The Alberni Valley Bulldogs (24-16-3-1) host the Surrey Eagles (27-11-2-1) tonight at the Alberni Valley Multiplex. The Bulldogs currently sit 5 points behind the Eagles for 2nd place in the Coastal Conference, however the Eagles do hold 3 games in hand over the Bulldogs.
Surrey is just 5-4-1-0 in their past 10, but appear to be coming out of their mini slide as they’ve won 3 straight heading into action tonight. The Bulldogs meanwhile continue to roll with a record of 14-1-1 since the Christmas break. Winners of 8 straight at home, they will look to push the streak to 9. This contest is the 3rd of a 6 game home stand for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs find themselves in 3rd spot, just ahead of Coquitlam, Chilliwack and Victoria, all of whom are in action tonight on a busy Friday evening on the BCHL schedule.
Nicholas Beneteau’s recent run has placed him inside the top-20 in BCHL scoring with 44 points on 15 goals and 29 assists. Entering action tonight, Beneteau is riding a 14-game point streak, with line-mate Dakota MacIntosh right behind him at 10 games. They are the longest current streaks in the BCHL. For Beneteau, his 14 game streak trails only the 17 game streak the Vees Bradley Nadeau put together from September 23rd through November 11th.
The Eagles boast a deep line up with 5 forwards registering at least 30 points heading into action tonight. Jacob Bonkowski leads the way with 24 goals on the season and 47 points. 8 different Eagles have reached double digits in goal scoring already, making them a tough line-up to defend. The Eagles average 3.75 goals for per game, 2nd in the Conference behind the Clippers. Eli Pulver has been a rock in goal for the Eagles with a record of 19-7-2-1 with a 2.35 GAA and a .928%, both rank him inside the Top-5 in the BCHL. He also leads the league with 6 shutouts this season.
The clubs have each won at home against each other this season. The Eagles defeated the Bulldogs 4-2 on December 16th, and the Bulldogs returned the favour with a 4-1 win back on January 14th. The Bulldogs are 4-1-0-0 here at the Dawg Pound in their past 5 contests with Surrey.
The Bulldogs line-up could get a boost soon with the return of Brandon Buhr who hasn’t played since February 4th when he scored against Langley. Buhr has 10 points in 11 games since returning to the Bulldogs lineup just before Christmas. When he does return, he’ll enter with a 3 game goal scoring streak intact.
The Bulldogs Box Office is open at 10:00 am today to help with Season Ticket renewal as well as tickets for this weekend. You can also purchase online by CLICKING HERE
