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A fairly quick pace through the early minutes of the game, as both Brody Claeys and Tyger Howat facing some chances early. At a whistle just 3:09 into the game, Howat would come out of the game after apparently tweaking something in his lower body. Lawson Fenton would enter the game in relief. Just two and a half minutes later the Bulldogs opened the scoring as Marshall Skapski made a great one-on-one defensive play on an Owen Stout rush. Troy Dobbs would then sent Liam Conrad up ice, where he carried it over the Express line before setting up Cayden Kraus in the slot. Kraus would make no mistake, snapping a perfect shot top corner over the blocker of Fenton at 5:35 of the first. The Dogs would end up in the penalty box two minutes later, but they would build their lead while shorthanded as Chris Sarault fought the puck out of his own zone and carried it up the right side over the Coquitlam line. He would then go to the net and accept a pass from Liam Conrad to skate in alone where he also lifted a shot high, blocker side to make it 2-0 while shorthanded at 8:20 of the first. Shots favoured the Bulldogs 10-8 after 20 minutes.
The Express started the second period with a push as they tried to get back into it, but the Dogs pushed back and generated some offense of their own before going up 3-0 on Chris Sarault's second of the game as Owen Johnson won a battle on the boards at centre as the puck went to the middle of the ice. Chris Sarault would find it, and quickly head-man it for Liam Conrad up the right side and drive the net. Conrad put a perfect fed in tight that Sarault deflected home just inside the far post at 6:52 of the second. The Dogs built the lead to 4-0 later in the period after holding off some Express pressure as Chris Schutz knocked the puck loose in the left corner on the forecheck. Garrett Halls would keep it in at the left point where he put a quick shot low on net that eluded Fenton low, short-side at 13:34 of the second. Just two minutes later the Dogs drew a power play on what appeared to be a legit, put possibly somewhat of a soft call. They would make quick work of it, as Jordan Sandhu set up Chris Schutz on the left half-boards, where he fed Ryan Finnegan in the slot. He put a perfect back-pass onto the tape of Paul Meyer in the left circle, where he put a hard one-timer low and on net. Fenton would make the first save, but the rebound went cross-ice and onto the tape of Chris Schutz who made no mistake one-timing it home into the open side to build the lead to 5-0 at 15:53 of the second. The Dogs out shot the Express 22-11 in the period, for a 40 minute advantage of 32-19.
The Express pushed hard to start the third, and immediately got on the board to snap Claeys' shut out bid as Mitch Newsome was set up in front by Colton Kerfoot where he snapped one home high, short-side before Claeys could get set at 46 seconds of the third. An odd one made it a 5-2 game just three minutes later when the Dogs won a draw in their end and a defenseman tried to cut through the crease, only to fan on a pass and have Cameron Bertsch follow him and chop it off his stick and up and over Claeys from in tight. The goal was unassisted at 3:47 of the third. Just a minute prior Claeys came up with a big breakaway save on Bertsch. Bertsch would have another breakaway to get the Express within two, but Claeys kept it out. That would prove huge, as just a minute later it was a 6-2 game when Tristan Bukovec chipped the puck below the goal line for Jordan Sandhu, who out-worked an Express defender and threw a perfect pass to the slot for Chris Schutz who one-timed it home past the blocker of Fenton at 5:11 of the third. The Dogs further built their lead to 7-2 just short of the midway mark of the period as Eric Margo made a good play to block and point shot and throw a check, allowing Owen Johnson to send Nathan Dingmann on an odd-man rush up the left wing. He would fight off a defender and then set up Quinn Syrydiuk in the slot where he snapped it home far-side past the blocker of Fenton at 9:49 of the third. Just 1:02 later the Dogs caught got napping and Charlie Barrow raced the puck up the left wing and drove the net. The first attempt stayed out, but Colton Kerfoot found the loose puck below the goal line and banked it in from a sharp angle to make it 7-3 at 10:51 of the third. There would be plenty of opportunities for both sides the rest of the way, but that would complete the scoring.
Final shots favoured the Bulldogs 42-35, with Brody Claeys picking up the win while Lawson Fenton took the loss in a relief effort. The Dogs went 1 for 5 on the power play while the Express went 0 for 3.
With the win the Dogs have won two in a row, and are within four points of the Grizzlies for 4th place in the Island Division. The Dogs are next in action Friday when they host Victoria. They host Penticton on Saturday night.
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