Bulldogs Junior Review - September 6
GAME ON: Bulldogs Under-16s line-up ahead of their Division One North season-opener against Whitley Bay Juniors on Saturday.
THE opening weekend of the season saw three of our Bulldogs teams in action - all on Saturday.
It was the Under-16s who had the honour of opening up the club’s junior campaign when they travelled to Whitley Bay for the traditional lunchtime face-off.
And it proved to be a nail-biting tussle between the two teams across 45 minutes, with nothing to choose between them in the first two periods which saw them tied at 1-1 coming out for the third.
It was Whitley’s Stuart Hall who broke the deadlock when he beat Jack Clarke with 10.52 on the clock, but only 51 more seconds had elapsed before the Bulldogs were level when Thomas Lee fired home a rebound off his own initial shot.
That was how it stayed until the closing minutes, the winning strike coming for the home side through Matthew Emmerson at 41.05.
Jack Clarke picked up the Bulldogs’ Spirit of the Game for a cracking performance in net which saw him turn away 23 of the 25 shots on his goal.
Back at The Pound, the Under-12s had a tough assignment against an impressive Solihull Junior Barons.
The visitors made a good start when taking a 5-0 lead into the first period break and eventually ran out 12-0 winners - Hudson Rees, Colt Griffiths, Oliver Williams and Finley Hubbock leading the way with two goals apiece.
Parker Livingstone took the Bulldogs’ Spirit of the Game gong for a sterling performance in net, while Alfie Metcalfe donned the Hardest Worker Hat in his first game for the club.
The Under-14s followed on to the ice and shared the honours in a 12-goal thriller with visitors Coventry Blaze Juniors.
HEROES (from top left,clockwise): Alfie Metcalfe, Jack Clarke, Parker Livingstone, Jackson Livingstone and Filip Scherks.
Finley Heasley-Williams gave the Blaze a seventh-minute lead but the teams were level going into the break after Teddy Barnett levelled at 11.22.
Heasley-Williams doubled his tally just after the restart which was the start of a flurry of goals in a second period which saw the visitors get 6-4 ahead, the Coventry forward went on to score four in total, while Thomas Andrews and Filip Scherks (2) ensuring the hosts remained very much in the game.
The comeback started early in the third when, just 34 seconds in, Alfie McAlinden struck to make it a one-goal game.
Just under a minute later, the hosts were level through Andrews’ second of the night and although they created the greater number of chances thereafter, they couldn’t find a winner.
Jackson Livingstone - in his first competitive game in net - took the Bulldogs’ Hardest Worker Hat, while Filip Scherks took the Spirit of The Game award after making such an impressive hockey debut.