The Kings had a noticable step on the Bulldogs to open the contest, but John Hawthorne was rock solid to keep it scoreless as the Kings ran up a 7-0 lead in shots with the best chance being an open net for Kevin Obssuth that saw Hawthorne dive cross-crease to get a paddle on it to keep it out. The Kings continued to push, and went up 1-0 when Nathan Kelly picked off an errant pass at centre ice and played it up the right wing for Kevin Obssuth. He would chip it ahead for Josh Coblenz in full flight, as he drove the net and out-fought a Bulldog forward playing defence to lift it long side on his backhand past the blocker of Hawthorne. The only assist went to Kevin Obssuth at 9:05 of the first. The Bulldogs responded late in the period, and tied the game a second after a power play chance elapsed (the penalty call was a rather funny moment as a large cheer erupted from the crowd as they realized that the Kings were penalized for the first time since the first period last night) as Darren Rizzolo threw it at the net from the left point and it found its way home through traffic and possibly changed direction to make it 1-1, from James Orban and Cole Poliziani at 16:07 of the first. A minute and change later the Bulldogs would earn a two minute 5 on 3 power play as Carter Harris drove the net where he took an accidental high stick from Callum Volpe, before being slashed by Mitch Adamyk. It was an interesting scene initially as Harris was sent to the penalty box by one of the Officials, before eventually being released from the box as he wasn't penalized on the play. The Dogs had a couple good looks on the power play, but couldn't cash in on it as it remained tied 1-1 after 20 minutes, with the shots favouring the Kings 13-11 - they were 9-1 at one point.
The Bulldogs started the second well, having a great chance to take the lead as Connor Welsh put a perfect stretch pass onto the tape of Paul Selleck behind the Kings defence. He would skate in a lone and fight off an Andy Stevens stick to go to the backhand only to have Adamyk make a big save. The Dogs followed it up with another solid attacking zone shift, but couldn't generate a chance to get the go ahead marker. The teams traded power play opportunities through the middle of the period, but it remained tied with Hawthorne and Adamyk holding their respective forts. The Bulldogs drew another power play late in the second on an after the whistle skirish at their net, but didn't look especially good on it as the Kings gave them nothing. Quite a funny sequence played out at the end of the period - or perhaps not funny, if you're adjudicating Officials.. as Callum Volpe hit Keaton Mastrodonato from behind with 0.6 seconds to play in the period. Tyler Vanuden would retaliate with a comparable board/hit from behind on Volpe in retaliation, before all 10 players got into it. The arm initially went up on the Volpe hit, but when the dust settled Mastrodonato was actually given a boarding penalty while Tyler Vanuden got nothing, while Callum Volpe also got off scott-free while Jonny Evans was given a roughing penalty. Shots in the period were 16-9 Powell River, for a 29-20 edge after two.
The Kings would take a 2-1 lead just short of three minutes into the third, on a shot that I thought never went in, as I thought it went post-crossbar and out. The Referee at the net counted it, as Hunter Findlater picked off a D-to-D pass at the Kings line and raced in alone and went to the backhand at 2:49 of the third. John Hawthorne would make several Grade A saves over the ensuing minutes, the most notable being on Kevin Obssuth in front. The Bulldogs would tie the game going end to end off a draw in their end in less than 10 seconds, as Paul Selleck won the draw forward for Cole Poliziani. He would gain the line up the right side and put it to the slot for Jackson Doucet who beat Adamyk with a backhand long-side to make it 2-2 at 12:02 of the third. The Dogs earned a power play a minute and change later, but it was the Kings who had the best chance as Kyle Kawamura skated in alone only to be stopped by Hawthorne. Third period shots were 13-6 Kings, for a 60 minute advantage of 42-26.
The first overtime was all Powell River, with John Hawthorne coming up with two HUGE saves on a backdoor set up for Hunter Findlater and an in-alone chance for Jonny Evans as the game went to double OT, with the shots being 5-0 Kings. The Dogs looked considerably better in double OT, drawing a penalty early in it when Ethan Kimball was sent off for tripping. Mitch Adamyk would make a handful of great saves, but the Dogs pressed and worked the puck around and finally cashed in on the advantage as Connor Welsh took a quick cross-ice pass from Darren Rizzolo on the right side of the slot that he one-timed past Adamyk to set off a wild celebration for the game winner and the 3-2 final score. Christian Simeone also drew an assist on the play at 3:58 of overtime.
Final shots were 48-31 Kings, with John Hawthorne earning 2nd star honours with the win, while Mitch Adamyk earned 1st star honours with the win. The Dogs went 1 for 7 on the power play while the Kings went 0 for 2.
The Bulldogs are next in action Wednesday night when they host the Nanaimo Clippers
Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve, and thanks as always for checking the blog.
Hammer
____________________________________________________________
There has never been a subscription fee for this blog - and there never will be, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much. *
*As eloquently said by Gregg Drinnan of Taking Note - the best hockey/sports blog around
No comments:
Post a Comment