(Accept my apologies for the late posting of this - I thought I posted this on the bus at 7:00am today at the top of the hump but I guess it didn't publish correctly!)
The Bauer BCHL Showcase experience begins this afternoon for the Bulldogs (1-2-0-0) as they meet the defending Fred Page Cup Champion Penticton Vees (3-1-0-0) for a 4:00pm start at the Prospera Centre in Chilliwack.
This is the third straight year that the Bulldogs will meet the Vees at the Showcase, and no, I have no idea why these teams seem to meet every year at this event, as I've had plenty of people ask me why this meeting has become a tradition at this event.
The Bulldogs are quite obviously looking for a chance at redemption and to prove themselves after they were humbled at home 7-0 on Sunday by the Powell River Kings.
They had best be ready to play from the get-go, top to bottom throughout their roster, as their test is a big one in the Vees. After dropping their season opening game the Vees have won three straight, last seeing action Saturday night in West Kelowna where they topped the Warriors 4-1.
It's no doubt an exciting opportunity for the players to play in front of a huge number of NCAA/CIS and NHL scouts. Having said that, I think it's important to try and not think about the people watching and just play the game and not try to do to much and play individually. That's when mistakes happen, and that's how teams lose. If you play within yourself and your abilities, you'll get noticed - for the right reasons, not the wrong ones!
As you can see, it's a pretty nice view from up in the Pressbox in Chilliwack to call the game. I'll have all the action for you on Van Isle Ford Bulldogs Hockey on 93.3 The Peak FM
starting with the pregame show at 3:45 and all the action following the 4:00pm puck drop.
Today's 2nd Intermission guest is Ian Douglas, the play-by-play voice of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, who the Bulldogs meet tomorrow morning at 10am to conclude their appearance at the Showcase.
If you aren't in listening range of 93.3 The Peak FM you can listen/watch the game by:
What a fascinating game this hockey thing is eh? A big win on Saturday for the Bulldogs in their home opener in front of over 1100 fans. Hard fought and intense throughout, I thought the Dogs looked great. That's a peak obviously. Then what went down on Sunday. A pretty deep valley, to say the least!
You'll win some, and you'll lose some. In my opinion the most important thing is not to get too high or too low either way. It's easy to win a game, or a couple of games, and all of a sudden it seems too easy and confidence gets too high. Get over confident, don't come ready to play, and that's a recipe for losing. All of a sudden if you drop a game, it can become two or three in a hurry. Then confidence erodes, self-doubt comes in and things get over analyzed and guys get down on themselves and each other. If that happens....well two or three can become nine or ten before you know it.
Confidence, like momentum, is a fascinating and fickle thing. Very hard to earn, very hard to keep and very easy to lose. It makes all the difference when it comes to a player and in the bigger picture, the team as a whole.
It's hard to make sense of a game like the one that played out Sunday as the Bulldogs lost 7-0 to Powell River. A great back and forth first period with both teams going hard and neither side in my opinion carrying more of the play than the other. Cue the second period. I'm not sure if it's that the Dogs were at one level and the Kings were at another, and that's why the first goal went in 30 seconds into the frame. Or - if it was just one unfortunate play that happened that then resulted in the Dogs sagging and the Kings taking off. Either way, immediately after that goal it was very evident that the Kings were flying and the Dogs were a couple gears behind. The Kings pushed and had a series of good chances, with Carson Schamerhorn coming up with a handful of good stops to keep his team in it. Down to the final 10 or so seconds of a power play however, the Kings scored again and went up 2-0 and the Dogs were in serious trouble with how they reacted to the situation.
Consistency. What a huge word that is when it comes to the ramifications on the outcome of a game. Take your foot off the gas, find yourself not ready to play at the level and pace that the opposition is playing at, and nothing good is going to happen. It's incredibly hard to always play hard, and always push the pace and be at your best. Without question, the rewards if you do are worth it though. At the same time without question the consequences if you don't are quite painful, as the Dogs found out Sunday. Here's hoping it's a lesson learned that won't have to be learned again.
