Joly Hat-Trick Leads Bulldogs Past Oilers in Fifteen-Goal Game

Photo credit: Xander Holcomb, Blackfalds Bulldogs

Article: Aidan Serra

After both teams’ offensive outputs Friday night, a high-scoring affair on Saturday between the Blackfalds Bulldogs and Okotoks Oilers was something that shouldn’t have come as a surprise but a fifteen-goal game would likely have not been on the bingo card either.

The first ten minutes of the game looked like typical Bulldogs-Oilers games at the Eagle Builders Centre this season; tight-checking but the slight edge going to the Bulldogs. Brett Meerman opened the scoring 31 seconds after the halfway point, with Tyler Wallace forcing a turnover behind the Okotoks net and feeding Brett Meerman in front who slid the puck through the legs of Alexander Scheiwiller to make it 1-0. Then, offsetting minor penalties to Kasey Hiemstra and Jace Moffat resulted in a two-minute four-on-four in which the Bulldogs fully took advantage of the extra space on the ice. First, Tyler Wallace tucked away a rebound in front, followed by Jayden Joly snapping a David Brandes centring pass into the roof of the net to make it 3-0. Joly scored again just 17 seconds after his first, making it three goals on the four-on-four and 4-0 in the first.

Okotoks pushed back hard in the second, with goals from Ty Yoder, Conyr Heyyer, Ryan Neumann, and Jagger Tapper putting up four in the period for Okotoks. However, sprinkled between those goals, the Bulldogs’ offence didn’t slow down. Jason Siedem scored on the powerplay to extend his point streak to eight games, followed by Jack Plandowski scoring his third goal and fifth point in his last eight games, taking a pass from Kody Willick and sending a rocket past Alexander Scheiwiller. Tyler Wallace would score shorthanded to ensure the second period ended with a three-goal Bulldogs lead.

Jayden Joly scored sixteen seconds into the third period, finding a rebound in the crease from a Brett Meerman backhand shot to extend the Bulldogs lead to 8-4. Two quick goals from Zeth Kindrachuk and Ryan Neumann made it 8-6, but Connor Dick converting on a breakaway late sealed the deal at 9-6 Bulldogs. Blackfalds moves into second place, two points clear of Okotoks and five points up on Drumheller. Blackfalds plays two road games this week, the first in Sherwood Park tomorrow, followed by a Friday night game in Calgary. Blackfalds finishes off with three home games, against the Drumheller Dragons, Canmore Eagles, and Calgary Canucks, with the chance to finish second place better now than it had been thus far.