Alberni Valley Bulldogs – 3
Surrey Eagles – 1
The Alberni Valley Bulldogs defeated the Surrey Eagles 3-1 in Game 7 on Tuesday night to win their second round series and become the last team to advance to the Conference Finals.
The Bulldogs came out of the gates quickly in this one, scoring twice in the first 3:05 of the first period on goals by Will Elger and Matt Kursonis. The Eagles bounced back before the end of the frame after Jake Bongo potted his fifth of the postseason with just nine second to go to make it 2-1 at intermission.
The goaltenders took over after that. Neither Campbell Arnold or Michael Sochan let in a goal in the second or third period and it wasn’t until Surrey pulled their goalie late that Alberni’s Brandon Buhr scored the insurance goal into an empty net with three seconds to play. Arnold stopped 22 of 23 shots for the win, while Sochan made 28 saves on 30 attempts in the loss.
The Bulldogs will now host the Chilliwack Chiefs in Game 1 of the Coastal Conference Finals on Friday night at the Alberni Valley Multiplex.
