#35 Tom Kiesewetter makes a save on an Aberni player in close.
By Malcom Cooke
The Nanaimo Clippers fell 6-5 in overtime to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, in front of a sold-out school-age crowd on Wednesday afternoon. Puckdrop took place at 11 a.m. to an uproar of cheering and screaming as students from all across School District 68 packed into The Frank to watch the Clippers take on the Alberni Valley Bulldogs for the Mid-Island Championship trophy. After a sleepy first period from both sides and some amperage from the crowd, the Clippers jumped out to a 4-2 lead after 2 periods. The third period was absolutely raucous when the Clippers went up 5-2 early before the Bulldogs began chipping away at the lead. Willyam Gendron led the way for Nanaimo with 3 helpers. Recent acquisition Luke Buss scored his first as a Clipper. Goaltender Tom Kiesewetter stopped 29 of 35 shots he faced.
The first period of the Wednesday matinee started with about as much energy as one would expect for an 11 a.m. start. Both teams were brought to life by the students of SD68 as the period went on with chants of “Go Clippers Go” echoing through the barn. Midway through the first Noah Alvarez was booked for high-sticking, but no danger came from the ensuing Alberni power play. Late in the period, the Clippers would have their chance to play with an extra skater. Both sides headed into the 1st intermission tied at 0-0 as a result of Kiesewetter making a spectacular save as time ran out. The Bulldogs outshot the Clippers 12-10 in the 1st period.
Recent Clipper addition Luke Buss scored his first goal as a Clipper to kick off the 2nd period. Samuel Boisvert added to the lead 2 minutes later, scoring his 2nd goal of the season. The Clippers were caught with too many men on the ice near the midpoint of the period. Alberni Valley capitalized, scoring on the power play to cut the Clipper lead to 2-1. Gus El-Tahhan answered back shortly after to revive the Clippers' 2-goal buffer. The Bulldogs managed to take two separate penalties in the same sequence of play, resulting in a Clippers 5 on 3 power play. Captain Brett Merner took advantage, scoring his 3rd of the year to make the score 4-1. Late in the period, Isa Parekh got called for interference, putting the Bulldogs on the power play this time. They answered with a goal of their own to close out the 2nd period. The Clippers outshot the Bulldogs 11-9.
Joel Plante snatched back momentum to open the 3rd period, scoring on a sharp-angle shot less than a minute in. The Clippers held onto a 5-2 lead for a few minutes until the Bulldogs notched their 3rd goal of the game while Nanaimo was down a skater. After that, the Bulldogs scored another 2 goals to tie the game at 5-5 as time expired in regulation. Thankfully, the students from SD68 were more than happy to watch more hockey. Unfortunately for them, the Bulldogs came away with the overtime win after nearly 7 minutes of exciting back-and-forth hockey.
Bulldog’s Braden Blace took home the 1st star of the game. Willyam Gendron earned 2nd star of the game for his 3 assist afternoon. Nicholas Beneteau was the game's 3rd star. FortisBC Energy Player of the Game went to Isa Parekh for his efforts in blocking shots and getting the crowd going.
The Clippers look to bounce back quickly in their next game on Saturday as they face the Cowichan Valley Capitals at The Frank. Tickets can be purchased at the Frank Crane box office on game day, or at tickets.nanaimoclippers.com.
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Tickets can be purchased at tickets.nanaimoclippers.com.
