The Alberni Valley Bulldogs earned a 6-2 win over the Coquitlam Express on Friday night at the Dawg Pound to open parents weekend. The game was played before a “sold out” crowd of 950 people.
Stephen Castagna enjoyed a big night as he celebrated his 176th game in a Bulldogs uniform. The total moved him into 3rd all-time on the Bulldogs games played list, trailing only Devin Timberlake and Tyler Ruel. Castagna scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season, both of which came on the power play to pace the Bulldogs offensive attack.
Ethan Bono (9th), Matthew Maltais (2nd), Finn Brown (12th) and Arlo Merritt (14th) also scored in the victory. For Merritt, the goal had extra significance as it came against his former team.
Hobie Hedquist bounced back in goal and stopped 20 of 22 shots for his 17th win of the year. Carter Woodside, the former Victoria Grizzlies netminder allowed 6 goals on 29 shots in the loss.
The Bulldogs power play was 2 for 6 on the night and the penalty kill was a perfect 2 for 2.
The victory improved the Bulldogs record to 23-12-3-1 overall and made them an impressive 12-3-2-0 on home ice. The loss dropped the Express record to 10-21-1-4 on the year.
Up next for the Bulldogs is a rematch with the Cowichan Valley Capitals tomorrow night at 7:00 pm.
Three Stars:
*** Finn Brown – AVB (1g 1a)
** Matthew Maltais – AVB (1g 2a)
* Stephen Castagna – AVB (2g)
