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Cowichan Capitals fall behind 3-0 in playoff series against Alberni Valley

Bulldogs edge Caps 3-2 on Tuesday; Game 4 goes Wednesday
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Cowichan Valley Capitals forward David Jacobs has his pocket picked by Alberni Valley Bulldogs defenceman Emanuelson Charbonneau as he moves in on goaltender Hobie Hedquist during Game 3 of the BCHL teams’ first-round playoff series at the Cowichan Arena on Tuesday, April 5. (Kevin Rothbauer/Citizen)

The Cowichan Valley Capitals are one game away from elimination in the B.C. Hockey League playoffs after a 3-2 loss to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Tuesday night.

The win at the Cowichan Arena gave Alberni a 3-0 lead in the teams’ best-of-seven first round series, pushing the Capitals’ season perilously close to its end.

The Bulldogs got on the board just past the five-minute mark of the first period, but Griffin Wilson evened things up before the first intermission with his first of the postseason. After the Bulldogs scored twice in the second, Luke Haymes got the Caps back within one with a powerplay goal just 33 seconds into the third, but the Caps couldn’t get any closer than that.

McCoy Bidewell had another outstanding game in the Cowichan net, stopping 40 of 43 shots, while Hobie Hedquist allowed two goals on 23 shots in the Alberni end.

Haymes’s goal came on the Caps’ lone powerplay opportunity, while the Bulldogs were unable to convert their one chance. Massimo Sarantos Lombardi recorded an assist on Haymes’s goal, giving him a team-best five points (three goals and two helpers) in three games.

The Caps and Bulldogs will square off again at the Cowichan Arena on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

If the series continues after that, Game 5 will go in Port Alberni on Friday at 7 p.m., Game 6 will be back in Cowichan on Sunday at 4 p.m., and Game 7 will go in Alberni on Monday at 7 p.m.