BREWSTER, NY – It was St. Patrick’s Day and the Bulldogs would play in style, with special green shamrock sweaters, that Brewster hoped would bring them luck when they needed it most. Brewster came in trailing Berlin by 6 points in the standings, and with playoff implications on the line, Brewster needed all the luck they could get against the River Drivers, and it seemed like luck was on their side, and the Bulldogs would emerge with a 4-2 victory. The fans even got to purchase the lucky sweaters after the game.
The 1st period was very defensive-minded. Both sides, of course, knew was at stake. Ryan Donovan made some big saves although was not as busy in the nets as his counterpart at the other end, James Robbins. Berlin would score the all important first goal of the game, from Tyler Prendergast, at the 13:34 mark, assisted by Marcus Mitchell and Cameron Yarwood. Prendergast has been holding an almost goal per game consistency, now with 25 goals in 28 games. Brewster would earn a late power play on a penalty to Nick Wright. The Bulldogs power play has been hot in recent weeks, and it made no mistake in tying the game back up. Dustin Jesseau would bury the puck on a bad angle shot that beat Ryan Donovan with 1:02 left in the period, only 11 seconds of power play time needed. The assist would be given to Sean Maktaak, who is quickly emerging as a top forechecker in the league.
It would not take too long for Berlin to respond in the 2nd period. At 2:33 it would be Tom Tracy scoring the go ahead goal from Gallo and Sherwood to give Berlin the lead for the final time in the game. The goal was argued by Brewster as it appeared the puck went underneath the net as it was dislodged, yet the goal would stand. The lead would last until the 4:27 mark, when Alex Johnson went to the net after a failed Dustin Jesseau breakaway let to an opening in front, as Jesseau’s pass from the corner deflected in from Johnson’s skate. The rest of the period saw huge saves on both ends as Robbins and Donovan kept the score tied despite intense back and forth action. The 2nd would also be highlighted by a huge hit from Dustin Jesseau, mid ice on Tom Tracy, who played the puck without realizing Jesseau was bearing down on him. It would be the second straight game in Brewster that Tracy would be the victim of a mid ice hit, after being smoked by a hit from Nathan Sheriff while poking the puck through the neutral zone this past Saturday. The hardy Tom Tracy avoided injury on both hits.
The go ahead goal in the 3rd period would once again be scored on the power play, and much like the first one, scored 11 seconds after the power play began, this would be scored only 7 seconds into the play. Jan Salak deflected home a shot from the point by Easton Oliver at the 5:25 mark, and Nikolai Okhlobystin would get an assist on the play. The Bulldogs were in full attack mode in the 3rd period and Ryan Donovan made one of the biggest saves of the year, as Sean Maktaak came in 2 on 0 with John Scully in front of the net. Maktaak passed the puck to Scully and a wide open net would not be scored upon as Donovan reached across with the pad to deny him. John Scully would get the last laugh, however, as Berlin failed to rally and Scully would score the empty net goal with 22 seconds left in the game to make it 4-2.
For Brewster, Dustin Jesseau had a goal and assist, John Scully, Nikolai Okhlobystin and Jan Salak would score a goal each. James Robbins stopped 30 of 32 shots for the victory. For Berlin, Tyler Prendergast and Tom Tracy would score the goals and Ryan Donovan stopped 29 of 32 shots for the loss.
Game recap provided by Tommy Pecoraro
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