The Alberni Valley Bulldogs (27-19-1-0) host the Powell River Kings (12-31-4-0) in a crucial matchup for both clubs tonight at the Dawg Pound.
The Bulldogs have dropped 3 straight including last night’s 2-0 shutout loss in Duncan. Once the highest scoring team in the BCHL, the offence has dried up with just 1 goal over their past 6 periods of hockey.
The only good news of late for the Bulldogs is similar struggles from Nanaimo & Victoria, although the Grizzlies grabbed a 6-5 OT win over the Kings last night at the Q Centre to move to within 2 points of both the Bulldogs & Clippers in the Coastal Conference standings.
Powell River comes into the game tonight 3 points outside of the last playoff spot in the Coastal Conference and are desperate for wins with just 7 games remaining on their schedule. Led by Glen Anderson, the Kings want desperately to play post-season hockey and they played the Bulldogs very tough just a couple of weekends ago in Powell River.
For the Bulldogs, 5 of their final 7 games on the schedule are in the Dawg Pound.
Home cooking bodes well for them, however they need to start putting together some complete efforts in order to turn things around. “I think we’re guilty of being outworked by our opposition of late” said Bulldogs president David Michaud. “That doesn’t sit well with any of our staff and it’s frustrating to have everyone say the right things, but saying and doing are two very different things. Joe & Ryan will continue to preach the message, and at some point it’s up to the players to go out and do the right things to set us up for success.”
The Bulldogs lead the season series against the Kings with a record of 4-1-0-0, including a 6-4 home ice win back on November 5th. Overall, the Bulldogs have outscored the Kings 19-14 in the 5 games. The two clubs will meet once more after tonight on March 23rd. The Bulldogs are 7-2-0-0 at the Dawg Pound over the past 5 years against the Kings.
The Kings are led offensively by Anthony Yu’s 52 points and Anthony Lucarelli’s 20 goals. It’s worth noting in the Kings lone win, Italian new-comer Simone Dadiè scored 4 times. Dadiè has an impressive 28 points in just 24 games since joining the Kings. They also added 20 year old goaltender Justin Katz from the West Kelowna Warriors and Katz has been impressive for the Kings posting a .911 save % since joining them
Doors open at 6 pm with Dog Mountain Brewing Happy Hour! All Dog Mountain products are just $5 until 7pm.
The Box Office is now open for the day, or you can skip the trip and buy your tickets online by CLICKING HERE
