The Alberni Valley Bulldogs have ridden into the sa国际传媒 Hockey League Coastal Conference final backed by a refugee former Victoria Royals goaltender from the Western Hockey League and passionate community support.
“The atmosphere is electric in the Valley … I’ve never seen anything like it,” said David Michaud, president and governor of the Bulldogs.
The first two games of the series against the Chilliwack Chiefs tonight and Saturday in the Alberni Valley Multiplex are sold out. A standing-room-only crowd of 1,854 watched the Bulldogs beat the Surrey Eagles 7-1 in Game 6 of the Coastal Conference semifinal series this week and then 400 people were in the multiplex to watch a big-screen viewing of the 3-1 Game 7 victory in Surrey.
Hundreds of fans, banging drums and blowing horns, turned out in the multiplex parking lot the next day to welcome the team bus home from Surrey.
“What’s happening is something pretty special,” said Michaud.
The Bulldogs’ playoff run began with an opening-round series sweep in four games over the conference sixth-seed Victoria Grizzlies followed by the upset of the second-seed Eagles. With the fifth-seed Chiefs knocking off the fourth-seed Coquitlam Express in the first round and top-seed Nanaimo Clippers in six games in the conference semifinals, the 3-vs.-5-seed conference final has the Bulldogs holding home-ice advantage over the Chiefs.
“That’s a big factor. Ours is not an inviting rink to come to for visiting teams,” Michaud said of the Alberni Valley rink known as the Dawg Pound.
The unlikely hero of this heady run has been back-up goaltender Campbell Arnold. The Nanaimo product has come through in the clutch after highly-touted Bulldogs goalie Hobey Hedquist, bound next season to historic NCAA Div. 1 power University of North Dakota, went down in Game 2 of the Surrey series.
Arnold himself was once that highly-regarded guy, coming out of the Harbour City in the second round of the 2017 WHL prospects draft as the 28th overall selection. His WHL career with the Spokane Chiefs and Victoria lasted until this season when he was released by the Royals. Arnold, who turned 21 in January, was picked up by the Bulldogs as insurance.
“Campbell knew what he was getting into. He knew of Hobie’s stature and that minutes were going to be hard to find,” said Michaud.
But Arnold was an insurance policy that needed to be cashed in when Hedquist went down and has responded with a .935 save percentage in the last five games of the Surrey series. Hedquist is now listed as day-to-day with a lower body issue. The Bulldogs have enough confidence in Arnold that they don’t feel the need to rush Hedquist back until he is completely ready. The club confirmed Arnold will start the first two games against the Chiefs tonight and Saturday.
“We are so pleased and happy for him,” said Michaud.
“Sometimes you bring in former WHL players and they think they are too good for this. That was not the case with Campbell Arnold. His attitude was terrific from the start. We hope this will lead to a spot in U Sports for him next season.”
The Bulldogs have 13 players committed to NCAA Div. 1 schools, including Hedquist, Owen Desilits to Dartmouth, Will Elger to Providence, Jax Wismer to UConn, Ethan Bono and David Sacco to Merrimack and Braden Blace to NCAA-champion Quinnipiac. But it’s the largely unheralded team captain Chase Klassen who leads this group. His numbers are modest with 12 goals and 23 points in the regular season and two goals and five points in the playoffs but the Colwood product, who has turned 21 and also played lacrosse, has made an overall contribution that is anything but understated over three seasons.
“He’s not the best-player-on-the-team type of captain but he’s the heart and soul of this team,” said Michaud.
The Coastal Conference final series swings into the Chilliwack Coliseum for the third and fourth games Tuesday and Wednesday. The Joe Martin-coached Bulldogs were 2-1-1 against the Chiefs in the regular season.
The BCHL regular-season champion and top-seed Penticton Vees, led by league MVP and 17th-ranked North American skater for the 2023 NHL draft Bradley Nadeau, are 8-0 in the playoffs after a 50-3-1 regular season and meet the fourth-seed Salmon Arm Silverbacks in the Interior Conference final.
The conference champions will face-off in the 2023 BCHL final.
ICE CHIPS: Grizzlies goaltender Oliver Auyeung-Ashton, who posted a league second-best .927 save percentage this season, was named BCHL rookie of the year on Thursday. The just-turned 18-year-old from Coquitlam went 21-14-5 for the Grizzlies with a 2.48 goals-against average.
