The Calgary Canucks and Blackfalds Bulldogs will meet in the first round of the AJHL playoffs no matter what. So this game is very pointless. Calgary will finish in 7th and the Bulldogs will finish 2nd. Calgary sat a bunch of their better players tonight, reasons were not mentioned. Could of been resting them? Who knows. This is the final game of the regular season for both teams. The Bulldogs are leading the season series 4 games to 1.
Tyler Wallace opened up the scoring for the Bulldogs getting his 41st goal of the season at 5:21 from Brett Meerman. But Calgary responded 2 minutes later when former Fort McMurray Oil Baron Ty Hipkin scored his 21st of the season assisted by Dylan Bidyk and Captain Justin Barker.
Then at 8:33 Brendan Ross scored his 17th goal of the season from Siedem and Loomer. Jayden Joly potted his 25th of the season from Meerman and Carter Paterson at 10:43 of the 1st period to make it 3-1 Bulldogs. Then on the Powerplay at 13:41 Wallace scored from Tanner Willick to make it 4-1. Wallace is now the leading goal scorer in the AJHL* (See side note below)
At 9:37 of the second period Brendan Ross scored his second goal of the game and 18th of the season from Siedam and Loomer. Brendan Ross completed his hat trick un assisted at 17:33 of the second period to make it a 6-1 game. Ross got a few hats thrown on the ice I think I seen a couple of those towels too.
Jason Siedem scored for the Bulldogs 1:19 into the third period (Just missing the hot minute and making me pay full price for my appetizer last night) assist from Ross. Calgary got on the board when Connor Frost scored from Justin Barker and Easton Hewson at 4:24 of the third period to make it 7-2. Calgary wasn’t giving up as Captain Justin Barker scored his 29th goal of the season at 8:25 from former Canmore Eagle Dylan Bidyk and Ty Hipkin on the Power Play to make it 7-3.
Kasey Hiemstra scored his 16th goal of the season in his final AJHL regular season game from Kody Willick and Jack Plandowski at 10:26 of the third period to make it an 8-3 game. Jack Plandowski tipped in the puck to get his 9th goal of the season from Kody Willick and Hiemstra. Calgary’s Daxton Budd finished off the scoring to get a 4th goal for the Canucks making it 9-4. Assists on the goal from Cole Unger and Daniel Rozsival.
Other Notes
Bulldogs next game is the playoffs at home against Calgary Friday March 10th.
Attendance in Blackfalds was 683.
Bulldogs outshot the Canucks 50-18. Spencer Borsos had a busy night in net stopping 41 of 50 shots. Matthew Hennessey got the win.
Three stars of the game were 1) Brendan Ross 2) Tyler Wallace 3) Jason Siedem.
Leading the league in goals. Tyler Wallace after last night was the leading goal scorer in the AJHL. We could point out alot of things like that Brooks has 1 more game, it is on Sunday, and it is against the last place Olds Grizzlys. Odds are Fink should at least get a goal or 2. But also do you really want to risk an injury of your best player? It would be smart for Brooks to rest him Sunday. Either way its there and it could stand.
In other games Friday night the Drumheller Dragons beat the Okotoks Oilers 5-3 in Drumheller in front of over 1,00 fans to clinch 3rd place in the south division. The playoff match ups are set in the south division with Blackfalds vs Calgary, Drumheller vs Canmore, and Okotoks vs Camrose. Brooks gets the bye. The North is still up in the air and we’ll know for sure tonight.
Blast From The Past-
Game sheet from playing the Canucks just over a year ago in Blackfalds. How the roster has change, and the times too. I think I was told to wear a mask that just went into the garbage this game🤪
Summary
In the final game of the regular season for both teams, the Calgary Canucks and Blackfalds Bulldogs played against each other, although the outcome of the game was irrelevant since they were already set to face each other in the first round of the AJHL playoffs. The Bulldogs had the upper hand in the season series, leading 4-1. Calgary rested some of their key players for unknown reasons. The Bulldogs took an early lead with Tyler Wallace’s 41st goal of the season, but Calgary quickly responded with Ty Hipkin’s 21st goal of the season. The Bulldogs extended their lead in the first period with goals from Brendan Ross and Jayden Joly, making it 3-1, and then added another goal in the second period through Wallace’s second goal of the game. Ross completed his hat trick in the second period, making it 6-1 for the Bulldogs. In the third period, the Bulldogs continued their dominance, with goals from Siedem and Kasey Hiemstra, who scored his 16th goal of the season in his final AJHL regular season game. Calgary managed to score three goals in the third period, with Justin Barker scoring his 29th goal of the season on the power play, and Daxton Budd getting the final goal of the game. The game ended with a score of 9-4 in favor of the Bulldogs.