14U AA

Alliance – 5, Ice Jet 94 Minor – 4: In spite of a first period Bulldog goal that was scored from a great shot from the point, the Dawgs fell behind after two periods 4 to 1. The Dawgs needed to dig deep in the third period to make it a game, and did just that by combining strong goaltending, defense and offense that resulted in three goals by the Bulldogs and denying the Ice Jets 94 Bantam Minor any other scoring.

The second Bulldog goal was scored early in the third off a rebound where a Bulldog went top shelf to score. The third Bulldog goal was at the six-minute mark (left) in the game, from a great pass through an Ice Jet player over to a Bulldog player standing at the back door to put the puck in the net. The tying Bulldog goal came two-to-three minutes later from a pass from behind the net to a bulldog player skating into the slot and going top shelf to beat the Ice Jet goalie. No other scoring in the period and both teams agreed to a shoot out in the exhibition game.

Bulldog goaltending would be the difference maker in the shoot out as it went deep into the line-ups, when an Ice Jet player would be stopped and a Bulldog player would score to win the game.

Stars Select – 3, Alliance – 2: The Bulldogs came out strong and scored two goals within the first four minutes of the game. The first at 13:20 left from a nice wrist shot that went top left and the second goal with 11:08 left, from a low shot that went right by the Stars Selects U14AA goaltender.

Midway through the first the Bulldogs got into penalty trouble though, and at 4:13 left, the Stars offensive attack finally net them a power play goal to bring the score within one. With under a minute to play the Bulldogs received two more penalties and looked to start the second two men down. Strong goaltending kept the Dawgs in the period and the score would have been different given two Stars breakaways in which both times the players were denied. Adding to that, the Stars had 15 shots to the Bulldogs 4.

Bulldogs started the second down with penalties and did a nice job killing them off. Play in the period was even with no scoring and both teams having 8 shots each.

The Stars won the third period with strong offensive pressure that resulted in their first goal at 7:14 left to tie the game and than taking advantage of a strong 2-on-1 rush that netted their winning goal with 1:38 left.

Arapaho - 11, Alliance - 0: The Warriors attacked from the drop of the puck, scoring 1:21 into the game and than dominating the rest of the game, scoring two more goals in the first period, followed by five goals in the second and finishing with three goals in the third to take the deciding win. Total shots were Bulldogs 5, Arapaho 35.

West Coast - 5, Alliance Bulldogs - 1: Bulldogs came out strong in the first and gave West Coast a good fight. With 7:46 left, West Coast showed their offensive strength and scored the first goal. West Coast then faltered with two penalties at 6:39 and 3:35 left, giving the Bulldogs two power play opportunities to tie the game back up.

It was on the second power play that the dawgs converted and scored (2:21 left) from a play that started with a shot from the point and a bulldog player there to put in the rebound. Twenty four seconds later, West Coast answered back to take the lead 2-1 to finish the period. Shots in the first were Bulldogs 4 and West Coast 8.

Second period saw both teams continuing to battle and each having power play opportunities, but neither team would convert. It wouldn’t be until the last two and a half minutes of the period that West Coast put on a full offensive attach and eventually scored (1:38 left) to take a 3-1 lead into the third. Second period shots were Bulldogs 2 and West Coast 8.

Third period was all West Coast, as they would net two more goals to make a 5-1 final score. Third period shots were Bulldogs 3 and West Coast 12. Total shots were Bulldogs 9 and West Coast 28

Colorado Hockey Club (CHC) - 6, Alliance - 0: CHC was too much, too early Friday as they dominated play the entire game. First period had both teams battling each other and towards the end of the period, CHC scored their first goal with 3:03 left. They continued to dominate in the second period scoring two more goals, followed with three additional goals in the third. Total shots were Bulldogs 8, and CHC 34.

