For The Alberni Valley Bulldogs and the Cowichan Valley Capitals, the long wait is finally over. Game 1 of the BCHL Coastal Conference Quarterfinals is set for 7:00 pm tonight at the Dawg Pound.
The Bulldogs last played on March 19th against the Langley Rivermen. The win secured their first Coastal Conference pennant since 2009-2010 and provided them with home ice advantage as the playoffs kick off tonight.
None of that means absolutely anything tonight when the puck drops in Game 1. The Bulldogs in fact are currently riding a 12 game playoff losing streak. Their last win was in the spring of 2018 when they took a 3 games to none lead over the 1st place Victoria Grizzlies. The Grizzlies would then rattle off 4 straight wins to complete the rare reverse sweep. In 2019 the Bulldogs were swept by the Grizzlies, and then again in 2019 by the Clippers. Add it all up and the Bulldogs are searching for their 1st playoff win since March 6th, 2018. For those counting at home, that’s 1487 days.
Clearly history is not on the Bulldogs side, however thankfully none of that also matters for this group of Bulldogs.
The 2021-2022 Bulldogs have done some things not seen around here “since the good days” as they’re often referred to. Their 35 wins were the most since 09-10, they allowed the fewest goals against in the Coastal Conference, and the 3rd fewest in club history. They won 21 games on home ice for the 1st time since, you guessed it, 09-10. All of this was accomplished as a true team. The Bulldogs don’t boast a single player in the top 20 of any offensive category. What they do boast is depth, and plenty of it. Time and time again this season, the Bulldogs had key players out of the line up and they never missed a beat. In fact, they might have played even better. That sort of depth is what tends to count this time of year.
The Caps meanwhile snuck into the playoff dance by virtue of a Powell River Kings loss to the Surrey Eagles on the last day of the regular season. Cowichan Valley finished with a record of 15-33-5-1, good for 36 points. The Caps finished 38 points back of the 1st place Bulldogs in the Coastal Standings. If none of the good things or bad things mean anything for the Bulldogs, the same applies for the Capitals. The expression is often “It doesn’t matter how you get there” when it comes to playoff hockey. If you get in, you have a chance and the Caps are banking on that.
The Bulldogs were 7-2-0-0 against Cowichan Valley in the regular season, but if you dig a little deeper into the season series you will learn that there was nothing easy for the Bulldogs in compiling that record. The Bulldogs were pushed by the Caps all year and with their “blue collar” mentality, you know they will do their best to outwork the Bulldogs in this series.
Brandon Buhr was a one-man wrecking crew against the Caps this year as he compiled 13 points and 8 goals in 8 games during the season. Josh Zary and Josh Van Unen weren’t far behind with 11 points each. David Jacobs is the straw that stirs the Caps offence and it was no different during the season series with the Bulldogs as he scored 8 points in the 9 head to head games.
The match-up in goal is an interesting one as the Capitals were one of the rare teams that Hobie Hedquist seemed to have trouble with. Hedquist was just 2-2-0-0 with a 3.51 GAA and a .888 save percentage, all well below his season averages. In the other crease, McCoy Bidewell was sensational against the Bulldogs. In his 4 games he posted a 2.51 GAA and had a sparkling .941 save percentage, all well above his season averages. Bidewell has shown the ability to keep the Capitals in games against the Bulldogs and it will be crucial to see if the Bulldogs can knock him off his game early in the series and diminish some of the confidence Bidewell is no doubt feeling.
Game 2 goes tomorrow evening at 7:00 pm, however fans are reminded that there will be a pre-game tailgate party between 5-7pm presented by the San Group in partnership with 5 Acre Co. Big Daddy & The Ticks will be playing on the stage, while a BBQ with proceeds going to the Zattzoo Project Society for the 2022 Battle of the Band will be pumping out tasty pre-game eats. The patio in the upper-lobby will also be open for playoff hockey!
There are still seats available for the Game 3 and 4 Fan Bus to Duncan, pick up you seats in the Bulldogs office tonight before they sell out.
