Dogs 6 Caps 1 vaults Dogs to 6th, Arty tricks, Sabo gets first...

Just plain WOW. 

I was sure hoping that the guys would bring their same level of play that they had at the end of the road trip, but I thought that with such a short bench combined with it being their fourth game in six days that it would be tough to duplicate. 

Instead they went the other way and played EVEN better. I shouldn't have been surprised, as what they did on the road seemed to defy logic anyway. Like I said on the post game maybe the key is just having 12 or 13 skaters!?

The Caps had the jump early and the better of the chances, but Max Fenkell was very sharp in goal. The Dogs took the lead past the midway mark of the period on a goal that would be a sign of things to come, as Yan Kalashnikov put a shot on net that was stopped by Dun, but he couldn't get the rebound as Arty fired it off the post and in for a 1-0 Dogs lead after one. 

There would be no scoring until late in the second as the game slowed down with plenty of penalties handed out with the game being very intense and chippy. The Dogs would take advantage of one of the penalties as they came out of four-aside hockey and onto the power play and made it 2-0 when Josh Mitchell won a draw that was helped back to the line by Trent Dorais to Walker Hyland who threw one on net that found its way home through traffic with under four to play in the second. The Dogs have now scored a power play goal in eight straight games.

The third period featured lots of scoring, with the Dogs getting it going early when the Caps failed to get the puck out before Trent Dorais found Arty alone in the slot with a backhand pass that he put past the glove of Dun just two minutes in. This would do it for Dun, but neither I or Bruce would notice it (really missing Dan "the statsman" Tisserand in the booth tonight) with the action getting crazy with a Capital goal just a minute later from Brett Knowles followed by a spirited scrap between Marlon Sabo and Keyler Bruce. Just a minute and a half later the Dogs restored the lead to make it 4-1 on a great shift by Strand-Stewart-Lough that saw the new Assistant Captain Lough bury one from the slot on a one-timer. I remember at one point during the action thinking about the goalie when I looked at him for a split second "hey he's not a southpaw" before it got lost in the action again. Thanks to the six or so people that texted me or emailed me to correct me by the way, and sorry for the goof - that's a first for me! And Bruce - you gotta be on that, eh?! 

Arty would complete the hat trick with under five to play on a 2 on 1 with Yan setting him up beautifully down the right side and Arty finishing it off just as pretty with a one-timer under the bar to make it 5-1 before Marlon Sabo completed the scoring drilling a one-timer home from the top of the point for the first of his career with just two seconds left for the 6-1 final. 

Can't say how happy I was to see Sabo score...if you missed it on the roadie, Sabo blasted yet another one-t from the line on the power play that was deflected in to make it 2-2 in the third period in Vernon. I was saying on the air how Sabo was dearly hoping that it hit a Viper stick, because if it did it would be the first of his career, but the puck was tipped by Hunter Stewart. What I didn't know at the time was that Brian Ceci, the videographer that accompanied the Bulldogs on the trip, had Sabo "mic'd up" for the third period. On the bus home I watched the clip of the goal and at the exactly the same time I was saying that Sabo was hoping it wasn't a team-tip he was celebrating with his teammates on the ice and said "Stewie(Hunter Stewart) please tell me you didn't tip that" to which Stewart replied "sorry I did" and Sabo then replied something along the lines of "aw, shucks!". Great to see him score tonight, on a play that was oddly very similar to the one tonight! 

Great game by the affiliates in Keenan McConnell and Alex Grupe. Just an all-out team effort with good special teams, great goaltending, lots of hustle and determination and all those important things when it comes to winning a hockey game. 

Final shots 44-32 Caps

Three Stars

3rd) Trent Dorais - he was originally selected the third star and insisted that Marlon Sabo get the honour instead. Quite a move by the Captain. Sabo was very deserving as were many others.

2nd) Max Fenkell

1st) Arty Kalashnikov 

  

Hammer

Just $7 a ticket for all as Dogs host Caps tonight, Zolnierczyk interview, Midget Dogs+Alberni Wrestling recaps

No rest for the wicked, the Dogs are right back at it tonight when they host the Cowichan Valley Capitals on $7.00 a ticket night at the Pound! Get your tickets at the Dogs office to take advantage. 

