GAME RECAP BULLDOGS Reserve One Homes Date/Time Rink 3 3 04/10/2006 JIH

April 12th, 2006- The ‘Bulldogs’ new season in the JAL began auspiciously on Monday night with a 3-3 tie in their debut game against ‘Reserve One Homes’ (ROH). The game was the first played by the ‘Dogs’ at Johnnie’s Ice House since last year when they won the ‘Denny Pratt Memorial Tournament’.

The ‘Dogs’ welcomed two new players to the squad Brad “Brian” Lipinski and Eric “Horshack” Carr. Both players made an immediate impact as they played with the same aggressive nature and reckless abandon that the ‘Bulldogs’ have long been known for.

Despite the addition of several new players and the new venue, the ‘Dogs’ looked fairly smooth. They controlled the puck fin the attacking zone for much of the first period. Although no official record was kept, they appeared to out-shoot their opponents at a 2:1 ratio. Unfortunately, they had nothing to show for it as the period ended in scoreless deadlock.

The ‘Bulldogs’ attacked first in the second period as Mike Montague skated the length of the ice, blowing past opponents and teammates alike, to deposit a hard slapper past the ‘ROH’ goalie. However, the lead was short-lived, as ‘ROH’ came back and scored two of their own, one on a power play and one short handed

“That shorthanded goal really hurt” said Alex Martinez. “Our defensemen were skating too far up and getting caught trailing the play on the way back. We really need to keep an eye on that or else the rest of the league will catch on and take advantage.

Trailing 2-1 in the third period, the ‘Bulldogs’ tied the game as Joey V. tipped in a rebound off of Jeremy “Swish” Campbell’s shot. Although ‘ROH’ regained the lead moments later, the tandem of Joey V. and Campbell tied the game once again with less than five minutes left.

With the score tied at three apiece, a shootout went into effect at the end of regulation. First up for the ‘Bulldogs; was Campbell who scored easily. After ‘ROH’ tied it up, Frank Lionello stepped up big and scored a clutch shot. Martinez stopped ‘ROH’s’ second attempt and left it up to the final two contestants in a showdown. James Senne represented the ‘Dogs’ and got stuffed on his shot. With one last chance to salvage a tie, ‘ROH’ sent in their secret weapon who scored on shot that tipped the top of Martinez’ glove. The game ended in a tie

“Hard played game” said Martinez. “The result was a tie, but I think we should have won. It’s all my fault on this one.” We continue to do the same thing over and over. I don't know why, but we really need to step up on defense. The defensemen need to play D and let the offense do the job. All in all Eric [Carr] played great on D and Brian [Brad Lipinski] was a mad man out there as well. We will get this right.”

The ‘Bulldogs’ managed to get one point in the standings. It’s going to be a long season and scoring goals is going to have to be the key. They cannot depend on two or three guys to handle the load on offense, so expect to see several other players step up.

• Aggressiveness: The ‘Bulldogs’ skated hard and brought their game to ROH, rather than playing conservatively.
• Shots on Goal: The ‘Dogs’ controlled the puck for the majority of the game in front of the ROH goal, that they took an estimated 35 shots on goal.

The Bad:

• Power Plays: The ‘Bulldogs’ scored nothing on their two power play attempts, instead giving up a goal with extra man advantage.
• Defensemen Pinching: The defense got caught skating too high on several occasions and it cost them.

 The Ugly:

• Swish: Campbell’s whiff on a shot in the third period was so powerful it knocked him off of his feet and sent a breeze swirling throughout the arena.

Player of the Game: Joey F.V.

• Joey is picking up where he started, scoring two goals in the Bulldogs JAL Debute.

Next up: April 18 2006 vs. the ‘Flying Hellfish’ at 8:00PM