The Alberni Valley Bulldogs will be hosting another Open Mic tonight at Boston Pizza from 6:30 to 7:30.
Come up, meet the guys, ask a question, and GET EXCITED for the Coastal Conference Final Series starting tomorrow at the Dog Pound.
AND don't forget that if you are a season ticket holder you have until 5pm tonight to get your tickets for Games 1 and 2 tomorrow and Saturday. Get to the Dogs office ASAP, they are open 10am to 7pm today. Again, 5PM is your deadline!
MEN’S CLUB OPENING DAY ON SUNDAY
Another season has rolled around, not soon enough for most of us. On Sunday March 28th, opening day starts off with a four man best ball, sponsored by Duncan, Sabine, Collyer, Partners. with the best net and best gross counting on each hole, The same player may not record both net and gross scores on any one hole. Please register in the Pro. Shop with your own foursome or as a single and you will be placed on a team. The shotgun start takes place at 9AM following a short meeting, try to be in the clubhouse no later than 8:30. Breakfast will be available starting at 7:30, on the opening and closing days only. There are 13 special events spread through the season., which as usual cost $10 to enter, this is to cover prizes for the day.
As in the past couple of years the Men’s Club dues is only $10, which entitles you to some awesome draws on the windup day as well as throughout the season.
For every Sunday you play, event or open day your name goes in that many times for a draw to be held on October3rd. for some outstanding prizes. The Club Championship will be match play again this year with Club Captain Craig Acland running the show. To all you hot shot golfers who think they have a chance at the title you have last years Champion Brett Parhar to contend with. Qualifying for the Championship takes place on July, 4th, so keep that day open.
Just a couple of reminders Gentlemen. When you come into the Clubhouse on Sunday morning there will be three boxes set up, one for the ball sweep, one for the money pot and one for the Charity closest to the pin. You must put $2 in each box and register your name before teeing off if you intend on entering. The Charity closest to the pin is usually set up on #2, if you haven’t paid your two dollars please don’t write your name on the card no matter how close you are. Please make sure that you fill out your score cards correctly, last name, gross score handi-cap and your net score. Also make sure the addition is right, any incorrect score cards turned in will be disqualified.
Remember to keep up to the group ahead of you, it makes for a smoother round for everyone.
BANTAM BULLDOGS BACK WITH GOLD
Alberni Valley’s Bantam A Bulldogs finished their season by bringing home gold medals from the gold division of the 33rd Port Coquitlam Bantam International Tournament which was held over Spring Break. The last time an Alberni team did this was in 1982.
The first game was at 7:15 AM on Thursday morning against Surrey Hurricanes. The Bulldogs took a while to get their legs going, but in the end ran the score up to 8-1. Beau Wilson had a goal and four assists and Tyler Wilhelm contributed a goal and 3 assists. Wilson was named as game MVP for offense and Nathan Read was MVP for defence.
Thursday afternoon against the South Side Athletic Club out of Edmonton, the bounces all seemed to go to the other team in a game where shots on goal favoured Alberni 35-19. Edmonton scored first on a power play early in the first period. Beau Wilson tied it up for Alberni with an assist from Chase Gaudreault early in the second period. The go ahead goal in the second period went in and out so fast that the referee missed it. Then an icing that was brushed off by the linesman caught the Bulldog defence by surprise, which allowed Edmonton to score and finish with a narrow 2-1 win. MVPs for the Bulldogs were Ryan Buse on defence and Sam Visona on offence.
On Friday afternoon the Bulldogs took a while to find their game against host Port Coquitlam Pirates before opening up with 4 goals in the third period to finish at 8-2. They outshot Poco by 46-10. Chase Gaudreault led the scoring with 2 goals and an assist. Logan Savard had 3 assists and was named as the offensive MVP. Dawson Marlatt collected the defensive MVP of the game.
After the game the team got together for dinner. After dinner, Read thanked Coach Kevin Somerville for all his work with the team over the season. Wilson gave similar thanks to Assistant Coach Rob Gaudreault and also acknowledged coach/manager Ron Buse who was unable to be at the tournament. In responding Somerville noted the talent of the plalyers and also thanked the parents and sponsors, Sure Span Construction and Dave Koszegi of ReMax Realty.
