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Bulldogs remain hot with wild series-opening win over Grizzlies

Game 2 goes Saturday night in Port Alberni
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The Alberni Valley Bulldogs picked up just where they left off to end the B.C. Hockey League regular season. The Bulldogs headed into the playoffs after recording the best record in the Coastal Conference since Christmas at 21-4-1, and second best in the league in that time, behind only the runaway regular-season champion Penticton Vees.

That momentum carried over as the third-seed Bulldogs defeated the sixth-seed Victoria Grizzlies 7-5 to open their best-of-seven conference quarter-final series Friday night at the Alberni Valley Multiplex. The second game is tonight in Port Alberni before the series swings into Colwood for the third and fourth games Tuesday and Wednesday at The Q Centre.

The high-scoring affair belied the fact that crease play was tipped to be a series key. Grizzlies goaltender Oliver Auyeung-Ashton, one of three finalists for both the BCHL rookie-of-the-year and top goaltender awards, made 20 saves and allowed four goals over two periods before begin replaced by Ansel Holt in the third period. Holt allowed a goal and made seven saves. Alberni Valley’s final goal was into an empty net.

Hobie Hedquist, the Bulldogs’ six-foot-two American goaltender headed to traditional NCAA Div. 1 power North Dakota, made 23 saves in the Alberni Valley net.

Bulldogs defenceman Jax Wismer, named to the BCHL all-17-year-old team and committed to NCAA Div. 1 with the ­University of Connecticut Huskies, had a goal and assist to lead the Bulldogs.

Alberni Valley appeared to have broken open a 1-1 game with three goals in the final 11 minutes of the second period to make it 4-1. But goals in the first five minutes of the third period by Jack Gorton, committed to NCAA Div. 1 Boston University, and Devon deVries brought ­Victoria to within one. The hosts, however, regained their composure as Nicholas Beneteau with his second goal of the game and Owen Desilets restored Alberni Valley’s three-goal lead. Victoria again clawed back to within one with power-play goals in the final three minutes of the third period by Nathan King and Owen Bohn. The Grizzlies’ frenzied rally, however, was halted by a short-handed empty-net goal by Bulldog forward Dave Sacco.

Bohn finished with two goals for Victoria.

In the other Coastal Conference playoff first-round openers Friday, the conference top-seed Nanaimo Clippers defeated the eighth-seed Langley Rivermen 4-0 with interim coach Dave Liffiton behind the bench in place of the suspended Colin Birkas. The second-seed Surrey Eagles defeated the seventh-seed ­Powell River Kings 4-0 and the fifth-seed Chilliwack Chiefs upended the fourth-seed ­Coquitlam Express 4-1.

ICE CHIPS: NCAA Div. 1 University of Maine Black Bears-bound brothers Bradley and Josh Nadeau were two-thirds of the nominees announced Friday for the BCHL MVP award. Bradley Nadeau is the No. 19-ranked North American skater for this year’s NHL draft. The other nominee for league MVP is Ean Somoza of the Wenatchee Wild, committed to Western Michigan University.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com