Game: Alberni Valley Bulldogs vs Powell River Kings
Arena: Hap Parker Arena
Puck Drop: 3:00pm
Broadcast: Starts at 2:30pm
95.7 SunFM Free Audio
FastHockey PPV Video
Kings This Season vs Opposition: 0-0-0-0
Last Meeting: Bulldogs won 9-1 (February 15th, 2013)
Kings 2013/2014 Record: 4-1-0-0
Kings at home: 2-1-0-0
Kings Last 10: 3-1-0-0
Kings vs Island: 1-1-0-0
Opposition 2013/2014 Record: 0-6-0-0
Opposition on the road: 0-2-0-0
Opposition Last 10: 0-6-0-0
5-point nights for Jarid Lukosevicius and Kurt Keats, a pair of Matt Scarth goals, Luke McCaw’s first as a King and a come from behind victory that had a little bit of everything…not bad for a Saturday night in Powell River.
I won’t lie, when the Clippers scored 11 seconds in, I was thinking “uh oh”. But full credit to the 20 from last night who battled and controlled the next 5-10 minutes, scoring twice. It showed resilliance, being able to put a poor start behind them and turn it into a positive result. They did it again when they were down 2 in the 3rd, but fought back and won the game, scoring 4 goals in the 3rd period.
Today, they’ll need to show a different virtue…determination. Determination to put up the same effort you had against a team you’re tied with in the standings, when faced with a team that’s yet to win this season. The Kings will look to start better today and play the way they did for much of the 1st and the 3rd, throughout the entire game.
Nothing from the coaches in terms of a lineup, but we do know thanks to a tweet from the Campbell River Storm that Brayden Taekema will likely play in today’s game. He’s a 20-year old forward from Smithers who has played the last 2 years with Sicamous in the KIJHL, scoring 68 points in 96 games. Who he replaces? Not sure. Matt Scarth didn’t finish last night due to a lower body injury, but he told me after the game he’d play today. The Kings could also scratch a D-man and insert Taekema in, as they played 11 and 7 last night. I’d also imagine Mitch Crisanti will play against his former team this afternoon for the first time, as he suited up 44 times for the Bulldogs last year. Finally, my guess would be that Jeff Smith starts…he certainly earned it with his performance last weekend against Victoria, but the coaches will obviously make that call.
The Alberni Valley Bulldogs, zero wins, 6 losses. They’re scored the 2nd fewest goals with 14 (behind Chilliwack who somehow have only scored 5 in 4), and have allowed the most by far with 33 (ahead of Trail with 27. The Bulldogs had a tough off-season, losing three big guns. Ryan Lough, Evan Tironese and Bo Pellah all left the team and headed south of the border to the USHL. It happened mid-way through, but wasn’t announced until late in the off-season. Losing your two top forwards and your top-pairing defenceman is a huge blow for an Alberni team looking to go a couple steps further after an impressive run last year.
Trying to step up and fill the void is captain Tryg Strand and returning forward Hunter Stewart. Also added this year is Mak Barden, who made it a habit of scoring big goals for the Bulldogs during the playoffs, in particular a pair against the Grizzlies in the division final. The team is led in scoring by Jared Wilson who is a 2nd year Bulldog and tasked with being ‘the guy’ on the blue-line. One thing is clear, the Bulldogs can score quickly, as only 24 hours ago, the potted 3 in 3:30…but they can also conceed just as quick, as Surrey scored 3 in 1:30 last night.
In net, Brad Rebagliati is the incumbent. The 18 year old has split time so far with 17 year old Blake Pearson. Both goalies played last night, with Pearson playing the lions share.
We’ll chat with both head coaches in the pre-game show…we’ll also talk with Kings forward Luke McCaw on his 1st last night and Matt Scarth on his pair and the team’s ability to come back from a tough start. We’ll also preview Ryan Scarfo’s appearence on the BCHL This Week, which will air this upcoming Saturday on Vancouver’s Team 1040 Radio station. In the 2nd intermission, a chunk from this week’s BCHL This Week, with NHL official and former BCHL ref Brad Lazarowich.
In the post-game show, we’re doing another live Q&A with the fans. If you’re at the game, stick around for your questions to the players and coaches. If you’re watching or listening from a far, the post-game show will be a SunFM exclusive, so if you’re on FastHockey, you’ll need to make the switch after the game.
