Office Manager Noreen Pelk in the spirit.
Leeanne says "I'm toast" for taking this picture!
Bowlers starting to show up
The Dogs are back in action tonight as they host the Grizzlies at the Pound. It's the battle of losing streaks tonight. The Dogs have a run of ,8 the Grizzlies - 6. Something has gotta give!
Last one for now - I'm kinda surprised it took this long for this to happen actually. Starting December 1st, helmets will be mandatory for Minor Hockey Coaches in BC. Read more about it from the Nanaimo Daily News by Craig Slater HERE
They even made me a sign! And since I don't have a number, I got 100% HAHA AWESOME!
The players arrive. Bedlam.
The Pathways Crew even made the players Doggie Bisquits!
Rookies dancing. That's Johnny Rogic if I remember correctly.
A huge shout out to Dean and the crew at Boston Pizza for providing supper!
Wendy in her 93.3 The Peak FM shirt!
The Dogs try to salvage two points on their road trip tonight when they visit the Bill Copeland Arena and face the Burnaby Express for the first time this season. Catch the pregame show on Port Alberni Safeway Bulldogs Hockey on 93.3 The Peak FM at 7:15 with the play-by-play to follow at 7:30.
Port Alberni Safeway Bulldogs Hockey on 93.3 The Peak kicks off tonight from the South Surrey Arena with the pregame show at 6:45 and the puck drop and all the play-by-play at 7:00pm.
MIDGET BULLDOGS HIT EMPTY NETS
The AVMHA Midget A Bulldogs completed their placement round with two victories on the weekend, giving them a record of 4 wins and 2 losses. Now it is a waiting game to see if this will be enough to elevate them to tier 1 for the regular season.
On Saturday the Bulldogs played host to Kerry Park Islanders, a team that likes to hit. Neither team gained an advantage in a first period of end to end hockey. It took a 5 on 3 in the second period for the Islanders to open scoring. Alberni responded exactly 4 seconds later when Catlin MacLeod rushed up the left side from the face off and released a quick shot for a short handed goal. Kerry Park got into penalty trouble after that and Alberni capitalized with 3 power play goals before the period was up. At the seven minute mark Jeff Dagg picked up the rebound from Kody Isherwood’s shot and put it in the open left side of the net. At four minutes Sheldon Trees and Travis Coghill combined on a rush with MacLeod who scored his second from the right circle. Kerry Park got their own power play goal a minute later. As the period closed it was Trees to Darren Oscienny who made a nice saucer pass across the crease to give MacLeod a hat trick.
Early in the third period hard hitting by the Islanders led to an opening and made it a 4-3 game. Alberni settled into a more defensive style, frustrating the visitors at every turn. Their coach was ejected with 15 minutes to go after arguing with the referee. Then a little luck went to the Islanders as a shot trickled through to tie it up. Alberni went ahead again as Oscienny and Trees fed MacLeod for his fourth goal on a hard shot from the slot. Kerry Park pulled their goalie, but the Alberni defence held up and with little more than a minute left Coghill potted an empty netter to ensure the 6-4 victory. As the handshakes began after the game a Kerry Park player dropped his gloves and began an altercation that resulted in multiple penalties to players from both teams.
On Sunday the Midgets faced Nanaimo’s second team at the NIC arena minus several players due to injuries and penalties. In spite of this they took the lead in the first period on goals from Oscienny assisted by Trees, and then a solo effort by Trees. Early in the second, Coghill made it 3-0 with assists from Oscienny and Ryan Campbell. After that they flattened out and allowed Nanaimo to come back with two goals. Dustin Diemert scored from Campbell to open the third period, but Nanaimo narrowed the gap to one goal again with six minutes left. It took an empty netter in the last minute (Carson McCulloch from Leo Fitzgerald) to seal the win at 5-3.
BANTAM BULLDOGS BEAT BRAVES
The AVMHA Bantam Bulldogs played two tough placement games on the weekend and came away with a tie and a win. On October 18th they played host to the top Nanaimo team and came within five seconds of an upset win. The first goal came from a strong rush when Cortland Thibodeau picked up the puck from Colby Lim and put a low backhand in. Nanaimo tied it up with a power play goal at the end of the period then went ahead early in the second. Near the end of the period, Austin Smith took the puck from the red line and beat both the Nanaimo defence and the goalie to tie it up.
In the third Cam MacAdams and Beau Wilson combined in a two on one with MacAdams finishing to give Alberni the lead again. Goalie Gianni Crema made several amazing saves to keep Alberni ahead. In the last minute Nanaimo pulled their goalie for the sixth attacker. The lack of a face off outside the blue line allowed Nanaimo to keep intense pressure on the Alberni goal. In the end a Nanaimo shot bounced off a defence man and bobbled over the line to tie the game at 3-3.
Coach Kevin Somerville commented that “The team played very well positionally and took options away from one of the best teams on the Island. Our goal tending kept us in it and we buried our chances. To have Nanaimo tie the game in the last five seconds was tough, but it will set up a good rematch.”
