The ‘Dogs’ got on the board first midway through the first period. Sean O’Connell stole the puck in the defensive zone and raced across the ice untouched and danced around the goalie before pushing it through the posts. The goal came at the tail end of a power play kill, which not only shocked the Panthers, it gave the Bulldogs the first lead that they’ve had at any point this season. It didn’t last long as the Panthers struck back twice, jumping ahead 2-1 to close out the opening frame.

The second period was a wild struggle that saw the Bulldogs tie the game at two (Maher Karim goal; assisted by Ayotte), but missed many other opportunities to take the lead. Among these blown chances were:

• Maher Karim missing an easy one timer that hit the post wide.

• Sean O’Connell missing, not one, not two, but three empty netters in succession.

• Several odd man rushes halted because of offside violations.

• Failing to convert on their power plays.

However they did play solid defense throughout, allowing only one goal.

Trailing 3-2 at the start of the third period, the Bulldogs fell apart. Shortly after giving up a questionable goal off of an obvious high stick, Dan Ayotte verbally assaulted the official on another disputable call. The result was an ejection, but before leaving Ayotte gracefully recommended that it was a good time for the ref to visit an eye doctor, brain specialist and proctologist. He also complimented him countless times on his lineage, namely from the mother’s side of the family. "That sorry a*** son of a b****! Why the f*** would he stop play for freezing the f****** puck with my skate? Oh no! Sorry motherf****** won’t even blow the f****** whistle when the goalie f******* freezes it!" screamed Ayotte on his way to the locker room.

Minutes later the officials tossed O’Connell out of the game and slapped a one game suspension for a slash that didn’t look any worse than any other delivered before it. "Dumb f****** refs! I didn’t know being a dumb a** was a prerequisite for being a ref." Commented O’Connell. The ‘Dogs’ only consolation on that call came after the game when several Panthers players agreed that the punishment was too severe and that the overall officiating was problematic.

O’Connell’s ejection was the second in a long line of penalties that followed. This opened the floodgates for the Panthers, who capitalized on their powerplay opportunities by scoring three more goals to clinch the victory. "Despite a valiant effort by the remaining players, we just couldn’t fight them off shorthanded. We spent practically the last 10 minutes of the game with only 3 or 4 skaters out there. We were exhausted," said Sam Karim.

The Good: Not much here. The Bulldogs kept the game close for two-thirds of the contest before they imploded with several penalties in the third period.