The Alberni Valley Bulldogs (25-12-3-1) travel to the Q Centre tonight to face the red-hot Victoria Grizzlies (23-17-0-0) at 7:00 pm.
The clubs are among the hottest teams in the Coastal Conference right now. The Grizzlies have won 4 straight to move up to 5th in Conference, while the Bulldogs are on a tidy 3 game winning streak of their own and have just 2 regulation losses in their past 10 games.
After Wednesday’s win over the Powell River Kings the Bulldogs became the 2nd team in the Coastal Conference to put an X beside their name for clinching a playoff spot. The Bulldogs win also allowed Nanaimo to clinch a birth.
After dropping the first two games of the season series, the Bulldogs have roared back to take the last 3 games head-to-head with Victoria.
The Grizzlies are led by Nanaimo native Matthew Wood. The recently turned 17 year old has done his fair share of head turning as he sits 2nd in the BCHL goals & points list. Wood has 32 goals in 32 games and has lit the lamp 4 times against the Bulldogs this season. The Bulldogs did manage to shut him down in their last win back on Dec 15th. The Bulldogs top line of Castagna, Zary & Van Unen did a masterful job against Victoria’s top unit that night. With the scene shifting to the Q Centre for tonight’s contest, head coach Joe Martin will have to work a little harder to get that match-up again.
Hobie Hedquist is scheduled to get the start in goal for the Bulldogs tonight. The North Dakota commit is 3-0-1 against Victoria with a 2.48 GAA and a .917 save percentage. He was excellent on December 15th in the Dawg Pound as he stopped 29 of 31 shots in the Bulldogs win.
The special teams for these two club are almost identical. The Grizzlies are 22.8 on the PP while the Bulldogs are 22.2% A good night on the special teams always goes a long way, especially the penalty kill unit against the Grizzlies power play.
Ethan Bono has been on a tear for the Bulldogs with 5 goals in his last 3 games. Bono is now in his 2nd season with the Bulldogs and is rounding into the dominant centre that Joe Martin believed he could become when he recruited him ahead of the 2020 season. Bono now has 13 goals and 13 assists in 40 games during his sophomore campaign with the Bulldogs.
After tonight’s game with the Grizzlies, the Bulldogs will return home for a pair of massive games. The Bulldogs will host the Chilliwack Chiefs tomorrow night, and then the Clippers on a special 2:00 pm matinee game on Family Day Monday. The Chiefs and Clippers will face o
