In a thrilling debut of the “Battle of the Bulldogs,” Blackfalds secured a 4-2 win over Alberni Valley at the Dawg Pound on Thursday night, driven by three unanswered goals in the third period. The game remained tight through the first two periods, with Blackfalds dominating shots and Noah Mertz breaking Alberni Valley’s shutout streak with a power-play goal, though Alberni Valley tied it at 1-1 with Wyatt Davis’ power-play strike. The third period saw Alberni Valley briefly take the lead via Jacob Terpstra’s skillful goal, but Blackfalds responded with Jared Langdon’s equalizer and Liam Hoff’s go-ahead tally, sealed by Luke Dahlen’s empty-netter. Blackfalds outshot Alberni Valley 31-23, with Brady Smith earning the win in net and Mitchell Kathler taking the loss.
Shots on goal in the first period where Blackfalds was super dominate over their rivals were 15-7 for Blackfalds.
Noah Mertz scores on the 5 on 3 Power Play upstairs to make it a 1-0 game at 11:15 of the second period with the assist on the goal going to Thomas Neu.– Blackfalds capitalized on a series of power plays, including back-to-back opportunities that led to a 5-on-3 advantage. They converted when Noah Mertz fired a precise shot top corner from close range past Mitchell Kathler.
Cobden, Ontario native Wyatt Davis scores for Alberni Valley to tie the game up at 14:43 of the second period. The assists on the goal went to Former Muskegon Lumberjack Jacob Terpstra and Kai Matthew.–Wyatt Davis fired a one-timer from the blue line, beating Smith stick side, after a crisp pass from Jacob Terpstra. Kai Matthew picked up a secondary assist on the play, which came at 14:43 in the second period, knotting the score at 1-1. The goal marked Alberni Valley’s first power play tally of the season.
Shots on goal in the second period were 7-5 in favor of Blackfalds
Blackfalds let a guy walk in and they watched him score to give Alberni Valley the lead🙄 Have to admit it was a nice goal though. Jacob Terpstra who hails from Shelby Township, Michigan gave Alberni Valley the lead at 2:59 of the third period scoring his 5th goal of the season. The assists on the goal went to Kai Matthew and Walpole, Massachusetts native Matt MacDonald.– The Alberni Valley squad seized their first lead of the match less than three minutes into the third period. Jacob Terpstra deftly maneuvered through the opposition, slipping the puck past Brady Smith for a stunning goal at 2:59 in the third, with Kai Matthew and Matt MacDonald earning the assists.
Jared Langdon then gets a beautiful goal of his own to tie the game at 5:28 of the third period. The assists on the goal went to Radoslav Dimitrov and Magnuss Avotins.- Three minutes after a turnover at the offensive line, Jared Langdon capitalized by outmaneuvering a defender and firing a shot past Kathler’s blocker into the far post, leveling the score at 2-2. A very nice goal from the Clarkson commit, Clarkson upset Penn State tonight 6-4 in a huge upset. LINK
Liam Hoff gets Blackfalds the lead at 8:56 of the third period with the assists on the goal going to Joey Melo and Thomas Neu.–3-2 Blackfalds as another turnover at the attacking line and a chance on the rush was ripped into the top corner by Liam Hoff to make it 3-2 Blackfalds with 8:56 gone in the third.
Luke Dahlen easily dumps it into the empty net with 13 seconds remaining in the game to make it a 4-2 final with the assist on the goal going to Alex Bosland.
Shots on goal in the third period were 10-9 for Alberni Valley. Blackfalds outshot Alberni Valley 31-23 in the game.
Brady Smith made 21 saves on the 23 shots that he faced for the win for Blackfalds. For Alberni Valley Airdrie, Alberta native Mitchell Kathler made 27 saves on the 30 shots that he faced.
Three Stars of the game were 1) Thomas Neu 2) Jacob Terpstra 3) Liam Hoff
Attendance in Port Alberni was 1240
Bulldogs next game is Friday October 10th in Langley against the Langley Rivermen.
Kai Matthews is on the other Bulldogs team via the Drumheller Dragons via the Kamloops Blazers. He was on the inaugural team as a 16 year old in the AJHL. He was a player involved in the trade that brought the Willick brothers to Blackfalds.
Danny Hussa is back with the Bulldogs after starting the year with St. Cloud in the North American Hockey League.
The Bulldogs also acquired Nikita Mescheryakov from the Victoria Grizzlies for Future Considerations.
Declan Bowmaster and Austin Borggaard are no longer on the team.
