The Bears kicked off the 2017 portion of their schedule Friday night as they hosted the Carleton Place Canadians at the Bears Den.

The Bears got off to a great start as Cole Busschaert (Kingston ON) jumped on a Canadians turnover and scored just 8 seconds into the game. The Bears were outshot 12-6 in the period but Brad Dobson (Moose Factory ON) was solid in the Bears net. Smiths Falls was whistled for both minor penalties called in the period.

The second period was scoreless as the Bears picked up their game and outshot the Canadians 10-9. The game took on more of a Smiths Falls vs Carleton Place encounter as the period saw 9 penalties called (5 for Smiths Falls, 4 for Carleton Place). 

Connor Merkley scored a powerplay goal just 23 sconds into the 3rd period to tie the game at 1-1. The game went back and forth. Smiths Falls had a chance to take the lead as Alex DiCarlo (Niagara Falls ON) was thwarted on a break away by Connor Hughes. Antoine Desmeules scored at 12:57 to give Canadians the lead at 2-1. Geoff Kit scored on the powerplay to put Carleton Place up 3-1 at 14:54. Logan Buchanon scored into an empty net to make the final score 4-1.

Bear Facts

Powerplays    Bears 0-3    Carleton Place 2-6

Penalty Totals    Bears 20 minutes on 10 infractions    Carleton Place 14 minutes on 7 infractions

Shots    Bears 21    Carleton Place 31

Game Length    2:17

Attendance 450

3 Stars

1st Star    Owen Grant (Carleton Place)

2nd Star    Andrew Dodson  (Carleton Place)

3rd Star    Cole Busschaert (Bears)

Next Game -     Sunday afternoon, 2:00 pm vs the 73s in Kemptville.

Photo courtesy of Laurie Weir, The Record News.