Front Range Panthers - 6, Alliance - 2: Bulldogs played tough Thanksgiving morning and kept the score close through out the second period and beginning of the third, but the Front Range Panthers pulled away to take the win in Game 1 of the Mile High Thanksgiving Tournament in Littleton, CO.

The Panthers started strong wasting no time scoring their first goal from a wrist shot 1:15 into the game. The Bulldogs would battle the remainder of the first, seeing the Panthers scoring their second goal (2:23 left) to take a 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs than quickly answered back with their first goal with 2:04 left to pull within one. The Panthers pressed and answer again with a goal at 1:38 left to take a 3-1 lead into the second.

After the Bulldogs killed off a late first period penalty, they stayed strong and scored their second goal with (11:24 left) to pull back within one goal again. The Bulldogs would play tough the entire second period and deny the Panthers any goals to finish the period 2-3.

Both teams came out strong in the third period, but the Panthers ended up winning the period (and game) by increasing their one goal difference to two with 9:05 left. In the next three minutes the Panthers would score two more times to take a 6-2 win.

Houston Wild – 10, Alliance – 2: The Houston Wild smelled the coffee early Sunday morning and outplayed and out shot the Bulldogs to a one sided win.

Two penalties early in the first stalled the Bulldogs and opened up an early opportunity for the Wild to score their first power play goal (9:56 left). Roughly thirty seconds later, the Wild than received a penalty in which the Bulldogs replied with their own power play and scored (8:55 left) to tie the game. Both teams played toe-to-toe until the Wild scored their second goal (1:00 left) to take a 2-1 lead into the second.

The game shifted in the second for the Wild as they scored four goals in the period to the Bulldogs one. Penalties were kept to a minimum with the Wild having one and the Bulldogs with two. Score after two was the Wild 6 and the Bulldogs 2.

The Third period would be a continuation of the second for the Wild, as they added four more goals to their scoring to finish with 10. Final shots were the Wild 58 and Bulldogs 28.

Alliance - 4, Team Houston Hitmen – 0: Playing their second game Saturday, the Bulldogs showed no lack of energy as they came to take a “Bite” out of Team Houston (Houston Hitmen AA). Both teams battled tough in the first, until late period penalties by both teams made for an interesting ending. First the Bulldogs received two penalties that gave a short 5-on-3 power play opportunity for Houston, but they too quickly got into penalty trouble and with 28 seconds left, the Bulldogs found the back of the net on a power play goal to take a 1-0 lead after the first period.

The Bulldogs carried their momentum into the second period and capitalized on a quick goal (29 seconds in) to take a 2-0 lead. The dawgs continued to dominate in the period and with 8:02 left, scored an even strength goal to build their lead to 3-0.

The third period featured both teams battling and having opportunities, and with no letting up the Bulldogs kept Houston out of their net, while scoring one last goal (5:09 left) to take a 4-0 win. Both teams had four penalties each.

Bulldogs Travel to Houston for 3 NTXHL Games, Face Two Teams for First Time...

DJHA – 3, Alliance – 2: The Bulldogs played the first period with jump in their step and attacked the Penguins throughout the period. Both teams had power play opportunities, but neither team converted. The Bulldogs ultimately won the period, scoring first (2:04 left) from a slap shot at the point that was tipped in front by another bulldog player to take a 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs continued their strong play into the second until around the six-minute mark, when they got into penalty trouble. Two penalties (6:04 & 5:57 left) gave DJHA a 5-on-3 and that’s all they needed to score a power play goal to tie the game 1-1. DJHA’s momentum continued as they finished the period, scoring under two minutes later on an even strength goal to take a 2-1 lead.

The Bulldogs rallied quickly in the third with a power play goal on the first shift (22 seconds into the period) to tie the game 2-2. Both teams would battle throughout the period, having power play opportunities of their own, but it wouldn’t be until 6:08 left that DJHA scored an even strength goal that turned out to be the game winner. Thanks to strong Bulldog goaltending, the game was always close and winnable.

