The Blackfalds Bulldogs Rogers BCHL Playoff have come to an end with the Sherwood Park Crusaders winning Game 6 by a 5-3 score.
The Bulldogs got the first goal of the game thanks to a power play goal from Nikita Meshcheryakov. Nikita Ivashchenko and Alex Bosland picked up the assists at the 3:31 mark.
Almost 4 minutes later, the Crusaders would tie it up on the power play. Stevie Grumley found a seam pass to Bode Sampair, who found the back of the net on a one-timer. Joseph Sinclair picked up the secondary assist.
The Crusaders would get the go-ahead goal less than 2 minutes later. Cooper Sharp sent a point shot just wide of the net for Braeden O’Keefe to deflect the puck into the net.
After the first period, the Crusaders led the shot tally 9-8.
In the second, the Bulldogs would respond. The Crusaders turned the puck over at their own blueline to Matthew Croxall, who let a shot go. The puck sat under the Crusaders’ netminder, Filip Vavro, as it stayed in his skates until Joey Melo poked the puck in. Luke Dahlen picked up the secondary assist at the 7:06 marker.
Then, less than a minute and a half later, Dahlen picked up a loose puck and passed it to Croxall, who wrapped around the net and tucked the puck between the legs of Vavro to grab a 3-2 lead for the Bulldogs. Melo picked up a secondary assist.
But before the period was out, the Crusaders would tie it up with Brant Romaniuk finding Nathan Kydd back door for his first junior goal. Maxime Ly would pick up the assist at the 19:27 mark.
In the second period, the Bulldogs outshot the Crusaders 8-7.
In the third, Sharp would send a rink-wide pass to O’Keefe, who found Michael Mikan on the doorstep for a tap-in goal and a 4-3 lead.
The Bulldogs would press late, but the Crusaders would clog the shooting lanes and come up with some big, blocked shots. Ryan White would send the puck down the ice into the empty net to make the final score 5-3.
Shots were even at 21 apiece. Bulldogs were 1/2 on the power play while Sherwood Park was 1/5.
For the Bulldogs, the end of their playoff meant that Braydan Smith, Alex Bosland, Thomas Neu, Nikita Ivashchenko, Joey Melo, Nikolaj Rupi, Noah Mertz, and Nikita Meshcheryakov had all played their final game in a Bulldogs jersey.
The Crusaders advance to the second round to take on the Brooks Bandits after winning the series 4-2.
