FLINT, MI -- A pair of Davison penalties resulted in a two-goal second period and allowed Chelsea to pull away for a 3-1 victory at Perani Arena in Flint Wednesday night.

Chelsea converted a pair of power plays in the second to stretch what was a 1-1 game into a comfortable lead. Sophomore Jacob Dobberstein broke the tie for Chelsea, scoring a power play goal on a dual assist from Joey Olmsted and Caleb Bentley to put the Bulldogs up 2-1 at the 10:27 mark of the second. Davison was short-handed again late in the period and Chelsea tacked on another score, getting a goal from Bentley with 1:27 left on the clock.

Neither team had any notable scoring opportunities in the third period as Chelsea successfully killed off the clock.

Chelsea converted two of its four power play opportunities while Davison was 1-3. Davison’s goaltending tandem of David Arterburn and Ricky Gonzalez faced 23 shots on net, making 20 saves. The Cardinals had 12 shots against Chelsea goalie Charlie Miller.

"I always enjoy playing Davison because (Davison coach) Doug Towler does such a great job getting his team ready to play," Chelsea coach Don Wright said. "They're always a tough team to beat, especially here (at Perani Arena). We got out of here, but they had some chances tonight."

The Cardinals looked good early and were controlling possession in the first period. Josh Hill put Davison on the board with a power play goal at the 5:16 mark of the first, placing a top shelf shot into the net to put Davison up 1-0.

Momentum shifted in the final two periods, with Chelsea controlling possession and ending the game with three unanswered goals.

"We missed some coverages, for sure, which kind of hurt especially against a club like that," Towler said. "In a game like this, we have to be more effecient than what we were. That's part of the learning curve."

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 7 in Division 3, are still unbeaten with a record of 8-0-0. Davison falls to 4-3-0. Chelsea returns to the ice this weekend in a Division 3 showcase tournament in Gaylord.

"Yes we are 8-0 but I still feel like there's a lot of work to do, but I'm happy with the start no doubt about it," Wright said. "We're going to be tested still and we're going to learn some things. We graduated 11 guys from last year's team so we've still got a lot of new guys trying to figure things out."

Davison’s next games are also this weekend in a tournament at Detroit Skate Club. The Cardinals play Novi Friday and either Clarkston or Hartland Saturday.

The Cardinals begin play in the newly shaped Saginaw Valley League Jan. 9 against Saginaw Heritage. Towler is excited about league play, but says there's a lot of uncertainty around how the league competition will play out.

"The No. 1 change really is that it's changed our schedule a lot," Towler said. "We had to give up a couple of games against some high caliber clubs, not to diminish what the Saginaw Valley League is, but it will be different. I really don't have a much of comment on the league because I don't know what to expect.

"I hope the league games are competitive and that we can continue to grow and become a force in that league."

Contact Ross at rmaghiel@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter @Maghielse.