The two greatest words in Hockey. Game 7.
One of the most entertaining series of the opening round draws its final breath tonight at the Dawg Pound. The beating heart of Hockey Valley gets to bear witness to one more great spectacle before somebody moves on.
The Express and Bulldogs mostly traded games back and forth through the first six contests. Coquitlam wrestled the momentum in their control with back-to-back victories in four and five before dropping six on home ice battling a myriad of injuries.
How healthy will the Express be heading into tonight’s contest? We shall have to wait and see who skates onto the ice for warmups and grits their teeth through what is sure to be one final war.
Both teams have shown capability to control flow of play for portions of games. In Game 4 the Express dominated the second half of the evening and ended up with over 40 shots while holding the Bulldogs to 26. Then things slowed right down in Game 5 and the final shot totals were even at 24. Finally in Game 6, Coquitlam found that second half control again and finished the night outshooting their opponent 42-32. So on the Express side of the equation, they have been a slow burn early into an uncontrolled inferno late while the Bulldogs have feasted upon hot quick starts out the gate.
Paramount to the survival of the Express through 60 minutes will be preventing Alberni Valley from cementing their early foothold. There is little equal to the adrenaline of a Game 7 fueled by a raucous home crowd. If the Bulldogs can find early success on the road, imagine what they can be capable of on home ice tonight.
With the emotion of a Game 7 comes the nerves attached to it. That will be a burden on the shoulders of both sides. Alberni has proven their ability to handle that emotion through their Game 7 victory over the Surrey Eagles during last season’s playoffs. Coquitlam have always loved thriving in road environments and taking pleasure in silencing crowds, but this is on another level. For both teams don’t be surprised if more missed shots, dropped passes, or blown tires appear than usual.
So much has already been said about Adam Manji and Callum Tung in this series but it has to be stated again. Either of these netminders are capable of stealing a game for their team. They will need to be at their best and thus enable that bit of extra confidence in their squad to get the job done. Two 20-year-olds trying to prolong their last rodeo.
Speaking of the 20’s. That in and of itself is a true source of passion and emotion for all on both rosters. Whether you are a 20 and you don’t want this to be your last junior game, or you are one of their teammates who wants to give everything they have to see them go another series deep. Motivation comes from many places and wherever these players will dig theirs out of tonight, this is the night to bring it all to bare.
Cole Melady, Jacob Bonkowksi, Michael Rubin, Luke Vardy, Adam Manji, Oliver Gabrielson, Braxton Buckberger, Fischer O’brien, Nicholas Beneteau, Matias Myllykoski, Braden Blace and Callum Tung.
Your Players to Watch for tonight’s game.
Tune in for the broadcast on FloHockey from the Alberni Valley Multiplex at 7pm PST. Yours truly will be on the “away” call for this one.
– Ian Wilson
