The Bulldogs looked inspired over the first two minutes of the game, but the Clippers quickly pushed in the attacking zone. An end-board bounce was missed by Brock Lefevbre, but he then made two huge saves with his glove on the door step on Parker Colley. The Dogs were penalized a minute later, and the Clippers took but 13 seconds to strike when David Melaragni threw a puck on net that was deflected by Cal Babych. Lefevbre wold make the first save, but Babych was able to jam his own rebound home from in tight to make it 1-0 at 3:08 of the first. The Clippers would push for some insurance, but Lefevbre made a couple solid saves to keep it a one-goal game. The Bulldogs would have a couple great looks of their own later in the period, but Taz Burman was equally sharp. The Bulldogs earned their second power play of the game with just over four minutes to play in the first, and they made good on it as Darren Rizzolo found Tyler Vanuden on the right half wall. He fed Ryan Steele at the right side of the net, where he set up Keaton Mastrodonato in the deep slot where he one-timed it home far-side past the right pad of Burman to make it 1-1 at 16:20 of the first. The Dogs had a great chance a minute later when Tyler Vanuden was sent in alone - he would fight off a stick under his arm to get a shot away, albeit not a good one, as Burman made the save. At the other end of the ice Darren Rizzolo would be penalized on a Clipper net drive. The Dogs would keep it a 1-1 game into the second, with shots in the first being 14-9 Clippers.
The Clippers took a 2-1 lead before the second was two minutes old, as Brad Belisle walked down the left wing and from a sharp angle got Lefevbre down early where he put a perfectly placed shot short-side high over his blocker. The lone assist went to Sam McBean at 1:49 of the second. The Dogs didn't let the deficit deflate them, as they answered back to tie it on a pretty three-way passing play on the rush as Cole Poliziani put a cross ice pass to a trailing Jackson Doucet. He in turn fed it to the back post to Paul Selleck. Taz Burman would come up with a great initial save, but Selleck jammed his own rebound home to make it 2-2 at 7:26 of the second. The Dogs would be penalized later in the period, but instead of trailing their took their first lead of the game, on their first shorthanded goal of the season as Ryan Steele chased down a loose puck at centre, with the Clippers having too-many-men on the ice. Steele would race in alone, and fire a quick release past the blocker of Burman to make it 3-2 at 12:16 of the second, unassisted. The Bulldogs would protest that it should've also been a Bench Minor against the Clippers, but those claims fell on deaf ears. That would prove large a minute and change later, as the Clippers tied the game when Brandon Marinelli took a head-man pass in the Dogs zone, and skated completely unchallenged in alone on Lefevbre where he snapped a shot long-side past his blocker to make it 3-3 at 13:28 of the second, with assists going to Brady Lynn and David Silye. The teams would trade chances over the following minutes, with neither team finding the net until the late stages of the period when the Clippers took the lead back as Lefevbre made a great initial save with his left pad on a cross-ice one timer by Cal Babych, but couldn't get any help on the rebound as Tristan Crozier whacked it home before he could get his glove on top of it. Preston Brodziak also earned an assist on the play at 18:45 of the period. Lefevbre would make a great point-blank save in the dying seconds of the period on another wide open set up to the slot for David Silye, that he just got his left shoulder on to keep it out. Shots in the period were 12-8 Nanaimo, for a 26-17 edge after 40 minutes.
The Clippers struck before the third was a minute old to take a 5-3 lead, as Max Crozier stepped up to intercept a long pass attempt. He would walk over the Dogs line up the left wing and cut to the middle, where he put a perfectly placed top corner shot high over the blocker of Lefevbre and under the bar. Ryan Steele would finish his check on him after his release, and would subsequently be penalized the extra two minutes on a large scale dust up. No assists were given on the play at 39 seconds of the third. The Bulldogs killed off the penalty to keep in the game, but the Clippers continued to push, and went up 6-3 on a shot from the right point by Brandon Marinelli that snuck in short-side under the glove arm of Lefevbre. Assists on the play went to David Silye and Parker Colley at 6:13 of the third. Colley would be penalized on the goal celebration, but the fight was gone out of the Dogs at that point, as they were unable to generate anything. The Bulldogs were penalized after the whistle at their net at the midway point of the period, and would be again penalized less than a minute later as the Clippers cashed in on their second 5 on 3 power play of the game to make it 7-3 as Joshua Bourne partially fanned on a shot from the top of the left circle but snuck it by John Hawthorne's blocker. Tristan Crozier and Brandon Marinelli assisted at 10:27 of the third. One more power play goal rubbed further salt in the wound, as Hawthorne made the save on a point shot, but the loose puck snuck through him and wide of the near post where Preston Brodziak located it first and tucked it in from behind the goal line to make it 8-3, with assists going to Tristan Crozier and David Melaragni at 18:11 of the third to complete the scoring. The Clippers would earn one more power play before the buzzer, but couldn't cash in on it before time ran out.
Shots in the third were 14-1 Clippers, for a game total of 40-18 with Brock Lefevbre taking the loss while Taz Burman earned the win. The Clippers went 3 for 8 on the power play while the Bulldogs went 1 for 3.
With the loss, the Dogs have lost two in a row while the Clippers have won four in a row.
The Bulldogs are next in action Sunday afternoon at home against West Kelowna.
Hammer
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