Game: Alberni Valley Bulldogs vs Powell River Kings
Arena: Hap Parker Arena
Puck Drop: 6:30pm
Broadcast: Starts at 6:00pm
95.7 SunFM Free Audio
FastHockey PPV Video
Kings This Season vs Opposition: 4-2-0-0
Last Meeting: Bulldogs won 4-0 (February 12th, 2014)
Kings 2013/2014 Record: 34-15-2-4 (2nd Island)
Kings at home: 21-6-1-0
Kings Last 10: 4-5-0-1
Kings vs Island: 20-8-1-2
Opposition 2013/2014 Record: 20-28-2-6
Opposition on the road: 6-16-2-4
Opposition Last 10: 6-4-0-0
With the monkey firmly off the Kings back with two very authoritative victories over Surrey and Cowichan, the Kings host the Bulldogs in a rare mid-week game. This is the cancelled game from a couple of Saturday’s ago when heavy winds cancelled ferry service between Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, meaning that Alberni were stuck on the wrong side of the Strait of Georgia.
The only focus right now for the Kings moving forward is continuing the momentum. Fans (and the media) will play into the race for 1st, but the focus for the team is just getting their game right. If the Grizzlies drop points and a door opens up, great. If not, the Kings and the Clippers will put on one heck of a show in the first round. Heading into tonight’s action, the Kings are 4-back of the Grizzlies with 1 in hand. A loss tonight all but clinch 1st for the Grizzlies in the division.
No changes again for the Kings lineup, so that means 21 on the paper heading into warm-up, with a late scratch before game time. Jeff Smith goes for his 3rd straight start.
The Bulldogs did themselves few favours over the weekend by splitting a weekend series with the Grizzlies. The 3-1 loss combined with a Cowichan win on Friday didn’t help their playoff push….but a 6-2 win on Saturday combined with Cowichan’s loss in Powell River put them back at even and the weekend can be considered a “push” to coin a blackjack term.
Alberni has two games remaining, both against Powell River. Their season will end at home on Saturday night against the Kings as both teams play game 58 in Alberni. The Bulldogs will look at the Capitals and their out of town home and home series against the Victoria Grizzlies over the weekend. It’s interesting that the end of the season has come down to 4 games, two each between the top two teams and the bottom two teams in the division. Those 4 games will go a long way to deciding that 1 vs 4 matchup in the 1st round.
The Bulldogs will also dress 21 in warmup tonight and are only without defenceman Brett Stewart and goaltender Nathan Warren. Liam Giroux steps in to backup Connor LaCouvee between the pipes.
