Fresh off a coaching change that saw Paul Esdale head out and Kevin Willison come in as the new Head Coach, the Bulldogs have a big weekend ahead of them with three games in two and a half days. Things get going Friday they visit the Coastal Conference leading Cowichan Valley Capitals. Action shifts to the Dog Pound Saturday night for a visit from the BCHL and Interior Conference leading Penticton Vees before the weekend finishes Sunday when the Dogs host the Langley Rivermen, the team they are closest to in the Coastal Conference standings. The Dogs enter play Friday in 8th place in the Coastal Conference with a record of 10-14-1 and 0, good for 21 points, two back of the Rivermen with the Dogs holding three games in hand. The Dogs were last in action Sunday afternoon at the Dog Pound where they lost their second straight, 2-1 to the Silverbacks.
The Capitals enter play Friday with a record of 17-6-4 and 1 for 39 points, good for 1st place in the Conference by three points over the Powell River Kings. The Caps were last in action Sunday afternoon at home where they had a five game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 overtime loss to Powell River. The Caps took an early 1-0 lead before the game was six minutes old on a Jacob Charles power play goal but the Kings tied it late in the period for a 1-1 score after 20 minutes. The Capitals again struck on the power play in the first half of the second period with Devin Gannon scoring to make it 2-1 but the lead was short-lived as the Kings tied it at 2-2 three minutes later. The final 30 minutes of regulation saw no scoring as the game headed to sudden death overtime where the Kings won it two and a half minutes in.
Shots favoured Powell River 32-28 with Derek Dun taking the loss in goal. The Capitals went 2 for 8 on the power play while the Kings went 0 for 3.
It’s the third meeting between the teams this season and the first since October 8th when the teams played to a 5-5 tie at the Island Savings Centre in a wild and crazy game that saw the Dogs build up a 4-0 lead late in the second period before the Caps scored five straight through the end of the second and into the third period to take a 5-4 lead, only to see the Dogs get the equalizer from Justin Morello with just over two minutes to play to force overtime. The only previous meeting was also in Duncan, a 6-2 Dogs win on October 1st.
Catch the pregame show Friday night from the Island Savings Centre at 7:15 with the play-by-play to follow at 7:30pm on 93.3 The Peak FM, our website at www.933thepeak.com, and watch the Pay Per View Broadcast by visiting the BCHL’s Live Portal HERE
The Vees enter play Friday with the overall BCHL lead with a record of 24-3-0 and 2 for 50 points, 14 more than the Merritt Centennials for the Interior lead, and 11 more than the Capitals for the BCHL lead. They were last in action Tuesday in Westside, where they won their 12th in a row, 3-2 over the Warriors in double overtime. The Vees bring some gaudy numbers with them as they hit the road – they lead the lead in goals for with an average of over five a game. No one else in the league even averages above four. They are second in goals against per game to Powell River, and they have a league leading 14 NCAA Commitments. It goes without saying that the Dogs had best bring their most complete effort of the season Saturday when they host the BCHL’s best in the only meeting of the season between the two teams.
Game time Saturday nights is 7:00. Get it all on 93.3 The Peak FM, www.933thepeak.com or the BCHL website at www.bchl.ca with the pregame show kicking off at 6:45 from the Dog Pound
The Langley Rivermen enter play Friday night with a record of 11-16-0 and 1, good for 23 points and 7th in the Coastal Conference. They were last in action Sunday afternoon in Nanaimo where they suffered their third straight defeat to open December, 2-1 to the Clippers in double overtime. The Rivermen have a busy weekend before they visit the Dogs on Sunday afternoon as they are in Nanaimo Friday night and Cowichan on Saturday night.
Sunday’s game will be the fourth head to head matchup with the Dogs winning two of three so far. Langley won the first meeting 7-1 in Langley on October 15th before the Dogs returned the favour with a 7-1 win of their own in Langley on October 27th. The last time these teams met was November 12th at the Dog Pound where the Dogs picked up a 4-0 win for their only shut out so far this season.
Catch the pregame show Sunday afternoon at 2:15 with the puck dropping at 7:30. Get all the action on 93.3 The Peak FM or through the Pay-Per-View Broadcast on the BCHL website through the Live Portal
