March 21st 2008

Spencer Machacek's power-play goal 12:34 into the second period was the eventual winner as the Vancouver Giants edged the visiting Chilliwack Bruins 2-1 in their WHL playoff opener Friday night.

The Giants lead thee best-of-7 Western Conference quarter-final 1-0. The Bruins look to even the series in game two Saturday night in Vancouver.

Michal Repik opened the scoring for the Giants at the 16:10 mark of the opening period.

Oscar Moller replied with a power-play goal early in the third period for Chilliwack.

The Bruins then had a goal disallowed just moments later on a play that was initially signaled a goal. After a lengthy discussion involving all four officials, it was decided that a Bruins player was in the crease and the goal was waived off.

Bruins goalie Mark Friesen stopped 31 shots, while Tyson Sexsmith made 23 saves in net for Vancouver.

Games three and four will be in Chilliwack on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tickets for games three and four of the first round of the playoffs vs Vancouver are now on sale. Tickets can be reserved by phone (1-800-663-9311), online or at any ticketmaster location.

Ice Chips: Oscar Moller's goal was his first WHL playoff goal...not in the lineup tonight for Chilliwack were Mike Proudley, Brayden Metz, Kevin Sundher and Scott Ramsay.

2007/08 Bruins Regular Season Leaders:

Goals: Oscar Moller (39)

Assists: Mark Santorelli (74)

Points: Mark Santorelli (101)  

Powerplay Goals: Oscar Moller (16)

Powerplay assists: Mark Santorelli (45) 

Powerplay points: Mark Santorelli (56)  

Shorthanded Goals: Brandon Campos / Oscar Moller / David Robinson (2)

Plus/Minus: Oscar Moller / Mark Santorelli (+7)

Penalty Minutes: Matt Strong (118)

Wins: Matt Esposito (18) 

Goals Against Average: Mark Friesen (3.17)

Shutouts: Matt Esposito (1)

Save Percentage: Mark Friesen (90.1%)

Roster Notes: The Bruins currently have 24 players on their active roster including two goaltenders, six defencemen and fifteen forwards. By age, Chilliwack has one 15 year old (Sundher) two 16 year olds (Howse, Ramsay), seven 18 year olds (Robinson, Metz, Darragh, Einhorn, Friesen, Strong, McNaught, Manning), seven 18 year olds (Meropoulis, Potter, Proudley, Smuk, Moller, Van Duynhoven, Esposito), three 19 year olds (Santorelli, Bhungal, Pighin) and three 20 year olds (Campos, Holden, Chapman).

Evan Pighin named WHL / CHL Player of the Week: Bruins forward Evan Pighin of the is the CHL Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday March 16 after scoring five goals and three assists for eight points in four games.

Moller, Santorelli named to Conference All Star Team: Bruins forward Oscar Moller has been named to the Western Conference First All Star Team. Mark Santorelli was named to the Western Conference Second All Star Team.

Drafted Players: Mark Santorelli (Nashville 4th round 2007) Oscar Moller (Los Angeles 2nd round 2007)

Who’s Hot: Oscar Moller has ten goals and seven assists in his last 11 games. Moller set a new team high for goals in a season with 39, seven better than his total of last season… Mark Santorelli has three goals and three assists in his last three games…Evan Pighin has 5 goals and 4 assists in this last five games.

Scoring Race: Bruins forward Mark Santorelli captured the WHL’s scoring title with 101 points this season, one better than Kelowna’s Colin Long.

Offensive Defenceman: Bruins defenceman Nick Holden finished third among defenceman in league scoring with 60 points and led all defensemen with 22 goals.

Iron Mark: Mark Santorelli is the only player to have appeared in every game the Bruins have played. Including five playoff games, Santorelli has played in 149 consecutive games.

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble: The Bruins received 69 fighting majors this season, putting them in a tie for 9th place in the WHL. Vancouver led the league with 100, Tri City had the fewest with 45. Partik Bhungal led the Bruins this season with 10 fighting majors and is the Bruins career leader in fighting majors with 21 including playoffs.

After forty tells the story: Chilliwack has a record of 19-4-0-1 when leading after forty minutes of play. When trailing after two periods, the Bruins are 2-25-1-0.

Extra Time: The Bruins were 1-4 in overtime and 4-5 in shootouts this season.

New Individual and Team Records set this season: