The Spruce Kings will look to make it two in a row tonight as they host the Alberni Valley Bulldogs for the one and only time this season. Prince George heads into tonight's match up having defeated one of their division rivals, the Vernon Vipers, last night. Alberni Valley comes in having won their past three games, but had last night off and spent it watching the match up between the Spruce Kings and the Vipers. Will the extra scout day help Alberni Valley steal 2 points, or will the Spruce Kings make it two in a row. Let's preview the match up to get a better idea of what we are in store for
The Breakdown:
These two teams don't see each other very often, but when they do, it's Alberni Valley who usually walks away happy. Playing two games against each other last year, the Bulldogs split the two games. This will be the only time this year that these two squads meet, meaning bragging rights are on the table. As we have specified before, the new playoff formats make every game that much more important. Both teams sit in fourth place at the moment, but, they each have a couple of team’s right on their heels. It should also be mentioned that this is only the second game this season for the Spruce Kings against a Coastal Conference opponent, the first being a win over the Coquitlam Express. This will be the second meeting for Alberni Valley against an Interior Conference team. Their first meeting was a win against Chilliwack. And although this is the first time we get to see Alberni Valley this season, we will see a couple of returnees as two former Smoke Eaters, Daniel Delbianco and goaltender Matt Larose will lace up for the Bulldogs after being acquired in a trade. It's not known yet which goaltenders will get the start between the pipes for either team, but with Beesley playing solid last night, we'll lean towards him for the Spruce Kings. As for the Bulldogs, both goalies have seen action during the three game win streak, so with a days rest, either goal could and will be ready to start
The Stats:
Jujhar Khaira had a fantastic game last night potting 2 goals and adding a helper. Khaira currently sits in 4th place for league scoring and already has more goals than he did all of last year. Paul De Jersey still sits among the league elite in scoring, though he no longer leads the league. But he still sits in 2nd overall with 28 points and is on a 12 game point streak. Michael Colantone continues to benefit from his new line mates this year as he sits in 9th for scoring with 21 points, 9 of those being goals. It should also be noted that Ben Woodley is quickly moving his way up the scoring list for defenseman. Woodley is tied for second in scoring by a D-man and is riding a 10 game point scoring streak. Justin Morello leads the charge for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs with 9 goals and 10 assists through 12 games
Game Time:
Again, this is the only chance you will have to see the Bulldogs this season, so I would get out and check them out while you can. For those of you in Prince George, the puck drops at 7pm at the Castle. For those of you not able to make it to the game, you can watch the live web cast here or listen to the FREE audio broadcast here
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