Dogs @ Grizzlies tonight, Midget Tourney in town this weekend....

The Dogs are back in action tonight as they head down to the Bear Mountain Arena to take on the Grizzlies. Catch the pregame show at 7:00 with the puck drop to follow at 7:15 on 93.3 The Peak FM

For more details check out my "Weekly Preview" article from the Bulldogs website HERE

There will be lots of hockey to watch at the Multiplex this weekend - the Dogs are home for two games and there is also a Midget Tournament running Friday to Sunday....read more

TOURNAMENT HOCKEY

The Van Isle Ford Midget Bulldogs are hosting their tournament Remembrance weekend, starting at noon on November 11^th and running through to the gold medal game at 4 PM on Sunday at the Alberni Valley Multiplex.

The tournament will bring together highly competitive teams from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.  They include the Surrey Hurricanes who played two close games with the Bulldogs during the provincial championships last year.  Other visiting teams include the A1 and A2 Storm from North Vancouver, Richmond Blues, Kerry Park Islanders, Oceanside Generals and Powell River Kings.

The Van Isle Ford sponsored Midget Bulldogs have three games scheduled in the round robin.  They face-off with North Vancouver A2 Storm at 3:05 on November 11^th.  At 9 AM on November 12^th they will play Kerry Park.  Then they are back for the feature game against Surrey at 3:10 PM.  Semi-final games are scheduled for Sunday morning and medal games Sunday afternoon.

If you are a hockey fan, this is an excellent opportunity to see the best of our up and coming Alberni Valley hockey players in action.  Come out and make some noise.

MIDGET BULLDOGS WARM UP FOR TOURNAMENT

The Van Isle Ford Midget Bulldogs warmed up for their Remembrance Weekend tournament with two more wins on the weekend of November 5^th and 6^th.  On Saturday they downed the Chiefs 5-2 in Division 1 League play at Comox Valley.  In exhibition play at home on Saturday they defeated the Oceanside Generals 3-1, bringing their record so far this season to 8, 2 and 2.

The game with Comox Valley started close.  Cam MacAdams scored after the first minute of play, with an assist from Brett Williscroft.  The Chiefs got it back with 2:48 left in the first period.  On power play early in the second, Logan Savard passed back for Corey Beecroft to score from the point, but Comox Valley evened it up again at 12:07.

The turning point in the game came seconds later.  Beau Wilson tipped Tyler Wilhelm’s shot over the goalie to go ahead at 11:27.  At 8:27 Greg Tuckerman slid one in at the short side corner with support from MacAdams and Chase Gaudreault.   Seconds later Brandon Antonichuk took a rebound off a Wilhelm shot and jammed it through the goalie to make it 5-2.  After that the Bulldogs ramped up their defence to completely shut down Comox Valley and take the win.

On Sunday at Weyerhaeuser arena, the Bulldogs controlled the puck for most of the game.  Antonichuk opened scoring with 6:28 left in the first period, with assists from Savard and Marino Somerville.  Oceanside came back with a shorthanded goal to end the period even. 

The Bulldogs continued to wear down the Generals, finishing their checks and creating lots of opportunities.  MacAdams scored the game winner from Savard late in the second period.  Gaudreault added the insurance goal in the last seconds of the period.  After that, Alberni Valley bottled up Oceanside for the remainder of the game.

Coaches Brent Demerais and Rob Gaudreault were pleased with the weekend play.  Gaudreault said, “The team is really beginning to gel.”  Demerais said, “I don’t know if these guys know yet how good this team is.   The lines are working together and making more good scoring chances.  They are using their size well and we got good goal tending from both goalies, Bryce (Dirocco) and Gianni (Crema) this weekend.”

Hammer