There are few things I'm certain of, but one of them I have no doubt about is that being outworked is absolutely inexcusable and won't be tolerated by the great fans in this city, or the Coaching staff. It's been said many times before including here on the blog recently - the fans here understand that you can't win them all and they don't expect their team to. With that understanding however comes the demand that you bring your work boots and your lunch bucket, and if you do go down, you go down swinging and you maybe even throw a couple punches while you are flat on your back and down for the count!
A final thought - after looking at the great video on youtube today of the first goal on home ice on Saturday night, what really stood out for me was the urgency, effort, intensity and pace that everyone on the ice in a white jersey had. These guys were inspired and ready to play and flying. Flip the page to Sunday's game through the second and third period and the Dogs looked like the Grizzlies did in the video, and the Kings looked like the Dogs did the night before.
Once again a pretty good pace to start the game for both sides of the puck, although there wasn't much in the way of glaring mistakes that led to scoring chances for either side. The Kings would earn a power play chance near the midway point of the first, and managed to get several pucks on net but Carson Schamerhorn was sharp in net to keep it scoreless. The Bulldogs had their best pressure of the period shortly afterwards as the line of Jordan Sandhu, Josh Adkins and Scottie Clark hemmed the Kings in and managed to generate a couple of scrambles around Stefan Wornig, but they couldn't find the back of the net as it stayed 0-0 through 20 minutes, with the shots even at 9 aside.
It took just 34 seconds for the Kings to get on the board in the second period as a Bulldog defender got caught standing up at the line and a long 2 on 1 rush was the end result, and the Kings connected on it beautifully as Curtis Turnbull out-waited the Bulldog defender before putting a perfect cross-ice pass onto the tape of Tristan Mullin who made no mistake firing past a diving Schamerhorn to make it 1-0 at 34 seconds of the second. The Kings goal went to their legs, as they continued to push the Dogs and had a couple great scoring chances from the slot and in tight that Schamerhorn came up big on. The Dogs couldn't push back though, as the Kings drew a penalty and ended up building their lead on it when a point shot missed the net but bounced off the end boards and out the opposite side where Hunter Findlater found it and potted it into the open side. Jack Long also drew an assist on the play at 5:26 of the second. What looked like a tough non-call would end up in the back of the Dogs net shortly afterwards as Eric Margo got his stick taken out of his hands near the Kings line as Powell River raced up ice on another odd-man rush that they connected on when Curtis McCarrick converted a cross-ice pass from Nick Halagian that Schamerhorn had no chance on at 8:32 of the second to make it 3-0. The Dogs appeared to earn their first power play of the game two minutes later, with a delayed penalty coming against the Kings. Cayden Kraus would drive the net and make contact with the goalie, resulting in the Kings roughing him up hard after the whistle. Kraus would get the only penalty with none of the after the whistle retaliation being called, as the result was 5 on 5 hockey. Seconds after play resumed, the Dogs were penalized away from the puck. On the ensuing man-advantage the Kings made quick work of it to go up 4-0 as Jeremy Leipsic fired a rebound home in tight off a deflection. Nick Halagian picked up the only assist on the play at 12:18 of the second.
Shots favoured the Kings 19-9 for a two period total favouring the Kings of 28-19.
The Dogs put on a good push despite the score to start the third period, but again they couldn't find the net to make a game of it. The Kings would find the net to go up 5-0 on the power play when Jack Long walked down the right wing and blew a slap shot off a defender's stick and up and over the glove of Schamerhorn, top corner short-side at 6:38 with Jeremy Leipsic drawing the only assist. Just two and a half minutes later it was 6-0 Kings when Rylan Ball chased down a loose puck and roofed one short-side high, past the glove of Schamerhorn. There was no assist on the play at 8:56 of the third. Less than a minute later it was 7-0 as Kyle Betts was allowed to walk in alone - looked offside to me by a foot, might be sour grapes - he made no mistake on the breakaway, cutting across the crease and lifting it by Schamerhorn. Assists on the play went to Carter Turnbull and Jeremy Leclerc at 9:29 of the third. The Dogs would call time out to attempt and stop the bleeding, and while they did that and showed no quit, they could never get much of a sustained attack going to break the shut out bid of Stefan Wornig, who did make a couple solid saves in the later minutes to protect the goose egg for the 7-0 final score.
Third period shots favoured the Dogs 16-11, with the Kings outshooting the Dogs 39-34 overall. Carson Schamerhorn took the loss, but was the least of the Dogs worries in this one in my opinion. Stefan Wornig picked up second star honours with the win and the shut out in the Kings net.
Special teams stats saw the Dogs go 0 for 2 on the power play while the Kings went a lethal 3 for 6.
The Dogs next see action Thursday at 4pm when they face the Penticton Vees at the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack.
After just two games in seven days to open the season, it's the second in 24 hours this afternoon as the Bulldogs (1-1-0-0) host the Powell River Kings (2-2-0-0) today at the Multiplex for a 2pm puck drop.
The Bulldogs hosted the Grizzlies last night where the picked up a 3-2 win. The Kings are playing their third game in two and a half days this weekend. They fell 5-1 in Duncan to the Capitals on Friday night, but bounced back last night with a 4-3 win over the Clippers in Nanaimo.
The Bulldogs absolutely must not take the Kings lightly, thinking that they will be easy pickings playing their third game this weekend already. Under Head Coach Kent Lewis the Kings have always played hard and they will be a big test as they always are, no matter how many games they have played and how many miles they have logged. The Bulldogs will be in the same situation throughout the season that the Kings are today.
Get all the action on 93.3 The Peak's Bulldogs Hockey brought to you by Pacific Chevrolet live from the Multiplex with myself, Bruce MacDonald and Dan Tisserand starting with the pregame show at 1:45 with the puck drop and play-by-play to follow at 2:00pm.
Today's 2nd Intermission guest is BCHL Commissioner John Grisdale, in an interview he had last week with Host Jeff Patterson on the BCHL This Week radio program on TSN 1040 and TSN 1410. Here's some details on the show, which is back again for another season. Throughout the year, we'll occasionally run segments from the show that are of interest to Bulldog fans.
Back for a third season on TSN Radio, SUBWAY® BCHL This week makes its season debut Saturday morning on TSN1410.
The 30-minute show, hosted by veteran hockey analyst Jeff Paterson,
brings listeners the latest news, notes and quotes from around the BCHL.
In addition, broadcasters across the league will make weekly
contributions to the show.
SUBWAY® BCHL This Week airs from 9:30 to 10 a.m. every Saturday during the season.
"We're looking forward to another great year working with Jeff and TSN
Radio," said BCHL communications director Brent Mutis. "Jeff has a good
feel for our league and our broadcasters always do an outstanding job
every week in getting us storylines and the
latest interviews."
Besides getting the lowdown from current BCHL players and coaches,
listeners can expect to hear from league alums in the NCAA and Canadian
college hockey as well as guests from the NHL ranks.
All episodes of SUBWAY® BCHL This Week will be archived at www.tsnradiovancouver.ca on the Podcasts page.
If you aren't in listening range of 93.3 The Peak FM you can listen/watch the game by:
It's the 35th Anniversary of the Terry Fox Run - the event gets going this morning at the Port Alberni Legion at 10:00am.
Bulldogs Assistant Equipment Manger Jamie Amos is the local defending champ when it comes to fundraising. Last year's totals: $1353 raised for an all-time total of $10,809.
Thanks Jamie for all your efforts - and thanks to everyone that supports him as he tirelessly supports this great cause!
Here's a great story on Jamie from SHAW a couple years back!
A fantastic start to the contest for the Bulldogs as they didn't appear to be feeling any Home Opener butterflies as they came out of the gate flying and pushing the pace with the line of Scotty Clark, Adam Donnelly and Logan Savard getting in on the fore-check and getting the crowd into it early. While they didn't score on the opening shift, the building blocks were laid for the second line out and they kept up the pressure and found the net to make it 1-0 as Jordan Sandhu fed the puck from below the goal line back to the right point for Garrett Halls who got the puck on net with a quick release through traffic. Mitchell Benson would make the initial stop but he couldn't find the rebound as Scottie Clark fired it home at the side of the net. Assists on the play went to Josh Adkins and Garrett Halls at 1:17 of the first. The Dogs had a great chance to make it 2-0 just a minute later but Mitchell Benson just got his blocker out to stop Nathan Dingmann on a breakaway. The Dogs would earn a power play chance later in the period, but failed to generate much on it. The Grizzlies would draw an advantage shortly afterwards, and had several good looks, with the most notable being when Cole Pickup was stopped by Chris Tai on a one-timer from the slot.