For more on tonight's game and the rest of the sked this week, check out my "Weekly Preview" article from the Dogs website HERE

The Dogs are coming off a three-in-three road trip to the Interior that saw them battle proudly with just 13 skaters in Vernon on Saturday to finish the trip. I must say, in all my years of covering Junior Hockey - and we're going back to 1998 here - (man I feel old all of a sudden) that Saturday's game is without a doubt the most impressive collective effort with a short bench that I have ever seen. I am always cognizant of the fact that I strive to call the game without bias, yet always "how I see it", so it's a very fine line to walk.

Am I only seeing what I am seeing and forming the opinions I am forming because I ride the bus with these guys, because I share the team meal table with these guys? Would someone on the other side of the puck see things the same way? I always run through those thoughts in my head. I was very happy to see after the game in Vernon Saturday that I wasn't alone in saying how impressive the Dogs effort was. It was mentioned on the Vipers site, on the Vipersdiehardfan blog, on the Message Board, and the Dogs Coaching Staff even passed along a story of an 80-ish Viper fan (apologies if you aren't that old, and you are welcome if you are older) who went out of their way after the game on Saturday to approach the Coaches to say how impressed they were with the effort that the short-staffed Dog brought, and how they wished they had seen the team play with a full roster. Great stuff. Great things happen when EVERYONE brings their all for a full 60 minutes, when everyone is prepared, when everyone comes together and plays as a TEAM. Keep it going gents. 

Catch the pregame show on Boston Pizza Bulldogs Hockey on 93.3 The Peak FM tonight at 6:45 with Bruce and myself, with the play-by-play to follow at 7:00.

Former Bulldog and current Philadelphia Flyer Harry Zolnierczyk will be my 2nd Intermission show. Many thanks to Harry, as no matter how busy he's been with his rookie NHL season he just always has time to catch up with me and his Bulldog roots!

 Here's the results from Alberni Wrestling's 29th Annual Invitational over the weekend...outstanding!!

Local results of the 2012 Alberni Invitational Wrestling Tournament ….

Local wrestlers had an exceptional weekend at the 29^th Annual Alberni Invitational Wrestling Tournament.  Port Alberni had 12 champions and 26 medalists. A total of 44 valley wrestlers finished in the top 6 of their respective weight classes of Juvenile (Gr 11-12), Cadet (Gr 9-10) and School Age (Gr 6-8). In addition several locals did well in the Open and Grappling Divisions and there were over 100 participants in the Elementary Division. In total there were over 700 participants over the two days of the Invitational.

Gold:

1.       Jordan Bodnar – ADSS 43 kg Juvenile Girls

2.       Bailey Durning – ADSS 64 kg Juvenile Girls

3.       Daley Forbes – ADSS 75 kg Juvenile Girls

4.       Jesse Wagner – ADSS 51 kg Cadet Boys ……. * Most Outstanding Cadet Boy of the tournament

5.       Jordan Wagner – ADSS 54 kg Cadet Boys

6.       Riley Neville – ADSS 90 kg Cadet Boys

7.       Courtenay Lescourbeau – Dunn 57 kg Schoolgirls

8.       Michaela Dick – Dunn 60 kg Schoolgirls

9.       Julia McGowan – Dunn 75 kg Schoolgirls

10.   Trevor Barker – Dunn 31 kg Schoolboys

11.   Ben Salliter – Neill 73 kg Schoolboys

12.   Tyler-Drew Adams – Dunn 90 kg Schoolboys

Silver:

1.       Samantha Anderson – ADSS 90 kg JG

2.       Cullen Hines – ADSS 78 kg JB

3.       Remi Wells – ADSS 51 kg CG

4.       Nolan Badovinac – ADSS 70 CB

5.       Tristan Schultz – ADSS 78 kg CB

6.       Chris Kurucz – ADSS 110 kg CB

7.       Kalissa Montgomery – Dunn 34 kg SG

8.       Aaron Prest – Neill 78 kg SB

Bronze:

1.       Michelle Kurucz – ADSS 60 kg CG

2.       Owen Spencer – Neill 31 kg SB

3.       Oliver Whitham – Dunn 60 kg SB

4.       Quentyn Young – Dunn 90 kg SB

5.       Jordan Higgins - Neill 34 kg SG

6.       Maryna MacDonald – Dunn 60 kg SG

In the team competition ADSS won the Juvenile Girls and the Cadet Boys while Dunn was second in Schoolgirls and third in Schoolboys. In the overall Club standings the Alberni Valley Wrestling Club took away top honours. The following are the full team results …

