The Bulldogs enter their second week of play with two games on tap. Friday night the ?Battle of the Valleys? heats up again as the Dogs travel to Duncan to face the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Saturday the Dogs then visit the Victoria Grizzlies at Bear Mountain Arena for their home opener.
The Capitals were like the Dogs in that they took the first week of the season off before opening up last weekend with a home and home set with the Nanaimo Clippers. The Capitals took game one in Nanaimo, beating them 4-3 in overtime. The next night the Clippers got revenge with a 4-3 win in regulation at the Big Stick to spoil the Caps home opener. The Caps would lead 1-0 early when Mitch MacMillan scored unassisted 3:30 in. That lead would hold until the 11:01 mark of the second when the Clippers tied it as Carson Schell found the net. The game was tied heading into the third where the Clippers scored two quick ones at 4:44 and 5:38 to take a 3-1 lead. The Caps would fire back in short order to get back into it though, with Taylor Holst making it 3-2 at the 8:01 mark with Mitch MacMillan drawing the assist. Just 1:36 later the Clippers were up by two again as Brad McConnell scored his second of the game for a 4-2 score. The Caps would get one late to make it interesting as Brett Corcoran made it a 4-3 game with 49 seconds to play, but the Clippers would hold on for the win.
Shots favoured the Capitals 31-23, with Kiefer Smiley and Mark Trousdell being the goalies of record. Power plays didn?t dent the scoreboard as the Clippers were 0 for 5 while the Caps were 0 for 7.
The Capitals have seen plenty of turnover since last season. They will return 10 players from last year?s roster, but not their top two scorers: Brooks Robinson and Bryce Reddick. Robinson of course was traded in a blockbuster that also involved Ryne Bodger where they went to Powell River. In return, the Caps added Mitch MacMillan, Chris Rawlings, and Jake Areshenko. Other Cap newcomers include Brett Corcoran, Chris Zaires, Kevin Walrod, Brendan Birdsell, Jake Bouma, Spencer Fraipont, Chapen Leblond, Matt Ridley, Alain Doucet, Jimmy Geerin and Kevin Lourens.
Returnees include Mickey Spencer, Scott Jacklin, Cody Adams, Taylor Holst, Alex Gellert, Joey Massingham, Nick Anderson, Jesse Shiels, Kiefer Smiley and last but certainly not least, last year?s Captain – Zack Currie.
Gone due to a variety of reasons such as trades, graduation and scholarships are: Brian Matte, Kyle Clay, Brandon Clark, Corbin McPherson, Josh Clare, Willie Coetzee, Spencer Edwards, Karl Weberg and Marco Raimondo.
Head Coach and GM Scott Robinson is back behind the bench, so don?t expect too much change out of how the Capitals play the game. They are always hard working, aggressive and hard hitting.
Friday?s pregame show from the ?Big Stick? kicks off at 7:15 with the puck drop and all the play-by-play shortly after 7:30. Catch all the action on your radio on 93.3 The Peak FM or the BCHL Fanzone at www.bchl.bc.ca
Saturday the Dogs head back down Island again, where they hope to return the favour and spoil the Grizzlies home opener at Bear Mountain Arena. Of course these teams have met already this season when the Grizzlies were 5-1 winners at the Pound last Friday.
Since that game the Grizzlies have gone 1 and 1, losing the next night 6-4 in Langley before winning their last game out last Sunday in Surrey by a score of 4-2 over the Eagles. Before hosting the Dogs on Saturday the Grizzlies meet the Clippers for the second time in Nanaimo this season on Friday night.
If the Dogs learned anything from their season opening game against Victoria, it?s that they are more than capable of skating with the 2009 RBC Cup hosts. They also must know that taking penalties is a very dangerous game to play, and that they must be ready to play solid team defence. On the other side of the puck, they also are probably planning on going hard to the net and getting a fair amount of traffic in front of Grizzlies goaltender Trevor Grieco, if he ends up getting the start. The Dogs had plenty of chances against the Grizzlies last time out but Grieco was solid throughout, beaten only on a quick play on the doorstep. Home openers always bring out different emotions in players, so it will be interesting to see how the Grizzlies react to playing in front of their own fans in the Bear Mountain Arena on Saturday.
With the pregame festivities that come with a home opener, the estimated puck drop Saturday has been pushed back to approximately 7:10pm. That means our pregame show should take to the air at around 6:55pm. Catch all the action on 93.3 The Peak FM or our website at www.933thepeak.com and of course through the BCHL Fanzone at www.bchl.bc.ca
These two games will be the first on the road for the Dogs this season. As always, it should be some great action to watch.
Game Day Audio ? ?Last Two, Next Two? Click the links to listen
