After three straight games on the road last weekend the Bulldogs return to the Dog Pound with three games at home Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon for ?Parents Weekend? as the parents and families of the Bulldog players will visit the Alberni Valley to watch their boys host the Quesnel Millionaires Friday night, the Nanaimo Clippers Saturday night and the Merritt Centennials Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs enter play this week with a record of 11-9-2 and 1, good for sixth in the Coastal Conference. The Bulldogs have games in hand on every team they are chasing in the standings. They are winless in five after playing to a 3-3 tie with the Express in Coquitlam on Sunday.
The Millionaires enter play Friday night with a record of 6-17-1 and 2, good for 15 points and seventh place in the Interior Conference. They were last in action Wednesday night in Nanaimo where they lost their second straight overtime game to begin their Island Road Trip, 6-5 to the Clippers in double overtime. Nanaimo raced out to a 3-0 lead by the three minute mark of the first period on goals by Yannick LaFlamme Gerry Fitzgerald (on the power play) and Andrew Gladiuk. It would be Gladiuk adding one more late in the frame for a 4-0 advantage after 20 minutes. One more just over a minute into the second from Graeme McCormack made it 5-0 Clippers on the power play. The Mills got on the board on the power play themselves just past the midway mark of the game on a Daryl DeVries goal, before Chris Kerr made it 5-2 just over a minute later with the Mills shorthanded. Malcolm Gould made it 5-3 Clippers just past the three minute mark of the third before Chris Kerr added his second of the game with seven minutes to play to pull Quesnel within one at 5-4. Just three minutes later Sam Higgins score the fifth unanswered for the Mills to tie it at 5-5 to force OT. The comeback would fall short when the Clippers got the winner in double overtime.
Shots favoured Quesnel 39-37 with Kirby Halcrow taking the loss in net while Charles-Alexy Premont picked up the win. The Millionaires went 1 for 4 on the power play while also scoring once shorthanded. The Clippers went 2 for 7.
The Millionaires have had a tough luck start to their road trip with back to back overtime losses as they lost 4-3 in OT on Tuesday night in Victoria. November has not been a kind month to the Mills as they have lost six of seven entering the weekend. They are advertised as a hard working team, and you can bet they will be motivated against the Dogs after two tough losses to open the trip and an off-day Thursday on the road. For the Dogs to snap their winless streak they will have to play a full sixty minutes and they will have to simply want it more than the Mills. That won?t be easy to do as they are advertised as a very hard working team. The Dogs take pride in being a hard working team themselves so this is a great test to open the home stand.
Catch the pregame show Friday night from the Dog Pound at 6:45 with the play-by-play to follow at 7:00pm on 93.3 The Peak FM and our website at www.933thepeak.com
It?s the fifth meeting of the season between the Dogs and Clippers Saturday night, and the fourth at the Dog Pound. The Clippers enter play Friday night on a three game winning streak with a record of 11-10-1 and 3, good for 26 points. Before they visit the Dogs on Saturday they host the Centennials at Frank Crane Arena Friday night. These teams last met November 4th at the Dog Pound, a 3-2 double overtime win for the Dogs on a Josh Mitchell game winner. The Dogs have won all three meetings this season at the Dog Pound while the Clippers won the only meeting at the Frank Crane Arena for a 3-1 lead for the Dogs in the ?Battle for the Rival Hammer? series.
Game time Saturday night from the Dog Pound is the usual 7:00. Get it all on 93.3 The Peak FM, www.933thepeak.com or the BCHL website at www.bchl.ca
Parents Weekend finishes off Sunday afternoon with the first meeting of the season between the Bulldogs and the Centennials. Merritt enters play Friday night with a record of 7-13-0 and 5, good for 19 points and sixth in the Interior Conference.
The Centennials opened up a four game in five day Island swing Wednesday night with a 2-1 loss to the Capitals in Duncan. Before visit the Dogs Sunday they are in Nanaimo Friday and Victoria Saturday.
The Centennials will be no doubt a little road weary Sunday at the end of a long trip, in the same place the Dogs were just last Sunday. It?s critical that they be ready to get the jump on the Cents from the get go, with the big key being able to keep up a consistent effort throughout the game, as the Dogs have found out firsthand lately with unfortunate results what happens if you take a period or a shift off.
Catch the pregame show Sunday afternoon from the Dog Pound at 2:15 with the play-by-play to follow on 93.3 The Peak and www.bchl.ca at 2:30pm.
After the game, don?t miss a special edition of ?Around the Pound? the Bulldog Hockey Show – live on location at Dolce Vita at 6:00pm on 93.3 The Peak. Fans are encouraged as always to come down and watch the show live and meet the guys while having a great meal!
It?s a huge weekend for the Dogs as they look forward to playing three straight at home in front of their parents and families as they look to snap a five game winless streak. They meet two teams for the first time in Quesnel and Merritt, and in between it?s a big match up with two bitter rivals going at it with the Clippers in town. It has all the makings of a great weekend; hopefully we?ll see you at the Pound
