The Alberni Valley Bulldogs (27-16-1-0) travel to Surrey today to take on the top-seeded Eagles (33-7-2-0) to kick start a rather large weekend for the Bulldogs.
Surrey is a perfect 2-0-0-0 against the Bulldogs this year with a pair of one goal wins, the latest coming on Feb 10th as they knocked off the Bulldogs 6-5 in OT at the Dawg Pound.
The one thing the Bulldogs have done well against the Eagles is score goals, something that hasn’t come easy for BCHL opponents this year. Surrey has allowed a conference low 97 goals against this year, however the Bulldogs have managed 9 goals for in their two games. In 34 of the Eagles 42 games, they’ve allowed 3 goals or less.
It’s hard to say the Bulldogs are catching the Eagles at a vulnerable time, especially considering they’re coming off a 10-3 win over the Victoria Grizzlies last Sunday, but the Eagles have dropped 2 of their last 3, and have given up 14 goals in that 3 game stretch.
Surrey poses a challenge most nights, but they’re especially tough on their Olympic sized ice sheet at home. The Eagles are the only BCHL team to have 20 wins on home ice and enter the game tonight with a record of 20-2-1-0.
The Eagles are led by the dynamic duo of Caden Cranston (25-43-68) and Aaron Schwartz (24-37-61). The pair sit atop the BCHL points derby. The Bulldogs Nicholas Beneteau is currently 4th in the BCHL with 55 points. The Bulldogs also get a boost tonight with the return of the BCHL’s leading goal scorer, Hayden Stavroff. Coming off a two-game suspension, Stavroff has 28 goals on the season, one ahead of West Kelowna’s Felix Caron.
The battle in goal tonight is expected to be a good one. Ajeet Gundarah and Callum Tung are expected to battle it out between the pipes. The two 20-year old net minders are key cogs for their respective clubs and this would certainly be considered a marquee match-up in goal. Tung is coming off a 44 save shutout performance on Wednesday night against the Grizzlies, while Gundarah allowed 5 goals on 36 shots in his last start against those very same Grizzlies.
While the Bulldogs aren’t going to watch the Eagles for 1st place in the Coastal Conference, a win tonight goes a long way in setting up another potential playoff series between these two clubs.
Puck drop is set for 7pm.
