I finally managed to acquire video clips from last night... enjoy.
Hammer
A high pace to the early minute of the game, with both sides having good jump. Immediately after a defensive zone draw and a clear to centre ice, the Bulldogs got caught on the wrong side of the puck and gave up a long 2 on 1 rush that saw Tate Coughlin carry the puck over the Bulldogs line up the left wing into the left circle where he beat Colten Lancaster with a shot that trickled over the line log-side off the bottom of his glove. Troy MacTavish drew the lone assist on the play at 4:16 of the first. The Bulldogs didn't show any signs of letting the goal deflate them, as they did a great job of pushing right back over the next couple of minutes, generating a couple good chances and some offensive zone time. They would soon afterwards be penalized on a pretty iffy call, but successfully killed it off and didn't give up much, before then earning a power play on another similar penalty call against the Capitals. They would cash in on it to tie the game, on a nice set up that saw Sami Pharaon find Mitch Oliver at the right point. He would feed Cole Poliziani at the right half wall, where he put a hard goal line feed to Christian Simeone, who drove hard on net and appeared to just slide his rebound home over the line past a sprawling Adam Marcoux to make it 1-1 at 13:47 of the first. The Bulldogs drove the net on the next shift with a good chance, but were then subsequently penalized on the following faceoff where Paul Selleck got tied up with the Capitals centre and got his stick caught between his legs, and somehow was whistled for high sticking? The Capitals would make quick work on the power play, on a cross-ice D-to-D set up that was one-timed home through the legs of Lancaster by Adam Laroche to make it 2-1 at 14:33 of the first, with the lone assist going to Andrew Mccann. The Capitals had a great chance late in the period to build their lead, but Colten Lanaster came up with a big glove save in tight off Troy MacTavish. The Capitals were penalized at the buzzer of the first period, bringing about a Bulldog power play to start the second. Shots in the period favoured the Bulldogs 10-8.
The Bulldogs threatened off the bat on the power play, and while they didn't score on it, they did tie the game just two seconds after the conclusion of the penalty as Ryan Steele dropped the puck for Cole Poliziani and went to open ice where he took a return pass in the right circle where he fired a high shot on goal that was stopped by Marcoux, but the rebound bounced right to the top of the crease where Christian Simeone banged home his second of the game to make it 2-2 at 2:02 of the second. The Bulldogs continued to push the pace, and scored a beautiful goal on a 4 on 2 rush where Christian Simeone gained the line up the right side, and dished off to the top of the left circle for Mitch Oliver. He would quickly one-touch a cross-ice pass onto the tape of Ryan Steele in the right circle where he blasted a one-timer home to make it 3-2 Dogs at 5:45 of the second. The rest of the period flew by, with each team getting their chances but the goalies standing tall, with the most notable save being a breakaway stop by Colten Lancaster on a shorthanded breakaway for Brandon Cherwalk. The Dogs were penalized late in the period, and were within a second of killing it off but couldn't clear the zone as Andrew Mccann held the puck in at the left point where he put a low slapper on goal that was deflected inside the near post by Andrew Jackson from the top of the crease to tie it at 3-3 at 19:08 of the period. The Dogs earned a power play seconds later, but instead of taking the lead back, they gave it away as the last man back at the attacking line fell down with the puck heading his way, resulting in a partial breakaway up the left side for Ty Pochipinski, who walked into the deep slot and placed a perfect shot top corner, long-side over the glove of Lancaster to make it 4-3 Caps, shorthanded at 19:50 of the second. Cole Poliziani would be stopped on a breakaway at the buzzer by Adam Marcoux, with the Capitals again penalized in an after the whistle skirmish to end the period, bringing about a 1:19 in duration 5 on 3 for the Bulldogs to begin the third. Shots in the period were 13-11 Capitals, for a 21-21 tally after 40 minutes.
The Bulldogs didn't score on the 5 on 3, not for a lack of execution though, as Marcoux made a great blocker save on a backdoor set up on Cole Poliziani. Another cross-ice back door set up for Ryan Steele seconds later hit the post and stayed out. The Bulldogs earned momentum despite not scoring, and quickly tied the game when Tyson Slater one-handed the puck up the boards out of the Bulldog zone up the right side. Keaton Mastrodonato did a good job to out-work his man to feed it ahead for Paul Selleck through centre ice. He gained the Caps zone and dished off to Jackson Doucet up the left side, where he snapped a quick shot inside the post, short-side past the blocker of Marcoux to make it 4-4 at 2:54 of the third period. There would be no scoring the rest of regulation, with each team having some good looks as the goalies held the fort. Colten Lancaster would come up with two big saves late in the third to preserve the tie on Andrew Jackson in tight just at the end of a Capitals power play chance. Shots in the third were 11-9 Capitals for a 32-20 advantage after 60 minutes.
The first overtime saw the Dogs had the best initial chance when Keaton Mastrodonato set up Jackson Doucet on the doorstep, but it appeared to just hit a stick and go over the net. Colten Lancaster would later come up with a big save on a partial in alone chance for Ty Pochipinski to keep the game alive. He would be busy late in the first overtime and into the 3 on 3 when the Bulldogs were penalized. The Caps did get pucks on net, but the Bulldogs did a good job of defending to not give up a Grade A chance, as Lancaster did a solid job of limiting any rebounds. Neither team would find the net through the remainder of double OT as the game ended in a 4-4 draw.
Overtime shots were 7-4 Capitals, for a 39-34 game total in their favour, with Colten Lancaster and Adam Marcoux picking up the no decision in net. The Bulldogs went 1 for 6 on the power play, while the Capitals went 2 for 6 while also scoring once while shorthanded.
The Bulldogs are next in action Saturday night when they visit the Clippers in Nanaimo.
Hammer
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