On Tuesday at the BCHL Showcase, the Blackfalds Bulldogs beat the Nanaimo Clippers 3-2 at the smaller Hesco rink inside Nisku’s Silent Ice Center, where a solid crowd—especially a strong contingent of Blackfalds supporters—packed the intimate venue. The Bulldogs scored just 53 seconds in on a Matthew Croxall backhand, only for Caden Okotiva to tie it quickly on a steal; the teams then swapped goals late in the second period (Luke Walkauskas for Blackfalds, Drew Roelofs for Nanaimo) to leave it 2-2 before Croxall’s third-period power-play marker sealed it. It wasn’t the most exciting win, but it was a welcome result after the earlier 4-2 loss in Nanaimo, splitting the season series as Nico Armellin earned the victory in net while Blackfalds outshot the Clippers 33-19.
Matthew Croxall scores his 5th goal of the season just 53 second into the first period to make it a 1-0 game scoring with a nice backhand shot. The assists on the goal went to Ryul Kwon and Da Sol Kim.
Toronto native Caden Okovita scores an unassisted goal at 2:23 of the first period to tie the game up for the Clippers.
Shots on goal in the first period were 12-5 for the Bulldogs
Luke Walkauskas gives the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead when he scores at 14:41 of the first period. The assist on the goal went to Denis Kuzmnkov who set him up with a nice one timer pass. The goal was credited on the BCHL site and at the game as Carter Hynes. But it is very very easy to distinguish Hynes from Walkauskas by their playing styles. Number 5 to 15 is sort of an understandable mistake though.
Drew Roelofs tied the game up for the Clippers less than a minute later shooting the puck right off the from the faceoff in the Bulldogs zone at 15:58 of the second period. Caden Octavia picked up the assist on the goal.
Shots on goal in the seccond period were 11-6 for the Bulldogs
Matthew Croxall scored his second goal of the game and sixth goal of the season on the Power Play at 9:48 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Ryul Kwon and Johnny Crawford.
Shots on goal in the third period were 10-8 for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs outshot the Clippers 33-19 in the game.
Nico Armellin stopped 17 of the 19 shots that he faced for the win for the Bulldogs. For the Clippers Hugo Laring stopped 30 of the 33 shots the he faced.
Three Stars of the game were 1) Matthew Croxall 2) Caden Octavia 3) Ryul Kwon
Attendance in the Hesco rink seemed full unknown as to how many were actually in there though.
Bulldogs next game is Wednesday October 13th at 1pm in Nisku for the final game of the BCHL showcase.
