The Alberni Valley Bulldogs embark on their longest road trip of the early BC Hockey League season this weekend, heading north on the mainland to Prince George for a game on Friday, Oct. 14 before returning to Langley the next day for an Oct. 15 night game.
They play one more game on the road in Chilliwack on Oct. 16 before returning home on Oct. 21 for a single game.
The road trip will be a welcome bonding experience following a pair of home losses to Powell River Kings 5–3 on Oct. 7 and Chilliwack Chiefs 4–3 on Oct. 8.
Trevor Cosgrove bagged one goal and two assists vs. Powell River and one assist vs. Chilliwack. Jake Witowski had an assist vs. Powell River and two goals vs. Chilliwack, representing the ’Dogs’ firepower on the weekend.
“Trevor (Cosgrove) is an offensive defenceman,” Bulldogs’ assistant coach Alex Evin said. “He’s a great skater. He’s still learning a lot away from the puck. Coming from prep school to dial it in and learn to play in his own end, he’s making good strides,” Evin said.
“We’re definitely happy with his progression and we’re happy to see our defencemen chip in on the scoresheet.”
Witowski is picking up the pace as an older rookie and starting to produce. “We look to him as one of our leaders offensively,” Evin said. “It’s nice to see him rewarded with some goals.”
The road trip is the first of four extended trips the team will take this year, Evin said, but it’s no different than any other game for the players except for the length of time it will take to get to the rink. “We’re going to prepare like any other game,” he said.
“We played pretty well this weekend. Our intensity and compete level were as high as they’ve ever been. But we’re careless with the puck, with turnovers.”
Keeping puck possession is going to be key to bringing home points from this road trip.
“Going on the road, we have to be prepared to play a simple style game,” Evin said.
“If you give the puck away, it’s not easy to win hockey games.”
ICE CHIPS...Catch the road games on 93.3 PEAK FM with play-by-play announcer Evan ‘Hammer’ Hammond. or on Twitter @AVBulldogs.