A powerful second quarter propelled the Ottawa Black Bears to victory as they defeated the Las Vegas Desert Dogs by a score of 13-10. Jeff Teat hit several personal milestones as he recorded eight goals (including six in one quarter) and an assist for a nine-point night. Reilly O’Connor picked up a goal and four assists of his own for a five-point outing.
The Desert Dogs opened the scoring 57 seconds in when Jack Hannah scored his 35th goal of the season to give them an early 1-0 lead.
Jackson Webster scored his 15th goal of the season at 3:38 into the first quarter to double the Desert Dogs’ lead to 2-0.
At 6:27, the Black Bears got one back when Connor Kearnan scored his 17th goal of the season to make it 2-1. Assisting the goal were Reilly O’Connor and Jeff Teat.
The Black Bears made a beautiful passing play to tie the game with Larson Sundown’s 24th of the season, but the call on the field was no goal. The Black Bears were quick to challenge and the play went under review. A lengthy review ensued, but unable to find sufficient evidence, the call on the field stood and there was no goal.
As the first quarter came to a close, the Black Bears headed into the second trailing by one at a tight score of 2-1.
The Desert Dogs opened the second quarter scoring at 2:40 into the frame when Adam Poitras scored his 19th goal of the season to restore their two-goal lead at 3-1.
While their first beautiful goal may not have counted, their next one did. At 4:21 into the second, Jeff Teat scored his team-leading 46th goal of the season mid-air as he fell to make it 3-2. With the goal, Teat reached his 100th point of the season. Assisting the goal were Connor Kearnan and Travis Longboat.
The Desert Dogs got one back as Casey Jackson scored his 25th goal of the season at 5:08 to make it 4-2.
Wasting no time to score one of his own, Reilly O’Connor scored his 15th goal of the season just 17 seconds later to make it a one-goal game at 4-3. Andrew Borgatti and Callum Jones both received credit for assists on the goal.
Just 10 seconds later, Adam Poitras scored his second goal of the game to give the Desert Dogs a two-goal lead once more.
Cutting the score to 5-4 was Taggart Clark with his goal of the season as he leapt through the crease to bury it in the back of the net. Assisting the goal were Connor Kearnan and Eric Fannell.
Just like that, it was a tie game when Jeff Teat danced through the defence to score his second of the game and make it 5-5 with 6:47 to play in the second quarter. Taggart Clark picked up the lone assist on the goal for his second point of the game.
The Desert Dogs restored their lead with 6:26 to play off Casey Jackson’s second goal of the game, making it 6-5.
Tying it back up was the captain as Jeff Teat completed the hat trick with his third goal of the game to make it 6-6 with 5:56 to play until halftime. The lone assist on the goal went to Travis Longboat, his second of the evening.
Finding the back of the net for his fourth of the game and 200th of his career was Jeff Teat with 4:03 to play in the second, giving the Black Bears their first lead of the game at 7-6. Assists on Teat’s goal went to Taggart Clark and Larson Sundown.
The Desert Dogs tied the game back up with 2:39 remaining in the half as Brandon Goodwin scored his ninth goal of the season.
Talk about an individual effort, as Jeff Teat wrestled possession of the ball to snipe a shot into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the game (and quarter). With the goal, the Black Bears took back the lead at 8-7.
The hat trick wasn’t enough for Jeff Teat, who completed the sock trick with his sixth goal of the game to give the Black Bears a 9-7 lead with 35 seconds left in the second quarter. Reilly O’Connor and Eric Fannell each picked up an assist on the goal.
Thanks to the offensive explosion from the team lead by Jeff Teat, the Black Bears headed into halftime up by two at a score of 9-7.
After a majority-scoreless third quarter, the Desert Dogs made it a one-goal game with 3:57 to play in the third when Adam Poitras scored his third goal of the game.
Jeff Teat was having none of that, burying his seventh goal of the game just 24 seconds later to restore the Black Bears’ two-goal lead at 10-8. Travis Longboat and John LaFontaine both received assists on the goal.
As the third quarter came to a close, the Black Bears held onto a 10-8 lead heading into the final frame.
Opening the fourth-quarter scoring and setting a new personal best for most goals in a game was, you guessed it, Jeff Teat. His eighth of the game coming at 3:16 into the fourth extended the Black Bears’ lead to 11-8. Assisting the goal were Travis Lontboat and Reilly O’Connor.
The Desert Dogs had a close call for a goal that they believed went in with 10:21 to play. The call on the field was no goal, but the Desert Dogs challenged the call and it went to review. Upon review, the call was overturned and it was ruled a good goal, making it 11-9. Credit for the goal went to Jackson Webster, his second of the game.
Connor Kearnan joined in on the offence with his second goal of the game with 8:54 to play to make it 12-9 with to play. Picking up the lone assist on his goal was Reilly O’Connor.
The Desert Dogs struck back 34 seconds later when Jack Hannah scored his second goal of the game to make it 12-10.
With just over a minute left, the Desert Dogs pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker as they looked to spark the comeback. A big stop from Zach Higgins led to a break for Brent Noseworthy who buried his first goal of the season into the empty net unassisted with 1:05 to play to secure the 13-10 victory.
The Black Bears will return to play on the road next week on Saturday, April 19 when the team travels to Saskatoon to take on the Saskatchewan Rush at 9:00 p.m. ET for their final regular season game of the year.
