Rolling Meadows, IL- Hoping to rebound from their 14-1 beating last week, the Bulldogs hit the ice on Friday night to face the North West Flyers, a team that beat them 4-3 in the preseason. With many players still out or unavailable, the Bulldogs reached deep into their farm system and called up four players, but still lost 6-4.

Despite the call ups, the Bulldogs were still shorthanded with only two centers and three defensemen. The lack of chemistry was evident early as the team struggled with their communication, passing and playmaking. The Bulldogs fell behind 3-1 at the end of the first period.

In order to compensate for their lack of speed and fatigue, the Bulldogs played a physical game to slow down the Flyers.  However, the Bulldogs hurt themselves severely by accumulating 16 minutes worth of penalties in the second period alone. They still managed to battle back and narrow their deficit to 4-3, thanks to two goals by Peter Katowicz.

The Bulldogs managed to tie the game late in the third period, but more penalties led to more fatigue. The Flyers took the lead with under four minutes and added another less than thirty seconds later. The Bulldogs battled back in the closing minutes, but Flyer goalie John Cherry made all of the necessary stops at crunch time.

The loss drops the Bulldogs to 1-4. They have lost all but one of their games by one or two goals, and appear to be close to reaching their full potential. They can only learn from their mistakes and move forward.
 

The Good:

• Special Teams: The Bulldogs PK unit killed seven out of the eight Flyer power play opportunities and the PP unit scored twice at critical points in the game.
• Shots on Goal: The Bulldogs outshot their opponents 35-20, the fourth time this season they have outshot their opponents.

The Bad:

• Discipline: The Bulldogs struggled all season to step and play physical hockey. Unfortunately they picked the wrong night to start, as the refs called a tight game. Furthermore, several Bulldogs earned extra time in the box because they couldn’t resist the urge the mouth off to the officials or their opponents.

The Ugly:

• Officiating: In a league where the players are permitted to play and the officials show objectivity, the Bulldogs were astounded at how quickly the refs blew their whistles in this game. The officials were also overly sensitive, calling penalties or tacking on time for players voicing their frustration.

• Peter Katowicz: Peter stepped up big time when the ‘Dogs needed him most by posting his first hat trick this season.

• Mike Farias: Mike tallied two assists and as he had all season, played solid defense.

• Kevin Lucca: Scored the tying goal in his Bulldog debut.

Next up: OS on Monday 11/28/2011 at 10:55pm.