The Alberni Valley Bulldogs are facing elimination after a 6-3 Game 3 loss against the Penticton Vees in the BCHL’s Fred Page Cup final.
The Vees opened scoring in the first, as Penticton’s Dovar Tinling grabbed a shorthanded goal, and Port Alberni’s Matthew Maltais managed to tie things up in the final minute of the frame.
But the Vees blew things open in the second period, scoring four times in succession to build up a 5-1 lead. Scorers for the Vees were Josh Nadeau (with two goals), Billy Norcross and Aydar Suniev.
Later in the second, Bulldogs forward Nicholas Beneteau scored his fourth goal of the series to make it 5-2, and Brady McIsaac out-muscled Frank Djurasevic to score a beautiful individual effort goal to make it 5-3. But unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the momentum was short-lived. Penticton’s Suniev answered back just under 2 minutes later to make it 6-3 Penticton after 40 minutes.
There was no scoring in the third period, and final shots were 42-31 Penticton.
Game 4, set for Wednesday, May 17, is now a must-win affair for the Bulldogs if they hope to stave off elimination and send the series back to the South Okanagan Events Centre on Saturday night.
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