Dallas Stars Select – 6, vs Alliance – 0: Bulldogs showed strong fight for most of the first period, but ultimately were outplayed by the Stars Selects U14AA in the second and third periods of this NTXHL contest Saturday at Farmers Branch.

Few shots by both teams in the first made for a closely played period. Both teams had power play opportunities but neither team could convert. It wouldn’t be until the last minute of the period where the Stars aggressive fore check paid off, scoring with 28.7 seconds left to take the 1-0 lead into the second. Bulldogs shots 4 and Stars Selects 4.

The Stars momentum would prove to carry over early in the second period where they scored their second goal with 13:47 left. The Stars aggressive play dominated most of the period, finding the back of the net once again (2:40 left) to take a 3-0 lead. The Stars out shot the Bulldogs in the second 14 to 4.

The Stars would keep the door open for the Bulldogs early in the third, getting two penalties (14:25 & 13:26 left) and giving the Bulldogs several power play opportunities, one of which would be a 5-on-3 for a minute of play. The dawgs could not convert. Still down one man in the box, the Stars would find a way and score (11:34 left) on a short-handed goal to take a 4-0 lead. That’s all the Stars needed, as they would build on their lead with two more goals the remainder of the period. Third period shots were Bulldogs 6 and Stars Selects 9. Total shots were Bulldogs 14 and Stars Selects 27.

Houston Hitmen AA – 8, Alliance – 1: This game would be a rematch of sorts, (from the Texas Shootout tournament) where the Bulldogs came out on top in a shootout 5 to 4. This NTXHL opener for the Bulldogs had a different outcome as Team Houston (Houston Hitmen AA) would raise their game and take the decisive win.

Both teams played each other close in the first period. Team Houston would get the first three penalties, giving the Bulldogs a number of power play opportunities. One of which included a 5-on-3 in which the Bulldogs did a nice job of adding pressure and getting opportunities, but did not convert. The Bulldogs would get one penalty late in the period and killed it off nicely until Team Houston would add one more penalty of their own. The period ended with no scoring and shots were Bulldogs 9 and Team Houston 7.

Second period had much more action starting with the Bulldogs power play goal with 11:31 left off a shot from the point that was redirected by a Bulldog player into Team Houston’s goal to take a 1-0 lead. Soon after the Bulldogs would get two penalties (11:16 & 9:57), ultimately giving Team Houston a 5-on-3 power play in which they evened the score with a power play goal at 9:37 left. Bulldogs would do a nice job killing their second penalty off and getting back to equal strength. Later Team Houston would take advantage of their momentum and score an even strength goal with 4:30 left to take a 2-1 lead. Frustration would find the Bulldogs back in the box and needing to kill two more penalties the rest of the period (4:00 and later a 2:00) and that’s all Team Houston needed to capitalize on their power play to score their third goal with 1:30 left in the period. Second period shots were Bulldogs 5 and Team Houston 14.

The third period started and played like how the second period did, with Team Houston building their lead by netting five more goals (three of which were power play goals) to take an 8 to 1 win over the Bulldogs. Third period shots were Bulldogs 4 and Team Houston 13. Total shots were Bulldogs 18 and Team Houston 34.

Alliance 14UAA - 4, Ice Jets 94 Minor - 0: The Bulldog 14U Bantam AA got their second win in a row in their first action since Labor Day, as they shut out the Ice Jets 94 Bantam Minors 4-0 late Wednesday night at Valley Ranch.

Alliance clearly came prepared to play by jumping all over the Ice Jets, scoring 4 goals in the opening period to take a commanding 4-0 lead. The first goal by the Bulldogs was scored with just under three minutes into the game (12:03) from a Bulldog who fought and won control of the puck in the high slot and then took a turn around shot along the ice that found the back of the net.

Building on their momentum, the Bulldogs continued to add pressure in their fore-check, and minutes later scored their second goal (10:11 left) from a Bulldog beating the defense to the puck and going in on a breakaway and deking the goalie to score.

