Perigo's two goal night leads Bearcats over Bulldogs.

The Bearcats welcomed the Antigonish Bulldogs to the Colchester Legion Stadium last night, and once again these Northumberland Division teams delivered a hard-fought, competitive matchup. When the final buzzer sounded, it was the Mosaik Bearcats skating away with a 6–3 victory on home ice.

The Bearcats set the tone early in the opening period, applying pressure right from the opening faceoff but running into a sharp Justin Sumarah, who has been very solid between the pipes this season for the Bulldogs. The breakthrough came on the power play when Jacob Christie scored his second of the season to give the Bearcats a 1–0 lead. Just over a minute later, Merle Putnam jumped on a loose puck behind the net and wrapped it around, catching Sumarah off guard to make it 2–0. The goal marked Putnam’s 10th of the season.

The home side capped off a strong first period when G. Blackmore found Daniel Perigo, who buried his sixth of the campaign to send the Bearcats into the second period with a 3–0 lead. Shots after one favored the Bearcats 17–14.

Antigonish pushed back in the second period, with veteran forward Ricky Bowie getting the Bulldogs on the board to cut the deficit to two. The Bearcats responded quickly with back-to-back goals, as Cole Baker restored the three-goal cushion and a power-play marker from G. Blackmore extended the lead to 5–1. The Bulldogs showed resilience, striking twice later in the period to pull within two, but the Bearcats stayed composed and protected the lead heading into the third.

The Bulldogs pressed hard in the final frame and generated chances, but the Bearcats’ penalty kill stepped up in a big way, shutting down two 5-on-3 power plays, including a 6-on-3 advantage late in the game, preserving the lead when it mattered most. Any thoughts of a comeback were put to rest late in the third period when Daniel Perigo scored his second of the night with just 1:12 remaining, sealing the 6–3 win.

Antigonish finished with a 43–39 edge in shots, but timely scoring, strong special teams, and a complete team effort lifted the Bearcats to another important Northumberland Division victory at the Den.

Final Score: Bearcats 6-3 Bulldogs.

Photo credits - Nick Gaines Sports Photography