Shots favoured the Bulldogs 15-9 after 20 minutes.
The second period was at times scrambly early but still hotly contested with each side having their share of chances. Nathan Dingmann again had a partial breakaway but he just missed the net after deking in tight. Chris Tai would come up with a breakaway save at the other end on Colin Blake who danced in alone. The score stayed 1-0 until the dying moments of the period, thanks to a solid four minute penalty kill by the Dogs when Liam Conrad was whistled on a double-minor for high sticking. Actually, he wasn't whistled as neither of the two Referees made the call when it happened, but one of the two Linesman appeared to catch it as the penalty was handed out after the fact at the next stoppage. The Dogs did a good job of keeping the Grizzlies to the out side and didn't give them much. With less than a minute to go in the frame the Dogs raced in on a 3 on 1 rush where Will Lavezzorio put a puck on net that resulted in a rebound for Brodie Smith, but Benson kept it out. The Dogs would get caught with too many men in deep as the Grizzlies turned up ice on a 3 on 1 rush of their own that they connected on when Braden Gelsinger put a perfect cross-ice pass onto the tape of PJ Conlon who one-timed it into the open side to make it 1-1 with 19:40 gone in the second. Assists on the play went to Kevin Massy and Gelsinger.
Shots were even at 12 aside through the period, for a 27-21 Bulldog advantage after 40 minutes.
The Grizzlies had the best chance to go ahead early in the third on a Braden Gelsinger breakaway chance, but Chris Tai stood tall to keep it out. The Dogs would take the lead back just over eight minutes into the period on a fantastic effort by Logan Savard as he chased down a dump in and fought off two Grizzlies to freeze the puck on the boards for an extended period until reinforcements arrived off the bench on the line change. Josh Adkins would dig the puck loose and feed it back to the right point for Nolan Alward who threw the puck low at the net where Scottie Clark deflected it home past Benson, short-side to make it 2-1 Bulldogs at 8:22 with Alward and Adkins drawing the assists, with a huge effort by Savard not ending up on the scoresheet but also not being overlooked. The Dogs would push hard to get some insurance and had a series of good chances in tight but Benson would stand tall. With just over three minutes to play the Grizzlies would be awarded a power play on a high sticking penalty to Scott Clark, but the Dogs penalty killers and Chris Tai did a good job to kill it off to protect the lead. The Grizzlies would call time out and pull their goalie with 38 seconds to play and a draw in the attacking zone to try and find the equalizer, but the Dogs got control of the draw and cleared it out where it was chased down by Josh Adkins at centre ice after the last Grizzlies defender fell down as he fired it into the open cage to make it 3-1 from Troy Dobbs and Paul Meyer picking up the assists at 19:29 of the third. That wouldn't do it for the scoring however, as the Grizzlies didn't quit, making it a 3-2 game on a bang-bang play in tight on Chris Tai that saw an initial Kevin Massy shot hit the post and stay out. I actually thought the first one went in, but the puck ended up over the line anyway with just five seconds to play with Braden Gelsinger getting credit for it, with Massy and Cole Pickup drawing the assists at 19:55 for the eventual final score.
Third period shots favoured the Bulldogs 17-12 for a game total of 44-32. I had the Dogs at 0 for 2 on the power play and the Grizzlies at 0 for 4. Chris Tai picked up the win and second star honours in net while Mitchell Benson took third star honours with the loss.
The Dogs host the Kings tomorrow afternoon for a 2pm puck drop.
It's back to Dog Pound ice tonight as the Bulldogs (0-1-0-0) host the Victoria Grizzlies (0-2-0-0) for their 2015-2016 Home Opener.
Pregame festivities tonight include a BBQ and live music getting underway at 5:00pm. Proceeds from the BBQ go towards Literacy Alberni and the Raise a Reader Campaign. 93.3 The Peak FM afternoon drive host Ashleigh Clark will be broadcasting live from outside the Multiplex starting at 5pm to get the word out early so be sure to tune in.
