The Alberni Valley Bulldogs defeated the Surrey Eagles 3-2 on Friday night at the Dawg Pound. The win was the Bulldogs 6th straight on home ice, and they snapped the Eagles 11 game winning streak in the process.
It wasn’t quite the marquee matchup the Bulldogs and their fans had hoped for with the Eagles final visit to the Dawg Pound this season. With nothing to play for, the Eagles scratched the league’s top two scorers and a handful of other veterans as healthy scratches or injured.
The Bulldogs took full advantage of what was given to them.
Hayden Stavroff got his 33rd of the season to open the scoring in the 1st period, and doubled down in the 2nd for his 34th and a 2-0 Bulldogs lead. The 34 goals moved Stavroff into a tie for the league lead with the idle Aaron Schwartz who could only watch from the stands as Stavroff put on a show.
Full credit to the undermanned Eagles in the 3rd frame for not going away. After Zeke Nicholson built the lead up to 3-0 1:46 into the period, the Eagles fought back with 2 quick ones to make it a hockey game. Miles Burgin snipped his 5th of the year and Sid McNeil got his 5th four minutes later on the power play. It was as close as the Eagles would get.
The final shots favoured the Bulldogs 38-23.
Vladislav Bryzgalov picked up the win in goal as he made 21 saves.
The Eagles were 1 for 3 with the man-advantage, while the Bulldogs were 1 for 5.
With the victory, the Bulldogs improved to 32-20-1-0 and kept pace with the Chilliwack Chiefs who picked up a 4-2 win in Duncan over the Caps. Entering the final day of action for both clubs, the math is simple. A Bulldogs win and a Chiefs loss will give the Bulldogs 2nd in the Coastal Conference. A loss or the Chiefs picking up a point of any kind means they will finish 3rd.
