Matthew Hennessey earned his 4th shutout of the year as the Bulldogs beat the Dragons 3-0. The game would of been about 7-0 if not for an almost Hennessey clone playing at the other end of the ice. Connor Baumbach a call up goaltender for the Dragons played amazing making 38 saves.
After a whack load of chances including Tanner Willick ringing one of the post. Kasey Hiemstra opened up the scoring for the Bulldogs at 15:58 of the first period finishing off a beautiful tic tac toe 3 on 2 from Jack Plandowski and Tanner Willick.
In the second period at 3:38 in Jason Siedem scored on a beautiful pass from Tanner Willick on the Power Play. I was at the game seen Willick pass it to him the replay shows it, yet the AJHL site says assists to Tyler Wallace and Layne Loomer. It was Tanner Willick and Loomer. Really who cares they all have enough points and a goal is a goal.
At 14:23 of the third period Tyler Wallace tipped in a Jason Siedem shot on the Power Play to make it a 3-0 game. Thats Wallace’s 38th of the season assisted by Siedem and Tanner Willick. Wallace is only 2 goals away from the league lead.🤔🤔🤔
The Dragons pulled their goalie with well over 2 minutes remaining (could of been 3) for a final shot to get a goal. They had a few chances and the bulldogs missed empty nets until Merrimack commit Ty Daneault decided to run Hennessey and get a penalty.
Other Notes
Bulldogs next game is March 3rd against the Canmore Eagles.
Attendance was 895
Bulldogs outshot the Dragons 41-24
Three Stars from tonights game were 1) Jason Siedem 2) Matthew Hennessey 3) Tanner Willick. I am not taking anything away from any of those 3 players but 1 star was Connor Baumbach.
The Dragons had a couple call ups from Midgets in the game. The goalie Connor Baumbach, Spencer Clearhout, and the new reigning champion of coolest names to play in the AJHL Walker Overwater. That is not a misprint that is his real name. Overwater didn’t do much in the game against the Bulldogs but the 16 year old already has 5 points in 6 games with the Dragons.
On a chilly Saturday evening, hockey fans eagerly awaited the clash between the Blackfalds Bulldogs and Drumheller Dragons, two teams already assured of home-ice advantage in the first round of the AJHL playoffs. However, there was still plenty to play for in terms of seeding, with Blackfalds, Okotoks, and Drumheller all vying for the best possible position between the second and fourth seeds in the AJHL’s southern division.
As the game began, Drumheller surprised everyone by starting sixteen-year-old Connor Baumbach, making his AJHL debut in the crucial fixture. Despite facing a barrage of shots from the Bulldogs, Baumbach proved to be a formidable presence in goal, denying Blackfalds time and time again.
It wasn’t until almost sixteen minutes into the first period that Blackfalds finally managed to break the deadlock, thanks to a superb team effort involving their fourth line and the talented Tanner Willick. Kasey Hiemstra was the beneficiary, slotting home the game’s opening goal and giving Blackfalds a much-needed boost.
The second period saw Blackfalds on the attack once again, with two powerplay opportunities failing to produce any goals. However, they didn’t have to wait long for their breakthrough, with Jason Siedem firing home a thunderous one-time drive to make it 2-0. And it was déjà vu just a few minutes later, as Willick once again set up Siedem for another one-time shot, this time deflected in by Tyler Wallace to put Blackfalds firmly in control.
Despite Baumbach’s impressive display, it was Blackfalds’ Matthew Hennessey who ultimately stole the show, making 24 saves to earn his fourth shutout of the season. And as the final whistle blew, Blackfalds celebrated their sixth straight victory and a place in the AJHL playoffs as the second seed in the southern division.
The Bulldogs’ big names also continued to impress, with Siedem extending his point streak to an impressive 11 games, while Meerman, Wallace, and Willick all added to their impressive tallies. With Hennessey in fine form and the team firing on all cylinders, Blackfalds will be a force to be reckoned with as the AJHL playoffs get underway.