Friday evening was the skills competition where Read and Wilson represented Alberni and contributed points to their black team’s tie with the white team. Wilson clocked the fastest time of all competitors on the agility drill and was runner up on speed.
The final round robin game on Saturday saw the Bulldogs up against Comox Chiefs. Because Comox had tied Edmonton earlier, Alberni needed a win to stay in contention for the gold semi-final. Coach Somerville said, “The team really gelled when they needed to.” In this game they did everything right against a very competitive team. Good team puck control and positional play created the first goal for Alberni. Buse collected a pass back to the right point and put it across to Read who one timed a hard shot from the other side. The Comox keeper couldn’t contain the rebound and Liam Macleod was right there to put it in top shelf before the goalie could turn back. In the second period Comox piled into the slot and evened it up at 6:02. The momentum might have shifted, but barely a minute later Marino Somerville passed to Savard, setting up 2 on 0 rush where Savard put the puck cross crease for Wilson to finish on the right side. Comox tied it again two minutes later and once again Alberni answered to hold the lead. This time it was Gaudreault deflecting Tyler Ibsens’s shot from the point to make it 3-2 for Alberni. The Bulldogs defensive play kept the puck out of their own zone for most of the game and minimized good scoring chances for Comox when it was there. Both goalies made key saves throughout the game. Bryce DiRocco was given the nod as MVP defence and MacLeod as MVP offense.
The win put Alberni Valley into the semi-final on Sunday against undefeated Calgary Blazers. The game was scoreless for ten minutes until the Alberni defence turned over a Blazer break out attempt inside the blue line. This created an opportunity for Read to pass to MacLeod in the slot for a high shot into the net. Two minutes later Buse put out a long stretch pass which Wilson chased down deep in the offensive zone and converted. The next goal came off hard work deep in the Calgary zone. It finished with a Savard pass to Wilson behind the net from where he put his second goal in off the back of the netminder. Alberni kept up the pressure in the second period and was rewarded at the mid-point when the cycle from Somerville to Spencer Pierce behind the net to Wilson jumping into the slot made the next goal happen. In the dying seconds of the third period Alberni added one more on a power play. Again good puck control was a factor as the puck went from Visona to Wilson in the left circle to Tyler Wilhelm in the high slot from where he wristed in a hard shot. MVPs for the 5-0 semi-final win were Wilson on offense and Read on defence.
Edmonton defeated Kerry Park Islanders in the other semi-final, giving Alberni a rematch and a chance to avenge their only round robin loss in the gold medal game. They wasted no time. Somerville and Wilson combined on the first shift to put Alberni up 1-0. Before the period ended, some well controlled passing from MacLeod to Read to Visona set up a backhand goal at the left post. In the second period with a man advantage it was from Wilhelm at the blue line to Gaudreault in front and then to Savard to finish from the open side. Then with under a minute to go Austyn Smith passed to Wilson in the slot to make it 4-0. In the final frame Savard passed to Pierce at the blue line from where he split the defence and bent the twine at 11:29 with a hard shot under the goalie’s left elbow.
MVPs for the gold medal game were Savard on offence and Wilhelm on defence. In addition tournament MVPs included DiRocco in goal and Read on defence.
Coach Somerville summed it up by saying “The kids played hard this weekend. Due to the injuries that were plaguing us we had to play a real defensive style which ironically created some great offensive opportunities We only had seven goals scored against us in six games ad the final two were shut outs. I wish we had been playing like this 3 weeks ago in the play offs. Its great to see this group of kids earn some recognition and finish on a positive note. They really are a talented bunch.”
How about the little Bruins vs. Pens match-up tonight? Should be interesting, as it's the first time the teams have played since Matt Cooke succeeded in his attempt to take Marc Savard's head off.
The NHL doesn't want Bertuzzi-Moore all over again, so the commish, the disciplinarian, and more, will attend the game. Read more- from TSN.ca
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