The Bulldogs have two games coming up this weekend, both at home, as they host the Surrey Eagles Friday and the Trail Smoke Eaters Sunday afternoon at 2:30. The Dogs ride a two game winning streak heading into this weekend after the 5-1 win over the Cowichan Valley Capitals on New Year?s Eve.
Friday night the Bulldogs gun for their first three game winning streak of the season, and their first win this season against the Surrey Eagles in their fourth and final try. The Eagles won both head to head games on their home ice quite handily earlier on in the season, skating to 5-1 and 6-0 victories. The most recent head to head meeting was at the Dog Pound on November 17th, where the Dogs played much better but still ended up on the wrong end of a 2-1 score. Justin Mulholland would be the story of the game as he stole the show in his Eagles debut, as the Dogs won the shots on goal battle 32-21 but Mulholland would hold the Dogs to just one goal en route to 1st star honours. The Eagles would take a 1-0 lead on a first period power play goal where Adam Hartley was the benefactor of a nice passing play from Phil Magistrale and John Bokla. The lead would be 2-0 Eagles in the second when the Dogs were caught up ice pressing for the equalizer, giving the Eagles a 2 on 1 rush the other way. Scott Brownlee would drive the net and direct a perfect pass from Ryan Pajimola into the open side with 5:55 left in the period. 3:10 into period three the Dogs would make a game of it when good work in the Eagles zone saw Chris Moulson work the puck free to Lee Patzer, who threw a cross-crease pass to Daniel Moriarty who one-timed it in with a delayed penalty coming to the Eagles. That would be as close as the Dogs would get though as Mulholland was stellar the rest of the way. The Dogs outshot the Eagles 32-21, with Harrison May taking the loss in net. Special teams were huge in this one, as the Eagles were 1 for 4 on the power play and the Dogs were 0 for 5. The Eagles also scored the game winner shorthanded.
The Eagles will enter play Friday night with a record of 23-16-0 an 2, after a 5-4 loss to the Express in Burnaby Wednesday night. The Express came out on fire in this one, up 2-0 before the first was ten minutes old. They weren?t done there either, as before the period was out the Express added one more for a 3-0 lead after twenty minutes. The Express picked up right where they left off as the second began, scoring two unassisted goals before the period was three minutes old for a 5-0 lead. And then the Eagles woke up or the Express took their foot off the gas, because the 5-0 lead became 5-3 before the period was out. First it was Ilan Cumberbirch getting the Eagles on the board with a power play goal 6:45 in to make it 5-1. Max Grassi would make it 5-2 minutes later, before he added another one late in the period on the power play as the Express took a two goal lead into the final period. It took a while, but the Eagles made it interesting with 2:26 to play when Adam Hartley found the net to make it 5-4, but the Express held the fort and Surrey couldn?t get the equalizer. The Eagles outshot the Express 37-28 with Andrew Hammond getting tagged with the loss in the Surrey net while splitting time with Justin Mulholland. The Eagles were 2 for 3 on the power play while the Express were 0 for 2.
Friday?s game will be the first of a three game Island swing for the Eagles that will see them travelling to Nanaimo Saturday and Duncan Sunday afternoon. Points are as important to the Eagles as they are to anyone else in the Coastal Conference, as they are in the six team logjam that is separated by 8 points from the second to seventh seed. The Eagles are a solid team who has a good mix of skill, speed, and size. It will take the same kind of effort out of the Dogs that they have shown their last couple of games if they expect to take two points to win their third in a row and first head to head against Surrey. While the previous three games still matter in the standings, I don?t think it?s anything that the Bulldogs will be worried about too much. As anyone who has followed the Dogs all season can attest, their roster from November to now has gone through plenty of changes. Some would say that it?s night and day.
Friday?s pregame show is on the air on your radio on 93.3 The Peak FM and your computer on the BCHL Fanzone at www.bchl.bc.ca starting at 6:45pm. The puck drop and the play-by-play follow at 7:00.
The Dogs enjoy a Saturday off from game action before hosting the Trail Smoke Eaters for the first and only time this season on Sunday afternoon. In the only other meeting between these teams back on October 13th at the Cominco Memorial Arena the Dogs went down to defeat by a score of 4 to 2. Special teams and puck luck were a difference in this one, as the Smokies changed a 2-2 game to 3-2 6:39 into period three with a big power play goal. With the Dogs pressing for the equalizer, the Smokies got the game winner with 1:44 to go when a cross crease pass hit traffic in the crease and bounced in to make it 4-2. One of the earlier Smokies goals was also a cross crease pass that hit something and went in. As they say, that?s why you get the puck to the net. The Dogs were 1 for 6 on the power play, while the Smokies were 3 for 9. Final shots favoured Trail 44-30.
With the changes made by the Smokies to their roster coupled with the changes the Dogs have made, it will be a whole new game when these teams meet come Sunday.
The Smokies entered 2008 with a record of 16-17-1 and 4, after they rounded out 2007 with a 4-2 loss at home to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks last Saturday night. As they are accustomed to doing, the Smokies will cover a fair amount of ground this week to get three games in, as they start their road trip with a meeting with the Centennials in Merritt on Thursday. After having Friday off, they head into Powell River for a tilt with the Kings Saturday night before getting on the boat early Sunday morning to make way to the Alberni Valley for the 2:30 puck drop.
With the fact that the Bulldogs have Saturday off, coupled with the Smoke Eaters being in Powell River Saturday night, the Dogs absolutely MUST be the harder working team from the opening puck drop to the final whistle. The Bulldogs must be prepared to play physical against what might be a road weary team, and they had better be desperate as the Smoke Eaters are in a day-to-day fight to keep themselves in a playoff seed in the Interior Conference. Throw in some good goaltending and solid special teams and the Dogs will have a good chance to win.
The pregame show kicks off at 2:15pm Sunday afternoon, with the puck drop and all the play-by-play starting at 2:30. Catch all the action in the Alberni Valley on your radio on 93.3 The Peak FM, or catch the action anywhere else in the world through the Internet Broadcast through the BCHL Fanzone at www.bchl.bc.ca
Game Day Audio: ?Last three, Next two?
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