Towards the end of the period, the Bulldogs did not let up and with 2:08 left in the period, a Bulldog player behind the Ice Jets net with the puck would make a quick wrap around Gretzky type move on the goalie and find an opening to score Alliances third goal.

Continued pressure down to the final seconds would pay off as the Bulldogs would score their fourth goal with 4.9 seconds left, from a strong shot on net that put an exclamation point on the period. Bulldogs shots were 12 to Ice Jets 7.

Second period (and rest of the game) would feature strong defense and goaltending by both teams, and the Bulldogs would keep the upper hand with their aggressive style of play and dominate time and space in the Ice Jets zone. The Ice Jets received four penalties throughout the period, which they killed off nicely to deny the Bulldogs another score. The period finished with the Bulldogs dominating in shots with 15 to the Ice Jets 3.

Four penalties in the third period slowed the Bulldogs offensive attack and required continued strong goaltending and defensive play to ensure their shut out. Third period shots were Bulldogs 5, Ice Jets 5. Total shots were Bulldogs 32 and Ice Jets 15.

From there, it was all defense and goaltending on both sides of the ice. More on this game will be provided as it is received...

Alliance - 5, Houston Hitmen AA - 4 (SO): Early Monday morning the Alliance Bulldogs and Houston Hitmen AA faced each other in a dog fight, with each team fighting for their first win in the Texas Shootout tournament.

Despite the small hole the Bulldogs dug early in the first period with two penalties (14:42 & 13:25), they worked hard to kill them until Houston would get their turn in the box (12:37) and make it 4-on-4. Less than a minute later, persistent Bulldog fore-checking in the offensive zone would net their first goal of the game with 11:41 left.

The Bulldogs would continue to play aggressively and their efforts would pay off again from a Bulldog player breaking in to the front right corner of the net and then drop passing it behind to another Bulldog player crashing in front who shot and scored to take a 2-0 lead with 4:01 left. Just 32 seconds later, the Bulldogs would get a penalty in which Houston would capitalize on their power play with a goal at 2:52 left and make the score 2-1. Several more penalties by both teams would finish the period and shots would total Bulldogs 11 and Houston 8.

Second period saw the Bulldogs edging Houston with the only goal (6:04 left) of the period from a slap shot from the point that deflected off the goalies initial stop and went into the net to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead going into the third period. Second period shots were Bulldogs 10 and Houston 9.

The third period looked like a different game as Houston clearly felt the urgency and came out attacking and putting the dawgs back on their heals to score the next three goals of the game (second goal at 10:34 left, Houston ties the game with 6:32 and takes the lead with 4:55 left) and take a 4-3 lead.

With less than a minute left in the game and Houston having all the momentum, the Bulldogs kept digging and generated a strong rush on Houston that finished with a backhanded pass from one Bulldog player to another who shot and scored to tie the game with 43 seconds left. The momentum had shifted and the period ended with a 4-4 tie and both teams were looking at a shootout to decide a winner. Houston dominated the third period in shots with 16 to the Bulldogs 4. Total shots for three periods was Bulldogs 25 and Houston 33.

The Shoot out went three players deep with both the first and second shooters for each team scoring to make it 2-2. The third shooter for the Bulldogs would take the puck in and score to make it 3-2 and put the pressure back on Houston. The Bulldogs goaltender would stand tall in net and make the big pressure save on Houston's third shooter and lead the Bulldogs to their first win in the tournament.

Alliance Battles Tough with AAA Team...

Texas Attack '94AAA - 5, Alliance - 0: In their second game of the day, the Bulldogs would have to bring all their bite for the Texas Attack and for period one and the first part of period two, they did a great job attacking and playing them toe-to-toe.

