Giants 4 Winterhawks 0 Mar 7

[dondo]

Giants get a much needed convincing win, holding the Hawks to 17 shots, while pounding Mucha with 48, scoring three times on the PP -- can't blame Mucha for allowing four goals and still having a sv% over 90 for the game. Kamloops lose to Kelowna in OT. Giants now sit 7 pts up for the division lead .. and barring a disaster should be a lock to take the BC Division.

the game -- box score
Giants 4 'Hawks 0 -- box score whl.ca (http://whl.ca/en/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1002605)


SCORING
1. VAN Wuchterl, (10) (Watt, Kraus), 10:09 (PP)
1. VAN Thelen, (8) (Lucic, Rabbit), 16:42
2. VAN Rabbit, (9) (Lucic, Franson), 13:41 (PP)
3. VAN Franson, (16) (Czibere, Cunningham), 9:53 (PP)

PENALTIES
1 - VAN Blum, 3:26 - Cross Checking , 2 min (PP)
1 - POR Langwieder, 8:29 - Hooking , 2 min (PP)
1 - POR Cepek, 11:04 - Holding , 2 min (PP)
1 - VAN Festerling, 13:27 - Tripping , 2 min (PP)
2 - POR Sjodin, 12:38 - Hooking , 2 min (PP)
2 - POR McLaren, 16:09 - Interference , 2 min (PP)
2 - VAN Czibere, 18:43 - Slashing , 2 min (PP)
3 - VAN Festerling, 3:17 - Cross Checking , 2 min (PP)
3 - VAN Toigo, 7:10 - Major-Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Jordan, 7:10 - Major-Fighting , 5 min
3 - POR Alexiuk, 9:22 - Holding , 2 min (PP)
3 - POR Cepek, 11:22 - Checking from Behind , 2 min (PP)

THREE STARS
1. VAN - 6 Cody Franson
2. POR - 35 Kurtis Mucha
3. VAN - 27 Milan Lucic

I'd like to hear other people's perspectives on the game itself as I'm just making educated guessed based upon the box score. Looks like Franson might be back, maybe the blow to the head knocked off that chip he's been wearing.

[dondo]

here's how Joey saw it.


by Joey Kenward (Voice of the Giants)

The Vancouver Giants bounced back into the win column on the road Wednesday with a textbook performance against the Portland Winterhawks. Goaltender Tyson Sexsmith registered his 8th shut-out of the season as the Giants skated away with a 4-0 win at the Memorial Coliseum.

Mike Wuchterl opened up the scoring for Vancouver on the power play just past the midway point of the first period of action. After J.D. Watt and Tim Kraus got the puck free behind the Hawks goal, Wuchterl took a pass alone in front and snapped in a shot behind Portland netminder Kurtis Mucha. For Wuchterl, it was his 10th goal of the season and also his first game-winning goal in a Giants uniform at 10:09.

Before the period was out, A.J. Thelen built on the Giants lead. After taking a pass high in the slot, he ripped the puck through traffic and found the back of the net. Wacey Rabbit and Milan Lucic get the helpers as Thelen gets his first goal in 14 games. It was his 8th of the campaign at 16:42.

The only goal of the middle frame came with the Giants on another power play. Rabbit got loose between the face off circles and snapped the puck towards the Portland net. Mucha never saw it as Brendan Mikkelson had parked himself in front of the goal to establish the screen. Lucic and Cody Franson chip in the assists on Rabbit’s 9th of the year at 13:41. Rabbit now has five goals and six assists in his last eight straight games.

Vancouver would score one more time on the man advantage in the third period. A nice feed from the left corner boards by Mitch Czibere saw the puck get to the right point for Franson. He stepped into a bullet of a slap shot that gave Mucha no chance. Craig Cunningham picks up the other assist on Franson’s 16th of the year came at 9:53.

Sexsmith didn’t see much action through the majority of the night. He was forced to make a good stop off a breakaway chance by Matt Schmermund in the second period. Then in the third period, he would be tested a few times late when the Hawks pulled Mucha to the bench for the extra attacker. However he hung on for the victory as the Giants for the 12th time this season kept their opponents off the score sheet.

Final shots on goal favoured the Giants by a margin of 48-17. Vancouver finished the game going 3-for-6 on the power play and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

With the win and a Kamloops Blazers overtime loss in Kelowna against the Rockets, the Giants now have a seven point lead atop the B.C. Division standings. Their magic number to clinch their second straight division title is two, either a combonation of Giants wins or Blazers losses.

