The Alberni Valley Bulldogs' post-season playoff run is over. The Bulldogs lost 7-1 to Chilliwack Chiefs in a must-win Game 5 on the road Saturday, sealing their fate and vaulting the Chiefs to the B.C. Hockey League Coastal Conference finals.
The Bulldogs lost both of their "home" games — played at Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo due to a failure of the ice chiller at the Alberni Valley Multiplex—6-2 and 6-1 against the Chiefs. Each game drew approximately 630 Alberni Valley fans.
Both teams headed back to Chilliwack for the must-win Game 5. Chiefs' Caleb Elfering led scoring with one goal and two assists for three points in the final tilt. Brady Milburn scored the opening goal for the Chiefs and helped set up the eventual winner by Dustin Renas. The Chiefs scored five unanswered goals and it wasn't until early in the third period that Dogs' Grayson Badger set up Jacob Terpstra to get the Bulldogs on the scoreboard. It was to be their only goal of the game.
Coach Joe Martin said it was a tough post-game conversation in the dressing room following the team's 7-1 loss to Chilliwack that gave the Chiefs a 4-1 series win.
"At the end of the season when you lose it's the hardest speech of the year. You try to find some positives. We talked about our players that are graduating from our program. There was lots of experience there ; I really thanked them for being here.
"Chilliwack was a tough match," Martin added. "A different matchup and maybe it's a different outcome. Our players worked as hard as they possibly could and that's all we can ask."
The Bulldogs scored just 10 goals in five games against the Chiefs, including their 4-1 win in Game 2 on the road. Martin said they got plenty of scoring chances but they weren't able to capitalize on them. The Chiefs' goaltender, Quentin Miller, is an NHL Montreal Canadiens' draft pick and "he's good. He's tough to beat," Martin added.
"We had scoring chances, just didn't beat him. On top of needing more scoring chances, it's a really good hockey team we just lost to."
The Chiefs will now face Victoria Grizzlies in the Coastal Conference final while Penticton Vees face Brooks Bandits in the Interior Conference final.
The Bulldogs' coaching staff will take the next week to conduct 20-minute exit interviews with each player. "Then we start diving into next season."
There are still two series to go before the Fred Page Cup is awarded. Martin then starts preparing for a summer tryout happening in June and representing the Bulldogs and BCHL at another event in the summer.
ICE CHIPS: Jacob Terpstra (2005) has committed to play at the NCAA Div. 1 University of Alaska for head coach Matt Shasby...Bulldogs' alumni Callum Tung grabbed his first win in the American Hockey League under an amateur tryout agreement with the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack was playing against Bridgeport Islanders when Tung secured his win.
