The Bulldogs embark of their first multi-game Road Trip of the season this week as they visit the Trail Smoke Eaters tonight, the Westside Warriors Friday night and Penticton Vees Saturday night.
The Smoke Eaters enter play Wednesday with a record of 9-6-0 and 1, good for 19 points and a third place tie in the Interior Conference. They are just five points out of first place. The Smokies last saw action Saturday night in Vernon where they lost 3-1 to the Vipers to split a weekend home and home series. The Smoke Eaters started the game in fine fashion, going up 1-0 just 31 seconds into the game on a Travis St. Denis power play goal. Vernon would get on the board 8 minutes into the first to tie it at 1-1, and just 2:20 later a Viper power play tally saw them lead 2-1 after one. The score stayed that way until the final 8 minutes of regulation where the Vipers added an insurance marker for the 3-1 final.
The Smoke Eaters outshot the Vipers 19-18 in what had to have been a very tight defensive affair. Kiefer Smiley took the loss in goal. The Vipers went 1 for 3 on the power play while the Smoke Eaters went 1 for 4.
The Dogs will certainly need to be wary of the smoke Eaters top line as Sam Mellor, Scott Jacklin and Travis St. Denis all average over a point and a half a game. While it?s a new year, it?s hard not to think back to last year in the Cominco Arena when the Bulldogs broke a 20 year old league record for consecutive road wins with a come-from-behind overtime win that was also coupled with Mitch MacMillan scoring his 60th goal.
The Pre Game Show kicks off at 7:15 with all the play-by-play to follow at 7:30pm. Get it all on 93.3 The Peak FM and our website at www.933thepeak.com
The Dogs take Thursday off before travelling to Westside to take on the Warriors Friday night. It?s a big night for the Warriors Friday as they will be wearing special Blue and Yellow jerseys ? the colours of the Canadian Cancer Society, as they have their ?Battle to beat cancer? night.
The Warriors enter play Friday night with a record of 6-7-1 and 1, good for 14 points and 5th in the Interior Conference. They were last in action Saturday night in Powell River where they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Kings. Powell River would end both the first period and second period with goals in the final 30 seconds of each frame to lead 2-0 after two periods. The Warriors got on the board less than two minutes into the third with a Grayson Downing shorthanded goal trimming the deficit to 2-1. That would be as close as they would get as the Kings put the game away with a power play goal with four minutes to play.
Shots favoured the Kings 42-19 with Kevin Boyle taking the loss in net. The Warriors went 0 for 3 on the power play while also scoring once shorthanded. The Kings went 1 for 8.
It shouldn?t take much for the Dogs to get up for this game, as the Warriors rolled into the Dog Pound on the end of a four game road trip in September and outplayed the Dogs throughout the game and out shot them 46-25 but Frank Slubowski was superb in preserving the tie.
Catch the Pre Game show Friday night from Royal LePage Place at 6:45 with all
the play-by-play to follow at 7:00pm. Get it all on 93.3 The Peak FM and our website at www.933thepeak.com
The Road Trip finishes Saturday night when the Dogs visit the Interior Conference leading Vees who sport a record of 12 and 4. The Vees head into this weekend on a seven game winning streak after a 3-2 double overtime win in Merritt on Friday night. Before they host the Dogs on Saturday they put their streak on the line against the Vernon Vipers at home on Friday night.
There are plenty of side bars heading into this one with the Bulldog Ownership Group of the Okanagan Hockey School and Okanagan Hockey Academy being based in Penticton. The Bulldogs also have Penticton Natives Lars Hepso, Tyler Berkholtz and Ollie McCluskey who will no doubt be fired up to play in their hometown. Not far away from home are Kelowna Natives Marley Keca and Colton Sobchak. With the Mitchell brothers from Osoyoos and both Sawyer Mick and Trent Dorais being from Vernon it adds up to almost half of the team playing close to their Okanagan homes. The Dogs won?t be seeing former teammate Mark MacMillan on the other side of the puck as he is still recovering from a broken wrist suffered in Game 1 of the season.
The Vees record is certainly no accident, the Dogs will need to be at their very best at the end of their road trip if they want to pick up their second win in as many tries at the South Okanagan Event Centre. Catch our pregame show at 6:45 with the puck dropping at 7:00pm. Catch all the action on 93.3 The Peak FM or listen live at www.933thepeak.com
Dogs hit the road for three
