The Van Isle Ford Midget Bulldogs won the Tier 3 playoff banner on Sunday and are headed to the Tier 3 provincial championships.
The Bulldogs hosted Sooke T3 for the first game of the best-of-three final on Saturday at Weyerhaeuser Arena and won 6-2. The series switched to Sooke on Sunday and the Bulldogs won that game with an identical 6-2 score.
On Saturday Sooke started out the scoring, but at the end of the first period it was 2-1 for Alberni thanks to a pair of goals by David Friel, with assists from Gio Corlazzoli, Jake Eskola and Brock Elder.
The Bulldogs got three more goals in the second period from Logan Henson (Ethan Sundstrum), Codie Beecroft (Sundstrum and Henson) and James McLeod from (Keagun Selva). Sundstrum added the last Bulldogs’ goal in the third, with assists going to Brock Elder and Josh Harvey.
On Sunday the Bulldogs travelled to Sooke in the snowstorm. Gary Martin (Corlazzoli, Friel) drew first blood for the Bulldogs in the first period, but Sooke scored shortly after that to tie the game 1-1.
Corlazzoli (Friel, Ryan Rae-Arthur) took the lead back near the end of the first period, leaving the Bulldogs up 2-1 going into the second period.
Sooke tied the game with a lone goal in the second period.
In the third period the Bulldogs came out firing with Friel (Corlazzoli) getting a goal 40 seconds in. The Bulldogs would add three more in the third from James McLeod (Cam Blake), Friel (Jake Eskola, Logan Henson) and Pierce Adams (unassisted).
The Bulldogs are now off to 100 Mile House from March 15–22 to defend their Tier 3 provincial title.
ICE CHIPS...Matt Irg is recovering from a dislocated kneecap following a check in the Sooke corner during second period play, Saturday at Weyerhaeuser Arena. Irg was taken off the ice by paramedics...Bulldogs’ coach Korey Sundstrum thanks Van Isle Ford for their sponsorship of the midget rep team again this year.
editor@albernivalleynews.com