Bulldogs visit Clippers tonight to open Best of Seven series

After a 58 game dress rehearsal, it's onto the real season tonight as the Bulldogs (26-28-2-2, 4th Island) head over the hump to visit the Clippers (37-17-2-2, 1st Island) for Game one of this best-of-seven Island Division semi final series.

These teams last played Sunday afternoon at the Multiplex, a 6-1 Nanaimo win.  It was the Clipper's fifth straight win. It was also the fifth straight head-to-head win for the Clippers in the season series.

The season series was a tight one, with a razor thin line separating winning and losing - at least prior to the final two games over the last five days to end the regular season with the Bulldogs dressing a line up no where near what is expected to suit up tonight. In fact, only one game was decided by more than one goal. The scores in chronological order - 2-1 Clippers, 3-2 Bulldogs, 2-1 Bulldogs, 3-1 Clippers, 5-4 Clippers and 4-3 Clippers before the 8-4 and 6-1 Nanaimo wins to end the regular season last Wednesday and Sunday.

It's all 100% irrelevant now, however. Everything written above, all previous scores, games, stats, etc, etc, etc go right out the window. Both teams are winless, all skaters are pointless and the goalies are unblemished.

The Clippers no doubt will go into the series with confidence, and deservedly so - they won the last five games in the season series, and won their last five games of the year. They'll be looking to carry all that forward.

The Bulldogs are the complete opposite - they're no doubt beyond excited at the prospect of a fresh slate starting tonight. Every team faces adversity, plain and simple. Having said that, the Bulldogs saw a level of adversity that was at a whole different level. No other teams spent a month evicted from their rink, having to practice and play on the road. Sure, all teams face injury issues. Unless I missed it, no other team went through a stretch like the Bulldogs with not one - but two - goalies unavailable. I'm also quite confident that the list of teams that had players injured by Referees and Linesmen is also a very short one. It's said about adversity - that if it doesn't kill you, it only makes you stronger. Here's hoping everything the Bulldogs have had to fight through this season has indeed made them stronger.

Is there anything like playoff hockey? One minute you're higher than high. The next - you're lower than low. Whether it's the former, or the latter doesn't matter. Finding a way to go out the next game, the next shift, the next period etc, with all the buzzwords -  will, skill, desire, determination, discipline, desperation - I'll stop before I have to get out a thesaurus... is all that matters.

I can't wait.

Van Isle Ford Bulldogs Hockey goes live on 93.3 The Peak FM tonight for our pregame show at 6:45, with the game action to follow just after 7:00pm. Dan Tisserand tabulates team and individual statistics, Bruce MacDonald provides game analysis and adds colour commentary while I manage the hosting while calling the play-by-play.

Tonight's 2nd Intermission feature is a "Playoff Preview" edition of The Island Division This Week - with all of the Island Division play-by-play voices looking into the first round of the post season and their team's matchup.

If you aren't in listening range of 93.3 The Peak FM you can listen/watch the game by:

Listening Live on your computer: www.933thepeak.com
Listening Live on your SmartPhone : www.tunein.com/mobile/
Watching Live on your computer/SmartPhone www.hockeytv.com

Talk to you tonight! 

Hammer

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