The Bulldogs had troubles off the opening puck drop against the Chiefs - while they didn't give up anything on their net, they failed to gain the attacking zone for the first two and a half minutes of the game. The Bulldogs killed off a penalty just short of the midway point of the period to keep the game scoreless, with John Hawthorne being solid when called upon. The Bulldogs continued to have the game taken to them, but didn't concede anything. They finally got on the attack for a good shift in the Chiefs zone, only to be penalized by the Referee at the back blue line. The Chiefs would connect on it to open the scoring and send the Teddy Bears flying, as John Hawthorne made a great first save on a cross-ice one timer set up for Skylar Brind' Amour, and a rebound stop as well, but couldn't get any help before Anthony Vincent fought a backhand home past a valiant diving effort by Hawthorne to make it 1-0 at 14:06 of the first, with assists to Brind' Amour and Will Calverley. The Bulldogs were again penalized a minute after the goal, and couldn't get a break from the Officiating after the whistle as Regan Kimens and Sami Pharaon got tied up behind the Dogs net and Kimens threw a series of punches while Pharaon appeared to be much more disciplined, to no avail as he received two minutes for receiving. The Bulldogs would do a good job of killing it off to keep it a one-goal game, and were again almost instantly penalized on a very soft phantom-esque call off a tie up on a centre ice faceoff for a fourth straight time to open the game. They would again do a solid job of killing it off to keep it a 1-0 Chiefs game after 20 minutes. Shots were 12-6 Chilliwack, not bad considering they had eight minutes of power play time.
The Bulldogs had a noticable jump to start the second period, and drew a penalty early in it when Ryan Steele took a shot to the head after the whistle - while getting away with a high stick on the Chief defender at the same time. While the Bulldogs didn't score on the power play, they had some good chances and moments in the zone, and generated momentum from it and soon after tied the game on a 2 on 1 rush that saw Sami Pharaon clear it up the wing from the side of the net for Liam Lytton. He would chip it by a man for Brandon Bergado, who carried it from his line up the right side and deep into the right circle where he snapped a quick release, high short-side past Daniel Chenard's glove to make it 1-1 at 4:54 of the first. The Bulldogs would push throughout the period, while also coming up with two solid kills on Chief power play opportunities, but couldn't take the lead despite several good looks around the Chilliwack net. The Dogs would dodge a considerable bullet late in the period when a turnover at the attacking line led to an odd man rush that turned into a breakaway for Adam Berg that saw John Hawthorne come up with a big save to keep it tied. The Bulldogs came up with another big penalty kill late in the period to keep it tied - and as much as I thought they were handed a couple penalties in the first where the calls went against them, I thought they got away with a few things late in the second. Shots in the period were 16-7 Bulldogs, for a 22-19 Bulldog advantage after 40 minutes.
The Bulldogs began the third period with the same energy, but took an early penalty. It would be quickly cancelled out by two Chief penalties that brought about a short 4 on 3 and 5 on 3 power play opportunties that they couldn't cash in on as the Chiefs did a fantastic job of killing. The Bulldogs would earn a four minute power play in short order when Kale Yewchuk went at Brandon Bergado hard and picked up a double minor as a result. The Dogs again didn't cash in on the chance, with the Chiefs doing a fantastic job of being aggressive and pushing the issue. The Chiefs would AGAIN be penalized almost immediately when it was back to five on five hockey, and the Bulldogs finally cashed in to take the lead as they won a couple of consecutive battles to keep the puck in the attacking zone. Ryan Steele would come out of the fray with possession and dish off to Luc Salem at the left point. He would then take a return pass from Isaac Tonkin-Palmer in the left circle before going rink-wide for Mitch Oliver at the right point. He would walk into the deep slot and put a perfectly placed wrist shot through traffic that beat Chenard top corner over his blocker to make it 2-1 Bulldogs at 12:28 of the third. The game would be delayed for a good 20 minutes with just over four minutes to play in regulation when Connor Welsh threw a perfectly executed hip check at the Bulldog line that launched a Chief into the glass - and through the glass as it shattered. The delay did little to halt the Bulldog momentum, as they didn't give up anything as time wound down. The Chiefs pulled their goalie for the extra attacker with just over two minutes to play, but the Dogs cleared the zone on two instances before getting some insurance as Bradley Ong picked up an errant pass at centre ice that he fired into the empty net, un-assisted to make it 3-1 at 18:09 of the third. Just 21 seconds later it was 4-1 Dogs as Luc Salem threw it at the net where it hit a leg and ended up on the stick of Paul Selleck who danced in alone where he was stopped by Chenard. He couldn't control the rebound or get help on it as former Chief Cole Poliziani jammed it home to make it a 4-1 final score.
Third period shots were 7-7, for a game total of 29-26 Bulldogs, with John Hawthorne picking up the win while Daniel Chenard took the loss. Both teams went 1 for 7 on the power play.
With the win, the Dogs snap a 5 game losing streak and 6 game winless slide, while halting the Chiefs three game winning streak.
The Bulldogs conclude their weekend tomorrow afternoon when they face the Eagles in Surrey for a 4:00 puck drop.
Hammer
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