Burnaby Bulldogs Junior A Hockey Club - Powered By esportsdesk.com

If the Burnaby Bulldogs’ collective backs were not against the wall on Saturday then they definitely will be tonight. The South Surrey Eagles have a commanding 3 games to none lead over the ‘Dogs, managing to squeak out a trio of tight victories. Game Three on Saturday went along similar lines to the first two games of the series. Surrey jumped out to a 3-0 lead, all on the strength of 3 powerplay goals, only to see the Bulldogs make a game of it by the midway point of the final period. The Bulldogs have now lost 5-4 (in double overtime), 4-2 (including an empty-netter), and 3-2 in succession and find themselves in a deep hole. Burnaby grabbed a 3-0 cushion in Game One and then surrendered a similar deficit in Game Two. Most of the goals in the series have been of the special teams variety, including 6 powerplay scores by the Eagles. Alex Nikiforuk is leading the offensive charge for both teams, collecting 4-2-6 for Burnaby, despite the fact his team has been outscored 12-8 overall. Ryan Watson and Nathan Oystrick both have 2-4-6 for Surrey, and Eagles’ forward Jarrett Sampson leads all marksmen in the series with 3 goals. Peter Mandoli has performed well in goal for Burnaby, shoving aside 130 of the 141 shots directed his way for a .922 save percentage. Playing every minute, including over 19 minutes of overtime on Thursday, the intense stopper has a 3.32 goals against average. Surrey’s Michael Clague has handled the netminding chores for his club, stopping 99 of the 107 shots he has faced. A perfect 3-0, the 20-year-old sports a 2.41 GAA and .925 SP.