First period saw the Bulldogs with a number of power play opportunities but were unable to convert. One of those opportunities included a 5-on-3 (for just over a minute) in which the Bulldogs did a nice job of adding pressure and getting opportunities. Also an improvement was the number of Bulldogs penalties (one), in which they were able to kill off. The period ended with no scoring and shots were Bulldogs 3 and Attack 7.

The beginning of the second period played similar to the first until the Attack started dominating the dawgs with possession and shots. The Bulldogs received two penalties in which they did a nice job killing off, but at 5:13 left in the period, one of the Attacks many shots found the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead. That seemed to open the floodgates as the Attack would net two more goals with less than a minute left in the period to take a 3-0 lead into the third. Shots were Bulldogs 2 and Attack 21.

The third period started and played like how the second period ended, with the Attack netting their fourth goal early in the period (13:12 left) and then scoring their fifth and final goal with 5:53 left. Third period shots were Bulldogs 7 and Attack 9. Total shots were Bulldogs 12 and the Attack 37. Needless to say the Bulldogs goaltending was busy all game and did a fantastic job.

Bantam AA Falls to Hosts...

Stars Select 94AA - 5, Alliance - 1: Looking forward to their second game of the tournament, the Bulldogs looked to improve their play against one of the tournament host teams, Dallas Stars Select 94AA.

The Stars began the game with persistent play and fore-checking, until they netted their first goal of the game (9:48 left) and a 1-0 lead. The bulldogs kept battling and later in the period the Bulldogs got into penalty trouble in which the Stars converted a power play goal with 5:17 left to take a 2-0 lead. Needing to respond, the Bulldogs did just that and scored a power play goal (1:23 left) created from a great pass through traffic in front of the net to a Bulldog player waiting to shoot it in. First period shots were Bulldogs 4 and Stars 17.

The first six minutes of play in the second resulted in penalties by both teams until the Stars scored (7:11) on a desperation turnaround shot that went through the five hole and lifted the Stars to a 3-1 lead. The Bulldogs would get into penalty trouble with just over five minutes to play in the period and the Stars would capitalize on two power plays and score there fourth and fifth goals of the game. Second period shots were Bulldogs 7 and Stars 5.

The third period had the Bulldogs on the defensive, killing off more penalties and grinding it out with the Stars. No goals were scored in the third and shots were Bulldogs 1 and Stars Select 3. Total shots were Bulldogs 12 and Stars 25.

'Dogs Drop Labor Day Opener...

Tulsa Flames 4, Alliance - 2: The Bulldogs waited all day (and part of the night) to finally meet their first opponent Saturday in the Stars Select Texas Shootout and the results fell short of the wait.

The Tulsa Flames jumped up on the Bulldogs the first 21 seconds of play with a goal on a broken play to take a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs would get an opportunity to answer back when the Flames would get two penalties (14:08 and 13:12) and give the Bulldogs a 5-on-4 and eventually a 5-on-3 man advantage. No such luck though as the Flames would kill the penalties. The rest of the period would see more penalties by both teams and towards the end the period the Bulldogs would be successful in killing off their own 3-on-5 penalty kill. Shots in the first were Flames 8 and Bulldogs 3.

Second period continued with heavy penalties in which the Bulldogs would get the first (13:45 left). The Flames would capitalize on their power play and score their second goal of the game at 13:25. At 9:41 the Bulldogs would get their first goal on a power play and bring the score within one (1-2). The remainder of the period saw more penalties and scoring and with 3:51 left, the Flames would score on a top shelf goal to make it 3-1. Less than a minute later (2:57 left), the Flames would build their lead to 4-1. With 22 seconds left in the period, the Bulldogs would clean up the trash in front of the Flames net and slide their second goal under the Flames goaltender to make it 2-4. Shots in the second were Flames 14 and Bulldogs 10.

Penalties continued in the third but with no scoring by either team. The final score would stay Flames 4 and Bulldogs 2. Shots in the third were Flames 5 and Bulldogs 7. Total shots were Flames 27 and Bulldogs 20.