dondo
12-31-2006, 10:48 PM
The final game of 2006 and what a year it has been for the Giants.
The Bruins showed up a bit more tonight, but were not able to get a goal for the second night in a row.
here's my recap -- I listened to the game so its from Joey and Bill's point of view -- I am dying to see that Kraus pass.
Giants Bruise Bruins
Vancouver 3 Chilliwack 0
For the second time in two nights the Giants shutout the expansion franchise Chilliwack Bruins, with a different goaltender between the pipes. For the third time in three games the Vancouver squad has had a player notch a hat-trick in the game. The Giants played a picture perfect road game, keeping up the intensity throughout with no passengers and keeping shots on their net low and from the outside, for the most part. Milan Lucic for the second time in three games notched a hat trick, this one a natural, and was the only player to find the twine tonight. The G-Men started back-up Blaine Neufeld who had just returned from injury and had his first start for the club since December 2nd in Seattle, a 4-0 drubbing which saw him go down after not allowing a goal on 7 shots. Neufeld might not have seen a lot of shots this evening, but he was pressed to make a couple of game breaking stops when the score was close to keep his team in the game.
The Giants opened the scoring on a 4 on 3 PP, 4:14 into the first period. Tim Kraus fed his line-mate Milan Lucic in the high slot and Lucic made no mistake snapping the puck past Matt Esposito putting his team up by one. The visiting Giants maintained their pressure concentrating on making smart plays, holding the Bruins to only 4 shots in the first.
The Giants came out with the same kind of game in the second. Lunch-buckets in hand the Vancouver squad showed up to a man to work and work hard, and for the second night in a row maintained it throughout the game. Early in the second the Giants intensity caused them to draw a couple of back to back penalties though, putting the Bruins on a 5 on 3 advantage. With his team still only up by one, Blaine Neufeld made a couple of stellar stops keeping his squad’s momentum and preserving the empty sheet as he weathered the onslaught. The Giants used the lift of the kill to really take their game into the Bruins end of the ice, and at 13:23 doubled their lead as Lucic slipped one in on Esposito’s doorstep, off of a rebound on a Spencer Machacek shot. The Bruins got a late PP but failed to capitalise as the Vancouver team deftly cleared the puck whenever they had the opportunity. 2-0 after two.
The Giants continued to roll in the third and put the game away 8:00 into the final stanza. Milan Lucic finished off the natural hat-trick but there might have been too many mouths still hanging open to cheer for it. Tim Kraus made an amazing move to get the puck to Lucic. Coming in on the wing Kraus faked the shot skated past the puck and slipped it cross-crease between his legs to Milan waiting on the open side of the net. Lucic had the presence of mind to get the goal and not goggle at his line-mate’s pass. A few hats went to the ice from some Vancouver fans who made the trek up the valley to watch what they hoped would become a traditional New Years Eve tilt versus the two lower mainland teams. With 20seconds left another kind of tilt between JD Watt and Colby Kulhanek broke out. Kulhanek levelled Watt with a check early in the first and I think this might have been a bit of payback for that. Watt got his arm free early and after getting Kulhanek’s helmet off proceeded to lay on some hard over-hand rights taking down Kulhanek for the win and capping off the victory for his team.
The Giants went 1 for 7 on the PP, while holding their opponent to 0 for 5. The shots were 33-17 for the visitors, and even though he took the loss Esposito made some nice saves to keep it close. The Bruins brought a better game to the arena but were still unable to find the twine. The Giants will have to wait until March to meet the Bruins for their final three meetings.
The next game for the G-Men will be versus the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday January 3rd, at the Pacific Coliseum. The puck drops at 7pm PST.
Three Stars
1 – Milan Lucic
2 – Tim Kraus
3 – Blaine Neufeld
The Bruins showed up a bit more tonight, but were not able to get a goal for the second night in a row.
here's my recap -- I listened to the game so its from Joey and Bill's point of view -- I am dying to see that Kraus pass.
Giants Bruise Bruins
Vancouver 3 Chilliwack 0
For the second time in two nights the Giants shutout the expansion franchise Chilliwack Bruins, with a different goaltender between the pipes. For the third time in three games the Vancouver squad has had a player notch a hat-trick in the game. The Giants played a picture perfect road game, keeping up the intensity throughout with no passengers and keeping shots on their net low and from the outside, for the most part. Milan Lucic for the second time in three games notched a hat trick, this one a natural, and was the only player to find the twine tonight. The G-Men started back-up Blaine Neufeld who had just returned from injury and had his first start for the club since December 2nd in Seattle, a 4-0 drubbing which saw him go down after not allowing a goal on 7 shots. Neufeld might not have seen a lot of shots this evening, but he was pressed to make a couple of game breaking stops when the score was close to keep his team in the game.
The Giants opened the scoring on a 4 on 3 PP, 4:14 into the first period. Tim Kraus fed his line-mate Milan Lucic in the high slot and Lucic made no mistake snapping the puck past Matt Esposito putting his team up by one. The visiting Giants maintained their pressure concentrating on making smart plays, holding the Bruins to only 4 shots in the first.
The Giants came out with the same kind of game in the second. Lunch-buckets in hand the Vancouver squad showed up to a man to work and work hard, and for the second night in a row maintained it throughout the game. Early in the second the Giants intensity caused them to draw a couple of back to back penalties though, putting the Bruins on a 5 on 3 advantage. With his team still only up by one, Blaine Neufeld made a couple of stellar stops keeping his squad’s momentum and preserving the empty sheet as he weathered the onslaught. The Giants used the lift of the kill to really take their game into the Bruins end of the ice, and at 13:23 doubled their lead as Lucic slipped one in on Esposito’s doorstep, off of a rebound on a Spencer Machacek shot. The Bruins got a late PP but failed to capitalise as the Vancouver team deftly cleared the puck whenever they had the opportunity. 2-0 after two.
The Giants continued to roll in the third and put the game away 8:00 into the final stanza. Milan Lucic finished off the natural hat-trick but there might have been too many mouths still hanging open to cheer for it. Tim Kraus made an amazing move to get the puck to Lucic. Coming in on the wing Kraus faked the shot skated past the puck and slipped it cross-crease between his legs to Milan waiting on the open side of the net. Lucic had the presence of mind to get the goal and not goggle at his line-mate’s pass. A few hats went to the ice from some Vancouver fans who made the trek up the valley to watch what they hoped would become a traditional New Years Eve tilt versus the two lower mainland teams. With 20seconds left another kind of tilt between JD Watt and Colby Kulhanek broke out. Kulhanek levelled Watt with a check early in the first and I think this might have been a bit of payback for that. Watt got his arm free early and after getting Kulhanek’s helmet off proceeded to lay on some hard over-hand rights taking down Kulhanek for the win and capping off the victory for his team.
The Giants went 1 for 7 on the PP, while holding their opponent to 0 for 5. The shots were 33-17 for the visitors, and even though he took the loss Esposito made some nice saves to keep it close. The Bruins brought a better game to the arena but were still unable to find the twine. The Giants will have to wait until March to meet the Bruins for their final three meetings.
The next game for the G-Men will be versus the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday January 3rd, at the Pacific Coliseum. The puck drops at 7pm PST.
Three Stars
1 – Milan Lucic
2 – Tim Kraus
3 – Blaine Neufeld