For just the third time in franchise history and for the first time since 2005-2006 ? the Bulldogs open a playoff series at home when they host the Nanaimo Clippers for Game 1 of the Coastal Conference Semi Finals Tuesday night at the Dog Pound. Game 2 goes Wednesday night at the Pound, before the series shifts to Nanaimo for games 3 and 4 Thursday and Saturday respectively. It?s the first playoff game for the Bulldogs since they lost out in the first round of the playoffs in the 2006-2007 season.
After finishing the regular season with a franchise best 45-12-1-2 for 93 points ? records for both wins and points in a season ? the Dogs earned a bye through the first round of the BCHL playoffs. They last played on February 20th at home, a 3-1 loss to the Langley Chiefs. The loss snapped a 9 game win streak for the Dogs.
The Clippers finished their regular season with a record of 24-25-1-10 for 59 points and 6th place in the Coastal Conference.
The Clippers advanced to the second round after a 4 games to 2 win over the Victoria Grizzlies. After the Clippers took a 2-0 series lead home to Nanaimo, the Grizzlies got the series back to even with wins at the Frank Crane Arena in games 3 and 4. The Clippers took a 3-2 stranglehold with a game 5 win in Victoria before picking up the first home-ice victory of the series Friday night with a 3-2 triumph to end the Grizzlies season.
Although the regular season series means nothing once the puck drops for game 1, it?s all we have to go on at this point.
The Bulldogs had a head to head record of 6-0-0-2 against the Clippers, good for 14 out of 16 possible points. The Clippers had a head to head record of 2-3-0-2, good for 6 points. The Bulldogs were 2-0-0-2 on home ice, and 4-0 at the Frank Crane Arena. The Clippers were 0-1-0-3 on home ice, and 2 and 2 at the Dog Pound. The Dogs outscored the Clippers head to head 27-18. The Dogs outshot the Clippers in 5 out of the 8 games, 254 to 216 overall. The Dogs won the last 4 meetings, with the last Clipper win coming November 20th but as I already said, the regular season means nothing now.
It will be interesting to see how the Dogs come out to start the series after so much time off from ?game action?. With the Clippers no doubt still in battle mode from round 1, the Dogs fans no doubt hope that the team comes out of the first round bye RESTED and not RUSTED.
One thing is for certain ? it will be exciting to finally get the playoffs underway, and to have playoff hockey back at the Dog Pound.
For games 1 and 2, catch the pregame show from the Dog Pound on 93.3 The Peak FM at 6:45 with the puck dropping at 7:00pm. Listen live on 93.3 The Peak FM or online www.933thepeak.com
The Peak along with the Bulldogs will be hosting a tailgate party in the parking lot starting at 4:30 both days with live bands and a 3 on 3 road hockey tournament for all ages. Also don?t forget about the Bulldogs ?Make the Rink Red? campaign where you are encouraged to WEAR RED to all home games. Pick up your ?Beware of Dogs? fan pack at the game for just $10.00 which comes with a RED ?Beware of Dogs? T-shirt, a Rally Towel, and a ?Playoff Fever 2010? Bumper Sticker.
Game 3 goes Thursday in Nanaimo with the puck dropping at 7:00. Game 4 goes Saturday night at 7:30. If necessary games 5, 6, and 7 will go Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in Port Alberni, Nanaimo, and Port Alberni respectively.
