nivek_wahs
03-30-2007, 03:41 AM
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=cce8c41c-ed6a-473a-9acc-ed01bcdc6ef2
It will get harder to score
As playoffs go on, goaltenders are starting to heat up
Steve Ewen, The Province
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007
The Vancouver Giants' nagging knack for ending up on opposing goalies' highlight reels hasn't disappeared so far in these playoffs.
The team that saw opposing netminders wind up with one of the three stars in 34 of 72 regular-season games has had it happen to them in two of their first four postseason encounters, and Chilliwack Bruins backstop Alex Archibald deserved at least one more.
The Giants, up 3-1 in the best-of-seven opening round, will have to find a way to solve Archibald tonight to finish off the Bruins. And if they do follow through on their lead in the set, they're going to find hotter and hotter netminding staring them down as the playoffs play out.
"The goalie's job is to play well and it's our group of forwards' job to outwork him and find ways for him to not have success," said Giants coach Don Hay. "It's about shooting for rebounds and going and getting rebounds and getting into those areas where you have to pay a price to score."
Part of it is the goalies. The Giants are the reigning WHL champions and hosting this season's Memorial Cup. Everybody gets up to play a team like that.
Part of it, too, is Vancouver. Their game plan is to put pucks on net, so opposing goalies automatically end up with high save totals. Vancouver was outshot just nine times in the regular season; the Everett Silvertips, the only team to finish ahead of them in the Western Conference standings, was outshot 35 times, due largely to their puck-control offence.
Not surprisingly, opposing goalies received three-star status in just 18 games against the Silvertips this regular season.
The top two teams in the East in league play, the Medicine Hat Tigers and Kootenay Ice, were outshot 15 and 26 times, respectively.
Also at play is that Vancouver is loaded up front with gritty, grinder types, rather than flashy finesse guys. They do have a handful of pure scorers and it will be more and more key for them to excel as the playoffs continue.
One of them, winger Michal Repik, has been among the team's best players through the first four games against the Bruins. The two main others, centres Tim Kraus and Wacey Rabbit, have improved as the series has gone on, but still have more to give.
"It's probably half and half," Kraus said when asked how much of this three-star stat was about the Giants and how much was about the opposing goalie. "Some games, we think the goalie actually played really good. Some games, you think he was just all right.
"I think Archibald has been playing his best. We're getting good shots at him and we're getting traffic."
As for the key to finishing off the Bruins tonight, Hay said simply the Giants had to "play our best."
Winger J.D. Watt concurred.
"We know that they're do-or-die right now, so they're going to bring their best game," said Watt.
Hay said he had one lineup change, re-inserting Game 4 scratch James Wright at forward and pulling out underage call-up Evander Kane.
steve.ewen@gmail.com
SERIES AT A GLANCE
(Giants lead best-of-seven series 3-1)
Friday, March 23, result
Vancouver 5 Chilliwack 4 (OT)
Saturday, March 24, result
Chilliwack 3 Vancouver 1
Tuesday result
Vancouver 4 Chilliwack 0
Wednesday result
Vancouver 5 Chilliwack 1
Tonight's game
Chilliwack at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m., Pacific Coliseum. TV: SHAW
Saturday's game
x-Vancouver at Chilliwack, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 4
x-Chilliwack at Vancouver, 7 p.m. (x-if necessary)
All games on AM 730, FM 88.1
© The Vancouver Province 2007
It will get harder to score
As playoffs go on, goaltenders are starting to heat up
Steve Ewen, The Province
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007
The Vancouver Giants' nagging knack for ending up on opposing goalies' highlight reels hasn't disappeared so far in these playoffs.
The team that saw opposing netminders wind up with one of the three stars in 34 of 72 regular-season games has had it happen to them in two of their first four postseason encounters, and Chilliwack Bruins backstop Alex Archibald deserved at least one more.
The Giants, up 3-1 in the best-of-seven opening round, will have to find a way to solve Archibald tonight to finish off the Bruins. And if they do follow through on their lead in the set, they're going to find hotter and hotter netminding staring them down as the playoffs play out.
"The goalie's job is to play well and it's our group of forwards' job to outwork him and find ways for him to not have success," said Giants coach Don Hay. "It's about shooting for rebounds and going and getting rebounds and getting into those areas where you have to pay a price to score."
Part of it is the goalies. The Giants are the reigning WHL champions and hosting this season's Memorial Cup. Everybody gets up to play a team like that.
Part of it, too, is Vancouver. Their game plan is to put pucks on net, so opposing goalies automatically end up with high save totals. Vancouver was outshot just nine times in the regular season; the Everett Silvertips, the only team to finish ahead of them in the Western Conference standings, was outshot 35 times, due largely to their puck-control offence.
Not surprisingly, opposing goalies received three-star status in just 18 games against the Silvertips this regular season.
The top two teams in the East in league play, the Medicine Hat Tigers and Kootenay Ice, were outshot 15 and 26 times, respectively.
Also at play is that Vancouver is loaded up front with gritty, grinder types, rather than flashy finesse guys. They do have a handful of pure scorers and it will be more and more key for them to excel as the playoffs continue.
One of them, winger Michal Repik, has been among the team's best players through the first four games against the Bruins. The two main others, centres Tim Kraus and Wacey Rabbit, have improved as the series has gone on, but still have more to give.
"It's probably half and half," Kraus said when asked how much of this three-star stat was about the Giants and how much was about the opposing goalie. "Some games, we think the goalie actually played really good. Some games, you think he was just all right.
"I think Archibald has been playing his best. We're getting good shots at him and we're getting traffic."
As for the key to finishing off the Bruins tonight, Hay said simply the Giants had to "play our best."
Winger J.D. Watt concurred.
"We know that they're do-or-die right now, so they're going to bring their best game," said Watt.
Hay said he had one lineup change, re-inserting Game 4 scratch James Wright at forward and pulling out underage call-up Evander Kane.
steve.ewen@gmail.com
SERIES AT A GLANCE
(Giants lead best-of-seven series 3-1)
Friday, March 23, result
Vancouver 5 Chilliwack 4 (OT)
Saturday, March 24, result
Chilliwack 3 Vancouver 1
Tuesday result
Vancouver 4 Chilliwack 0
Wednesday result
Vancouver 5 Chilliwack 1
Tonight's game
Chilliwack at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m., Pacific Coliseum. TV: SHAW
Saturday's game
x-Vancouver at Chilliwack, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 4
x-Chilliwack at Vancouver, 7 p.m. (x-if necessary)
All games on AM 730, FM 88.1
© The Vancouver Province 2007