The Alberni Valley Bulldogs defeated the Chilliwack Chiefs 3-2 on Wednesday night in front of 1803 WILD fans at the Alberni Valley Multiplex. With the win, the Bulldogs claimed the Best of 7 Coastal Conference Semifinal 4 games to none. It was the 2nd consecutive season the Chiefs year came to an end at the hands of the Bulldogs.
After being pushed to the limit by the Coquitlam Express in the 1st round, the Bulldogs made quick work of the Chiefs and will now enjoy a lengthy break before the Coastal Conference Finals begin next Friday.
The Bulldogs won’t learn who their opponent will be until the Victoria Grizzlies and Surrey Eagles wrap up the other Coastal Conference Semifinal. Game 5 of that series goes tonight in Surrey with the series deadlocked at 2-2. Game 6 goes on Saturday night back in Victoria. Should the top-seeded Eagles prevail, the Bulldogs will open on the road next weekend. If Victoria can pull off the upset, Game 1 would at the Dawg Pound on Friday May 3rd.
While the stat line will show a 4-0 series win, the Chiefs were far from an easy opponent. With a little puck luck, and perhaps a little less Callum Tung, the Chiefs just as easily could have been in the driver seat in this series. When it’s all said and done however, you have to admire the Bulldogs ability to find a way to win each game, despite the significant challenges the Chiefs posed.
On Wednesday the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Mason Croucher (1st) on the PP just 3:11 into the game, and Jacob Terpstra (3rd) at 8:55.
The Chiefs didn’t waste any time getting that one back as Parker Murray finally found his way onto the scoresheet just under a minute after the Terpstra goal when he put home a rebound on the PP to make it 2-1 Bulldogs after 20 minutes.
In the 2nd period, Matt Kursonis delivered a back-breaking goal to the Chiefs as his slid the puck through Vladimir Nikitin’s 5-hole with just 1:30 remaining in the 2nd period to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes. The goal was the Bulldogs 2nd power play marker of the game, and the goal proved to be the game winner.
In the 3rd, as expected the Chiefs pushed hard looking to save their season. Mateo Mrsic scored with Nikitin on the bench for the extra-attacker at 16:26 to pull Chilliwack to within 1 with plenty of time to go. Thankfully for the Bulldogs faithful in attendance, that would be as close as the Chiefs would get and the Bulldogs were able to kill off the final seconds and celebrate another series clinching win in front of their home fans.
Tung saw his streak of 5 consecutive 1st Star appearances come to an end as he was relegated to 2nd Star status in this contest. Tung stopped 24 of 26 in the series clincher, and finished the series with a record of 4-0, with 1.25 GAA and a sparkling .962 save %. Tung’s performance against the Chiefs, really was the stuff legends are made of this time of year.
With no certainty on who or when the Bulldogs will play next, the office will be closed today. Watch online for details of the Coastal Conference Finals presented by Pacific Chevrolet when they become available.
