It was just under a year ago now that the Express and Bulldogs met in the opening round of the 2024 Fred Page Cup Playoffs. A grueling seven-game series that saw guys digging deep up and down the lineup, only to come up just shy in the penultimate game. The Dawg Pound still holds plenty of memories of that gauntlet, and today’s war should be no different.
First off there is the energy. The Alberni Valley Multiplex is arguably the loudest building in the BCHL and that comes with its own set of benefits and challenges. The roaring crowd can be a blessing and a curse as players from both teams feed off its energy. As the road team coming in the Express will be served well by taking the energy out of the building early on. When the Bulldogs get rolling on home ice, they feast on the momentum and crowd willing them forward, often to explosive results. The most recent example of that is an 8-2 dismantling of the Surrey Eagles last weekend. With how many problems the Express have had with Surrey, a result like that gives some pause. Every matchup is different but that game showcased the peak of Alberni’s capability and just further exemplifies how it does not matter your position in the standings, you have to earn it on a nightly basis.
The season series sits at 3-0 Alberni but the last time these teams met was back in December. A lot has changed since then especially on the Express side of the equation with signings and trades. There are some new faces on the Bulldogs roster as well with players like Teague McAllister and Brendan Ruskowski joining the fold to bolster the physicality up front. It will be interesting to see how the line-to-line matchups unfold, especially with tonight being another potential playoff preview. With how close the Coastal Conference is at present, every single matchup is unbelievably important to changing up seeding and playoff series.
The Express are a bit banged up heading into this one tonight, we’ve already discussed at length the key pieces that are out of the lineup, and after last night there may be a few more. The task remains finding ways to step up and contribute no matter what. Jack Sullivan and Koray Bozkaya did that last night against the Capitals, who will be next tonight?
A couple of guys in particular that will be hungry for a chance at revenge are Andrew Ness and Colin Winn. The respective starting netminders struggled in last night’s games, each letting in five goals. Don’t be surprised if both coaches decide to give their go-to’s a chance to redeem themselves in a big one tonight.
Tune in on FloHockey as always for all the action. Tonight’s broadcast will feature some discussions with the Express Dads much like the Moms gave us last weekend. To see the smiling faces of the players with their Pops after yesterday’s clash was extremely heartwarming and Jeff Wagner but it best in the pregame interview. Never take these moments for granted. I doubt the boys will as they prep for a bounce back in PA.
FLOHOCKEY BROADCAST (Select “Away” Stream)
– Ian Wilson
