The Alberni Valley Bulldogs and the Langley Rivermen will get the party started this weekend in Port Alberni as the two clubs open the BCHL Coastal Conference Semi-Finals presented by Hupacasath First Nation.
Langley was the top seed in the Coastal Conference for much of the season until a costly stretch to finish the season saw them go just 3-7-0-0. That slip was just what the Bulldogs needed to overtake Langley for 1st place and ultimately home ice advantage in this series. This will be a tremendous series between two very good hockey clubs.
The X factor in the series may very well be the Dawg Pound faithful. With respect to Langley and the program they run, there is no comparison when it comes to the teams respective fan bases. The Rivermen averaged less than 400 fans per game during the regular season and ranked 17th out of 18 BCHL clubs in attendance, and are dead last amongst playoff teams. The Bulldogs meanwhile packed nearly 1400 into the Multiplex for games 1 & 2 of the Quarter-Final series with Cowichan. This series should see even more fans. Langley will no doubt be energized just playing in front of a sizeable crowd, however home ice advantage for the Bulldogs should provide them a spark and could be a massive difference maker.
The Bulldogs won the season series 3-0-1-0 with the lone blemish coming in the 1st meeting between the two clubs when Langley snuck out of the Multiplex with a 2-1 OT win on November 27th. The Bulldogs won the final 3 games of the season series by scores of 5-4, 4-3, and finally 4-1 on the final day of the regular season. The win clinched the Coastal Conference pennant that day.
While all clubs face injury trouble, Langley was hit especially hard down the stretch with several key cogs out of the line-up when the games counted most. The Bulldogs will see Langley at full strength which is no easy task when the Rivermen get momentum on their side.
Max Dukovac led the Rivermen in scoring against the Bulldogs as he posted 3-4-7 points in the 4 game season set. Tyler Schleppe, Ryan Upson, and 6’6″ Riley Wallack will all be offensive features for the Langley attack in this series. In goal, the Rivermen are led by Ajeet Gundarah who went 16-9-0-1 with a 2.65 and a .922 save percentage. Gundarah was named to the BCHL All-Rookie team.
The Bulldogs feature a well-discussed balanced attack. 11 different Bulldogs found the back of the net against Cowichan and they will need more of the same in this series. In goal, Hobie Hedquist will carry the load as he’s done all through the 2nd half of the year. Hedquist will be making his 19th straight start in goal when the puck drops for game 1 tonight. Hedquist was 3-0-1 with a 2.49 GAA and a .913 save percentage versus Langley in the regular season.
The Bulldogs were stingy in the opening round with Cowichan as they allowed just 8 goals in the 4 games. That should come as no surprise as they led the Coastal Conference with the fewest goals against during the regular season. Something to watch is if Langley can get back to their defensive ways. After being one of the top defensive teams for most of the regular season, they fell off down the stretch and began giving up goals with regularity. That trend continued in the playoffs as they gave up 18 goals despite eliminating Victoria in 5 games.
Game 2 of the best of 7 series goes tomorrow night, while Game 3 & Game 4 will go on Tuesday & Wednesday when the scene shifts back to Langley.
