dogs look - pardon the pun - dog tired, as the Grizzlies had the better of the play in the attacking zone. The Dogs wouldn't go quietly however, as they made a game of it with just under eight minutes to play as Tristan Bukovec took a rink-wide pass from Josh Adkins after Paul Meyer kicked the puck up the wall. Bukovec would walk over the line up the left side and put a perfect shot top corner, far-side over the glove of Matthew Galajda at 12:05 of the third. The Dogs would pull their goalie with over two minutes to play and the gamble worked when they further trimmed the gap to 4-2 when Garrett Halls put a long indirect bank pass onto the tape of Chris Schutz, who head-manned to Ryan Finnegan up the right wing. He would drive wide and show great poise before sending a cross-ice pass onto the tape of Nathan Dingmann who one-timed it home into the open side at 18:20 of the third. That's as close as the comeback would come though as the Grizzlies made the lead stand until the final buzzer.
Final shots favoured the Grizzlies 26-24 with Matt Galajda picking up the win while Carson Schamerhorn took the loss. The special teams were a huge difference as the Dogs went 0 for 2 on the power play while the Grizzlies went 3 for 5.
The Dogs are next in action Friday night - FINALLY at home when they host West Kelowna. They host Trail Saturday on Teddy Bear Toss night.
Hammer
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