FRESNO, CA - With only two weeks before the start of the regular season, the Bulldogs hit the ice in their first game taking a 9-7 loss against the Alumni on Saturday. 

The Bulldogs started off strong with Tyler Esswein scoring the first goal with under a minute of play. The Alumni answered back, scoring halfway through the first.

The Bulldogs refused to let up as Matt Young scored to end the first period and again to start the second.

Starting goalie Joe Ricupero was in the net for the first half of the game, with backup Nathan Lamberty entering in the middle of the second to finish.

The Bulldogs continued to play aggressively throughout the second; however two back-to-back goals from the Alumni would put the score at 7-6 heading into the third.

The Bulldogs were held scoreless in the third as the Alumni scored twice to bring them ahead, and an empty-netter with seconds left would seal their win.

Even though this game did not officially count in the record books, the players enjoyed themselves and thought it was a good way to start the season.

“Well for the first game we did pretty good,” said Matt Young. Young had a busy night scoring several times, picking up assists and helping keep up the pace of the game.

“Being that it was our first game, I thought for just going through practice, we did a really good job,” said assistant coach Brian Rivera. “We did some things really well, and it’s a good building block for us to start.”

Rivera also added that along with Young and Esswein, Jacob Winans and first-year Ross Piche played really well.

Magnus Toftgard, an Alumni from Sweden, who played for the Bulldogs in the 2007 season stated that this year’s team was great, and the team has continued to improve and build-upon past seasons. “From 2007 it’s hard to even compare, this team is way better,” said Toftgard. “With 26-27 guys they got a lot of competition within the team, they will push each other.”

Even though Toftgard returned home and is currently doing a lot of international work, he said he really enjoyed his time here and manages to maintain the friendships he made, while keeping an eye on how the team is doing.

The alumni game not only allowed the coaches to see how individuals are playing and how their line combinations are working, but allowed the players to judge themselves and each other.

 “It was good to kind of learn how our teammates react in games, how we react in situations, game situations, so I think it was really good for us today,” said returning captain Phillip Matson.

Using both goalies also allowed the team time and game experience with newcomer Lamberty. “It was pretty nerve-racking going in cold,” said Lamberty who admitted after the back-to back goals he was looking for assistance from his defense.

“He played a great game, it’s not his fault, you know we have to be there to help, and we got away from our game,” said Young. “In turn it reflected on him, so it made him look bad, but he played a great game.”

Young also chalks up the difference to the fact that the team has been playing with Ricupero for a while and automatically knows what to expect from him when he’s on the ice. “With Joe everyone’s like we’re going to have a good game tonight,” said Young. “Every game he’s in the net, we have a chance.”

While the players had a chance to evaluate themselves and their teammates, head coach Marcel Bourdase used the game to see first-hand how his players were doing with learning and executing what they’ve been doing in practice.

Bourdase, along with assistant coach Kevin Keeler, took the ice for the Alumni leaving Rivera behind the bench to implement what the team has been working on.

Rivera stated that while this game was a great way for them to get experience in lines and game situations, it also helped take off some of the edge for the season opener in two weeks.

“Hopefully we can carry along our performance, because we played really well, that we can continue on to play a very good Northern Arizona team,” said Rivera.