Juvenile Girls:
Placing	School		Points
1	ADSS		28
2	Carson Graham		22
3	Guildford		17
4	Ucluelet		13
5	Port Moody		12
5	Timberline		12
7	ST Moore		10
7	Maple Ridge		10
Juvenile
Boys:
1	Burnaby Central		62
2	Rick Hansen		50
3	WJ Mouat		39
4	Yale		34
5	MEI		28
6	Abby Traditional		25
7	Timberline		24
8	Cowichan		21
9	Guildford		20
10	ST Moore		19
Cadet Boys:
Placing	School		Total Points
1	ADSS		81
2	ST Moore		65
3	WJ Mouat		57
4	Terry Fox		39
5	Dover Bay		33
6	Abby Tr		32
7	Esquimalt		28
8	Stelly's		24
9	ST Aquinas		16
10	Van College		15
Cadet Girls:
Placing	School		Total Points		Boys
1	ST Moore		48
2	Phoenix		40
3	Carson Graham		31
4	Port Moody		27
5	Ucluelet		27
6	ADSS		24
7	Dover Bay		24
8	Norkam		16
8	Sentinel		16
10	Terry Fox		10
Schoolgirls:
	Placing	School		Total Points
	1	ST Moore		45
	2	Dunn Middle		41
	3	Phoenix		41
	4	Bonner		21
	5	Carson		18
	6	Neill Middle		17
	7	100 Mile		16
	7	Ucluelet		16
	7	Salt Spring Is.		16
	10	Guildford Park		12
	10	Abby Trad		12
Schoolboys:
	Placing	School		Total Points
	1	Abby Traditional		70
	2	Burnaby Cent		70
	3	Dunn Middle		35
	4	Phoenix		31
	5	Collingwood		28
	6	Carson		28
	7	Queen E		22
	8	Guildford Park		21
	9	Salt Spring Is.		21
	10	Neill Middle		16
Overall Clubs:

Placing	Club	Total Points
1	Alberni Valley WC	251
2	Capilano North Shore	216
3	Campbell River WC	151
4	Victoria Bulldogs	93
5	Abby WC	57
6	Salt Spring Island WC	37
7	Cowichan WC	37
8	Guru Gobind	34
9	Frazer Valley WC	12

MIDGET BULLDOGS WILL PLAY IN ISLAND SEMI-FINAL

The Van Isle Ford Midget Bulldogs started their play off series at home to the Oceanside Generals on February 5th, after a two week break between games.  The Generals were facing elimination after losing to Powell River the day before.  They came out hard and dominated physically through much of the game, while the Bulldogs looked rusty and made some uncharacteristic errors.

After some back and forth, Beau Wilson opened scoring for Alberni with a wrap around at 7:54 of the first period.  Greg Tuckerman assisted. Oceanside replied with a quick goal at the beginning of the second period.
Wilson got the lead back late in the period, taking a feed from Colby Lim and Ryan Buse and snapping a backhand through five hole.  The Alberni power play stumbled at the start of the third period, allowing Oceanside to even it up with a short handed goal.

After that the Bulldogs got into penalty trouble with 5 minor penalties in ten minutes.  The Generals used a two man advantage to edge ahead 3-2.After that minutes ticked off the clock while 200 home town fans watched
anxiously.

Coach Brent Demerais took advantage of the versatility on the team to switch up some forward and defence roles.  The strategy paid off in the tying goal with only 3:08 left.  Colby Lim slammed the puck under the goalie from the high slot, assisted by Wilson and Nathan Read in front.  Exactly 10 seconds later Cory Beecroft slapped a rebound from the top of the circle which went off the goalie stick and over his shoulder to put the Bulldogs on top.  Lim potted an empty netter for a 5-3 final score.

The win guarantees that Alberni Valley will be in the Vancouver Island semi-final against a South Island team, either Saanich or Juan de Fuca.Their next play-off game in Powell River on February 11th will determine
ranking and home ice advantage for the North Island teams going into the cross-over.

Before the game the team entered the dressing room to find a surprise gift of customized sports bags from sponsor Will Pulford of Van Isle Ford.  They want Will and Van Isle Ford to know how much they appreciate the bags and the sponsorship of the team.