The Bulldogs last played Saturday night in Duncan where they lost their season opener 6-3 to the Cowichan Valley Capitals. They are likely to be without 20 year old defenceman Tyler Cooper tonight, as he was injured on a hit by Adam Osczevski in that game on a play that led to the 2-1 goal. There was no penalty on the play - Osczevski would go on to score two more goals, including the eventual game winner. He was awarded the BCHL's Player of the Week award on Monday, before being suspended by the BCHL for two games for the hit on Tuesday. As much as you'd like the Officials on the ice to make the right call at the time of the incident, one still has to like how the Bulldogs went to bat for their player and submitted the incident to the league - a time consuming process - and that the league dealt with it the way they did. Sounds like a bunch of sour grapes perhaps, but more just a statement of facts. In the end, here's hoping Cooper is back sooner than later!
The Grizzlies were in Nanaimo last night, where they lost their second straight to open the season, 4-2 to the Clippers. While they won't like the end result, they certainly have some positives to take out of the contest as they dug out of a 3-0 hole in the third period to make it 3-2 with 1:04 to play before surrendering an empty netter with a few seconds left on the clock as their comeback bid fell just short.
There will no doubt be a few butterflies kicking around for the players as it's the first chance to play on Home Ice. Don't feel nervous guys.... I know that's easier said than done of course, but all you need to know is that all the fans expect is a hard working effort. Sure they want a win, but they DEMAND above all an honest effort!
Catch all the action on Pacific Chevrolet Bulldogs Hockey tonight on 93.3 The Peak FM with
the pregame show at approximately 6:45 and the play-by-play to follow
at 7:00 with
myself, Bruce MacDonald and Dan "the statsman" Tisserand providing the play-by-play, colour commentary and statistics.
Tonight's 2nd Intermission guest is Alex Rawnsley, play-by-play voice of the Powell River Kings, who visit the Dogs tomorrow for a 2pm puck drop.
If you aren't in listening range of 93.3 The Peak FM you can listen/watch the game by:
The 2015 Port Alberni Toy Run goes TODAY! If you need a reminder - here's the jist of it!
The
30th Annual Port Alberni Toy Run leaves little Qualicum Falls at noon
SHARP today, with the festivities for all ages at Glenwood Centre
to follow. Dances to follow tonight go at the Glenwood, and a sober
dance also goes at Char's Landing. Tickets to the dance at Glenwood will
be for sale for riders out at Little Qualicum Falls, and should there
be any remaining, they will go on sale at Glenwood following the run.
Sunday is the poker run with a live band to follow at Boston Pizza.
I posted this last year in advance of the Home Opener and it drew rave reviews, so I'm doing it again this year - enjoy!
Hammer
Well
this was supposed to be my "game day" post for Saturday, as I was
working on the blog yesterday for the weekend. With work and family and
everything else I find I have to be a bit ahead of the game, so to
speak, or it just gets to be too much! Well I ran into a bit of a
problem, as I was looking through pictures to find my favorite to
include in the Game Day post Saturday. I succeeded in narrowing it down
to about 20 haha!
So,
this has now become a little pump-up / primer blog post to get you
through to Saturday. My favorite moments from all my years of calling
games at the Dog Pound. There's lots of pictures and video links so be
patient and give this at least a two-minute minor to load. Maybe even a 10
minute misconduct depending on your internet connection!
Hope you enjoy and it gives you some memories, and if you are a player, some motivation. Pack the shack, spread the word, tell the family your friends the inlaws the outlaws, heck even your enemies!
OK, TV "star" might be a bit of a stretch.... but he'll get more TV time than about 95% of the rest of us in our lifetimes, as he is featured in the current NHL 16 video game commercial.
I was at the Radio Station today doing my show and I saw the commercial on Facebook. About 3 seconds into it I went HEY...wait a sec. Is that Paul Meyer?
I went to the rink today to assist with some video interview work for the Bulldogs and asked around if anyone was aware of Meyer being in the commercial, and no one had heard anything about it. Next thing you know, and Meyer was my next interview and he walked into the room.
I said "hey, were you in an NHL commercial?!" Quite casually he stated "yep, that's me!"
Pretty cool stuff. Paul's appearance is at about the 3 second mark.