On October 19th the Saanich Braves came to town and opened strong, scoring two unanswered goals before the half time ice clean. After the break, the Bulldogs came out faster, got to the puck first and hit harder. They started passing and using the points more. With accurate passing and more shots from the point the momentum shifted. At 7:16 left in the second period, Lim backed by Smith and MacAdams scored the first goal for Alberni. Less than 15 seconds later Lim assisted MacAdams to tie it up. Then on the power play Wilson passed to Lim to put the Bulldogs up 3-2. They kept up the same intensity in the third period, most of which was played in the Braves’ end. With six minutes left Brandon Antonichuk got the insurance goal, Brent Williscroft assisting.
Somerville said “We were flat in the first half, but we kept the puck out of our net and we managed to turn it around in the second half.”
The Bantams went 2-2-1 in the placement round and hope their strong finish will be enough to raise them into Tier 1 for the regular season. They will know the answer by next week.
Hammer
A little insight into the sacrifices these guys make to play a "game" On a night where he was now at the legal age of 19, the only thing Warren Muir sipped last night was Gatorade. No toasts, no trips to the bar, nothing. I don't know about the rest of you, but I know when I turned legal age there was more than Gatorade consumed. It was a neat reminder for me of what these guys give up to chase their dream. Everyone looks at what the guys get - granted, it is a lot. Not many people know or think about the sacrifices. Someone last night told me to make sure I shared a cheers with Warren. I told them that while I wasn't sure, I was PRETTY SURE that there wouldn't be any of that going on. In the end, I was right. It was fun, but it was also all business with the big game tonight.
MIDGETS TOP POOL IN COMOX TOURNEY
The Midget A Bulldogs competed in the Comox MHA Tournament on Thanksgiving weekend and proved they can compete with the best by finishing first in their pool. Playing without several players, the team demonstrated its depth by giving an outstanding performance all weekend. They opened against a strong Ridge Meadows team on Saturday, pulling off a 3-1 victory in a penalty filled game. It was well into the second period before Leo Fitzgerald scored the first goal, with assists from Dustin Diemert and Darin Oscienny. Myles Fitzgerald opened the third period with a power play goal on assists from Keenan McConnell and Ryan Campbell. Ridge Meadows narrowed the Alberni lead to one soon after, before Leo struck again, this time assisted on the short handed goal by Myles and Diemert.
Saturday evening Alberni faced off with the Cowichan Capitals. Kody Isherwood struck first for the Bulldogs at the ten minute mark of the first period, assisted by Carson McCulloch and Boden Wangler. They went up by two on Catlin McLeod’s goal near the end of the period. Assists went to Oscienny and Troy Rata. Cowichan evened it up early in the second period before the Bulldogs went ahead on Oscienny’s second goal, this time assisted by Jeff Dagg and McConnell. The Bulldogs held on to their lead until the dying seconds of the third period. The Capitals pulled their goalie and, with six attackers and a little luck, were able to slide one under the goal tender with 20 seconds left on the clock to steal a tie.
On Sunday morning, Alberni dominated in play against the PoCo Pirates. They scored first and never looked back. Myles Fitgerald got a hat trick in the 6-2 win and McCulloch, McLeod and Dagg had singles. Assists went to Isherwood (3), Oscienny (2), McLeod, Diemert, McConnell, Somerville, and Rata.
As the pool winner, Port Alberni faced Victoria Racquet Club in the semi-final. VRC went ahead by two in the first period before the Bulldogs battled back in the second. Leo Fitzgerald and McLeod scored to tie it up, with assists collected by Diemert, Dagg and McConnell. In the third, Sheldon Trees with help from McConnell and Oscienny gave Port Alberni a brief lead before VRC tied it up again. The battle continued through two scoreless overtime periods, before Racquet Club got the edge in the shoot out.
The team thanks Coaches Brent Demerais, Dave McConnell and Bryce Abbot, as well as Manager Janet Fitzgerald and Safety Person Sonia Somerville for all you do to make our game as good as it is.
PacificSport Welcomes Home Olympic and Paralympic Athletes
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The ‘Beijing Five’ include Michelle Stilwell, Paralympic Wheelchair Sprinter;
Stilwell, from Nanoose Bay, was a double gold medal winner in Beijing winning the T52 100-metre title at the Paralympic Games in a record time of 19.97 seconds while also adding the T52 200-metre title.
“This is the largest contingent we have ever sent to the games”, states PacificSport GM, Drew Cooper. “It is doubly sweet to have them come home with some hardware. But best of all, it shows that the programs and partnerships we have set up are paying off. There are more athletes coming up through the system and we’re hoping to build on these numbers in future games.”
Friends, family and all fans of the games are invited to come for the celebration. The athletes will be available to meet with the public and sign autographs afterwards.
The Beach Club Resort is located off Highway 19A and Alberni at
PacificSport – Powering Sport Performance
The network of PacificSport Centres, in partnership with Canadian Sport Centre Pacific, delivers sport performance programs to help athletes and coaches win medals for
While I hope the Dogs see some sunshine on the bus trip up the hump, 2 points are much more important!
The Bulldogs go for two in a row tonight as they visit the Grizzlies in Victoria. Catch it all on Port Alberni Safeway Bulldogs Hockey on 93.3 The Peak FM or the BCHL Fanzone with the pregame show at 6:45 and the puck drop at 7:00pm.
