The #3 seed Alberni Valley Bulldogs (31-19-3-1) will square off with the #6 seeded Victoria Grizzlies (26-20-5-3) in the Coastal Conference Quarterfinals presented by the Port Alberni Port Authority.
This marks the first time since the 18-19 season that the two Island rivals have met in the playoffs. Entering this series, the Grizzlies have won 8 straight playoff games versus the Bulldogs, dating all the way back to 2018 when the Grizzlies completed the reverse sweep.
While the playoff history between the Bulldogs and Grizzlies strongly favours Victoria, the Bulldogs enter the playoffs as hot as anyone. With a record of 21-4-1 since Christmas, only the Penticton Vees had a stronger second half. With just 4 regulation losses in just over 3 months, the Grizzlies will now need to find a way to knock off the Bulldogs 4 times in a 2-week span.
Victoria will enter the playoffs with 4 straight losses and a record of 4-6-0-0 in their past 10. Two of those wins did come over the Bulldogs on March 7th and 10th however.
If the regular season was a warm up, the Bulldogs won the 7 game regular season series 4-3. The score over the 7 games series was 22-21 Bulldogs and both clubs managed a lop-sided shutout victory.
On paper, this is going to be a close one.
The goaltending battle is impressive on paper. Hobie Hedquist wen 4-2-0-0 with a 2.60 and a .916 save %, while 17 year old rookie Oliver Auyeung-Ashton went 3-3 with a 3.18 and a .921 save %.
Will Elger, Nicholas Beneteau, Braden Blace, and Matthew Maltais all had 6 points in the season series. Dakota MacIntosh registered 4 goals in the 4 games he played against Victoria this season.
The Grizzlies one-two punch of Owen Bohn and Olivier Picard did the most damage to the Bulldogs this year with 9 points respectively in the season series. Bohn was scratched for the Grizzlies final couple of games so that will be something to keep an eye on in the series.
Both clubs were strong on home ice during the regular season, so perhaps the Bulldogs home-ice advantage will be an X-factor in the series. There is no question on which arena provides the better atmosphere for the series. The Dawg Pound has been a zoo of late, while the Q Centre can best be described as a calm environment. While the Bulldogs finished above .500 on the road, the Grizzlies were just 11-14-1-1, and there power play was almost 10% less effective when they’re away from the Q Centre. In a reversal of fortune, the Bulldogs actually performed better away from the Dawg Pound this year.
Add it all up and this has the makings of a great series.
FULL SERIES SCHEDULE:
GAME 1 – Friday March 31st – 7pm – AV Multiplex
GAME 2 – Saturday April 1st – 7pm – AV Multiplex
GAME 3 – Tuesday April 4th – 7pm – Q Centre
GAME 4 – Wednesday April 5th – 7pm – Q Centre
GAME 5 – Friday April 7th – 7pm – AV Multiplex*
GAME 6 – Sunday April 9th – 7pm – Q Centre*
GAME 7 – Tuesday April 11th – 7pm – AV Multiplex*
*If Necessary
