Building on a season that saw them post the second-best record in their division, the Burnaby Bulldogs continued the chase right down to a Pacific Coast Hockey Association GVC Flight 2 title last week.
In a four-way battle, the Bulldogs emerged as atom A champions, clinching a 3-2 victory over the North Shore Winter Club.
Burnaby built up a 2-0 lead off goals by Richard Frieman and Lucas Lakovic, then defended against a Winter Club rally. After North Shore cut the deficit to 2-1, Alexander Szabo potted what proved to be the winner, before a late tally made it close.
In the Final Four series, the Bulldogs had knocked off Hollyburn 6-2 and fell 3-2 to the Burnaby Winter Club. But each team entered their final game with a 1-1 record, putting the onus on a strong result. Hollyburn’s win over BWC clinched the banner for the Bulldogs.
It was the second banner of the season for the squad, as they also captured the Presidents league title, going 15-4-1 during the regular season.
The team, coached by Ken Guthrie and Connor Beemish, includes Niko Brum, Luca DiLullo, Richard Freiman, Elisha Jan, Carsen Johnson, Carter Kazuta, Vlad King, Lucas Lakovic, Nicolo Mauro, Joel Paladino, Logan Piwko, Koichi Sakamato, Alexander Szabo, Blake Tagulao, Krishen Uppal, Zeyan Walji and Brandon Wong.