Now with a record of 41-16-3-7, the Giants prepare to return to the Pacific Coliseum ice on Friday March 9 when they entertain the Chilliwack Bruins. Game time is 7:30pm PST.

[old_time_hockey]

Giants magic # is now 2. So if the Cougs can take care of the Blazers in regulation and the Giants beat the Bruins tomorrow, the banner is ours yeehoo

[Rsthelen]

Great goal ..... middle high slot (near blue line) right in, very nice slapper, through some legs I do recall. Best hit when Thelen (I think it was) hit Mikk and Mikkelson looked at him with a face of "what the $%&^* was that" when they were changing lines. Mikk didnt look too happy.

[SIZE=4]Question .... how (according to vancouver's web site, NOT whl.ca) Thelen is a minus 30 (GP G A PTS PIM PPG SHG GWG +/- NHL Draft
72 13 23 36 79 7 0 1 -30 Min 1st '04

HOW????

[Swando]

Great goal ..... middle high slot (near blue line) right in, very nice slapper, through some legs I do recall. Best hit when Thelen (I think it was) hit Mikk and Mikkelson looked at him with a face of "what the $%&^* was that" when they were changing lines. Mikk didnt look too happy.

[SIZE=4]Question .... how (according to vancouver's web site, NOT whl.ca) Thelen is a minus 30 (GP G A PTS PIM PPG SHG GWG +/- NHL Draft
72 13 23 36 79 7 0 1 -30 Min 1st '04

HOW????


Played with a loosing team like PA for most of the year... and hasn't done that well in Vancouver. But I'm sure he'll show you his new Armani suit he'll wear at the M Cup. Maybe a few Hawks will show up in their new Levis.

[Carebear]

How does a team get ZERO shots on goal in a period!?! Boogaard'd

[rinkrat]

How does a team get ZERO shots on goal in a period!?! Boogaard'd

Ask the Rockets,we held them to ZERO shots for more than one period earlier in the year. pbj

[dondo]

How does a team get ZERO shots on goal in a period!?! Boogaard'd

who got zero shots CB? :skeptical


SHOTS
Vancouver Giants 20 14 14 48
Portland Winter Hawks 5 5 7 17

[Carebear]

who got zero shots CB? :skeptical

NM.
Last night when I checked there were zero shots listed for Portland for the 3rd period. :(

MAKE ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL! Thanks a lot WHL.com!

[dondo]

NM.
Last night when I checked there were zero shots listed for Portland for the 3rd period. :(

MAKE ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL! Thanks a lot WHL.com!

http://www.whl.ca/hm/
actually its whl.CA :p dancing pi

[Knuckles Muldoon]

I'm just glad the games against Portland are over for this year. The games aren't even competitive, just glorified practices.

[old_time_hockey]

http://www.whl.ca/hm/
actually its whl.CA :p dancing pi

Oh BURN!! haha

But I know what Carebear means. SOG is the last stat that the WHL staff updates till the end of the period.

[dondo]

I'm just glad the games against Portland are over for this year. The games aren't even competitive, just glorified practices.

except for a certain 1-0 loss in OT -- on their teddy bear toss night :p

man how tough it must be to be a Portland fan right now. That said when we were down at the pre-season tourney the Portland fans were the most entertaining and I think they had a clue what was going to happen this season. The pre-season Winterhawks squad struggled against most every other team, but the Portland fans who we sat with a great sense of humour about the whole thing -- how could you not?

[Carebear]

Oh BURN!! haha

But I know what Carebear means. SOG is the last stat that the WHL staff updates till the end of the period.

Yeah but they had the Giants SOG listed. And a big 0 next to Portlands.

[SixSixOne]

Did anyone see or hear anything about the Toigo fight?

[Kassian]

Did anyone see or hear anything about the Toigo fight?

Toigo lost but it wasn't a beatdown or anything like that. He hung in there and landed a few rights of his own but Jordan is the more experienced fighter (at the WHL level anyway) and managed to land a few nice uppercuts midway through the fight. Eventually the two guys tired out and the linesmen stepped in to seperate them.

[SixSixOne]

Toigo lost but it wasn't a beatdown or anything like that. He hung in there and landed a few rights of his own but Jordan is the more experienced fighter (at the WHL level anyway) and managed to land a few nice uppercuts midway through the fight. Eventually the two guys tired out and the linesmen stepped in to seperate them.

Not bad, not bad at all.
Thanks for the recap, hopefully i'll be able to see Toigo fight in Chilliwack on the 18th http://whlfans.ca/images/smilies/biggrin.gif as every game he has fought in, I've been out of town :laugh: :(