Bulldogs down Flyers, 6-3, to maintain third place in the league

By: John Adams January 5, 2015 1814

Bulldogs down Flyers, 6-3, to maintain third place in the league

The Nicol Insurance Kincardine Junior "C" Bulldogs began their weekend action with some great news when Mike Smailes, captain of the 2014-2015 squad, was named the Western Junior C league player of the month for December.
Smailes, who has now played more than 170 games as a Bulldog, was named team captain for this campaign, and is leading the way with his dedication and commitment to making the team better on and off the ice. Congratulations to Mike for earning some well-deserved recognition.

The Bulldogs were involved in only one contest this past weekend when they hosted the Goderich Flyers, Saturday night at the Davidson Centre. There were a number of younger fans in the crowd as it was not only a Junior Bulldogs Club game, but the annual ‘Skate with the Bulldogs’ event, following the hockey match.

Kincardine got things started early for the young fans as the Bulldogs opened the scoring with a powerplay goal at the 2:55 mark thanks to the finishing work of Alex Labrosse. Matt Baker and Shawn Moore were credited with the assists.
There was a scary moment for the home side when goalie Mitch Campbell dropped to the ice late in the period after making a stop on a hard point shot from the Flyers. Campbell remained motionless on the ice for several minutes, but managed to get up and leave the ice under his own power. Luke Aulthouse took over in the Kincardine net, and turned in another strong performance.

The 'Dogs owned every aspect of the game during the second period, holding the Flyers to a mere four shots on goal, while scoring five goals in a row to take a firm grip on the game. Patrick Wiejak got things started when Brycin Morrison fed him the puck and he converted the pass into a short-handed goal at the 3:22 mark. Labrosse and Moore linked up again at the 6:15 mark for a powerplay goal to make it 3-0, which seemed to take a lot of energy away from the Goderich squad.

Things continued to spiral for the Flyers as Kincardine kept firing in the shots. Jordan Bell was set up by Morrison and Wiejak at 11:06, followed just over a minute later by another even-strength goal from Dalton Hnatko with Moore and Colin Whitfield drawing the assists.
Sam Feagan closed out the Kincardine barrage with his goal at 19:20, with Gerrit Satosek and Derrick Bernath credited with the assists.
Goderich managed to get on the scoreboard at the 19:55 mark, and was looking to build on that momentum as the game headed into the third period.

Mitch Kuik scored a pair in the third for Goderich to make it a 6-3 contest, but that was as much as the Flyers could do, as Kincardine shut down everything Goderich tried for the balance of the game.

The two points maintain Kincardine firmly in third place in the standings, trailing Walkerton and the first-place Wingham Ironmen, but holding a five-point cushion over the Hanover Barons.
This weekend will see the 'Dogs going to the birds as they first host the Walkerton Hawks, Friday night, before heading on the road to Mitchell to face the other Hawks Saturday. Puck drop Friday night is 8:30, so we will see you at the rink.