Memorial Cup: Giants 4 Plymouth 3 OT May 18th

[dondo]

Well an interesting game. I thought the Giants were best when they were playing Giants hockey, controlling the gaps and sacrificing their bodies to make those shot blocks.

Favorite part of the game and I can't believe I forgot to put it in the recap was seeing Garet Hunt standing in the line-up being announced as part of the team. I don't believe we'll see Hunt actually play as I believe his groin injury is still a problem, but it did my heart good to see him suited up and back on the ice. Mots of the crowd stood for him as well.

enjoy the recap ( I think I'll do full recaps for Giants games, but haven't decided what to do for the other games, maybe a Beaner-style recap -- just the facts and a few observations to give a feel for the highlights of the tilts)


Giants Sink Whalers
Vancouver 4 Plymouth 3 OT

Giants Sink Whalers 4-3 OT May18th (http://www.vancouvergiantshq.com/May_18th_GiantsbkSinkbkWhalers_128.html)

The 2007 Memorial Cup opened tonight at the Pacific Coliseum amid some fan-fare and whole lot of advertising, merchandising, and a sea of corporate logos on virtually every once bare surface. Despite the elevated prices for parking, wall-to wall bodies in the concourse, the 13,428 fans (a record for a round robin game) were treated to very good game from two top teams. After the bag-pipes piping in the Memorial Cup the two teams got down to playing some hockey. Early on the Giants seemed to hold the edge taking the body and forcing the play, but the Plymouth squad brought a forecheck the Giants rarely experience. They bring two and three players in hard on the forecheck and when they aren’t forechecking they have a cherry picker floating along the opposing blue-line looking for that stretch pass.

The Giants opened the scoring when the Whalers spread themselves too thin and Jared Boll did a little headhunting. The Giants capitalised on that PP getting some good traffic to the net and working the puck hard on the cycle. Mario Bliznak got the puck back to Brendan Mikkelson, who rifled it down the slot and Spencer Machacek tipped it between Michal Neuvirth’s pads standing in the slot just above the crease. The gathered faithful exploded, waving the complimentary “We’re Up For the Cup” towels (draped over every seat prior to the game, waiting for the fans to take their seats) which were also liberally sprinkled with advertising. The Giants continued to press in the opposing end and controlled the play for the most part although Plymouth did look dangerous at times, especially when the Giants decided to make sloppy soft passes onto Whaler sticks. The Whalers scored on the first three of their five PPs and got the Giants running around in their own zone, double-teaming without need and generally not playing the kind of PK the fans had come to expect. The fact that most of the goals came off of single ply tissue-weak calls from the Q ref Francis Charron, who seemed to think that simply raising your stick to waist height constituted a call, but gamely ignored some serious two-handers to the wrists, just added insult to injury.

The OHL champs got their PP working by winning the puck battles, quick sharp passing, keeping pucks in at the point and going to the net. James Neal notched two goals tonight on the PP for the Whalers and looked dangerous right out of the gate. The Plymouth squad is not only big but they are mobile and have some quality depth. Milan Lucic on the other-hand benefited from the smart and slick play-making skills of Michal Repik. After Neal tied the game at 7:26 of the second, Lucic got it back less than minute later. Repik stripped the puck near his own blue-line and came into the Whaler zone with speed. Instead of cutting to the net he button-hooked to the boards and found Milan Lucic wide open in the high slot. Lucic made no mistake snapping it high on Neuvirth. Neal got that one back a couple of minutes later on the Whalers second PP opportunity. Lucic scored his second of the night about three minutes later putting the Giants back up by one. This time Wacey Rabbit and Repik combined on assisting, but it was mainly the hard work of Repik behind the net which got the goal. Repik spun behind the net and slipped the puck out to Lucic who was virtually in the same place as before with the same result. The Whalers were gifted yet another weak penalty call and once again capitalised to tie the game at threes. This time it was Ryan McGinnis who found the twine with a mere four seconds left in the penalty. Very late in the second period the Giants were tagged for a goalie interference penalty which had the Whaler goaltender back-up into a Giants player in the crease and fall-over. The Giants player, Mitch Czibere, was being held in the crease. A truly ridiculous call in my opinion.

The two teams battled hard in the third, but the Giants had found their footing and seemed to be back playing hockey which limited ice and space for the other guy. They weren’t hitting as hard as they had, but were much better positionally and were not caught out of position or turning over the puck like they had earlier in the game. Tyson Sexsmith had to make some nice pad stops tonight, but was not really in his very best form as he allowed a weak one low stick side which was the same place the soul-crushing double OT goal in game 7 went in on him. Spencer Machacek elevated his game and was a force most of the night. Repik is showing what a valuable component he is to this team as he seemed fully comfortable going to the hard places and skating around “redwoods” to make the play. JD Watt could easily have been very Bad Watt tonight, but his nice pass to McArdle to cement the game in OT redeemed a few of his gaffes tonight. However, he still is one lazy player and floats far more than I like. While rookies James Wright and Lance Bouma are pumping their legs hustling to the puck, JD is absently waving his stick at the puck, coasting into the play or making sloppy passes into the slot. As mentioned before Kenndal McArdle scored the OT winner. JD made a soft dump in into the zone and did not chase the puck. James Wright however did chase the puck behind the net forcing the Plymouth D to cough it up with a weak clear-attempt. JD gathered the puck along the boards and rifled a pass to McArdle streaking down the left slot. McArdle who failed on his chance to put the game away in regulation, made no mistake in OT and at 5:06 of the extra stanza got his team the win.

The Giants went 1 for 5 on the PP, while allowing their opponent to romp over their much vaunted PK scoring 3 for 5. Shots were 37-33 for the home team. The Giants squandered a few of their PP chances with poor dump-ins and alack of puck hunger. I felt the Giants did not battle fore the puck as hard as the Whalers did, but the Whalers left themselves open with their run and gun style which depends upon scoring more than their opponent. The Whalers looked very dangerous tonight at times and their quick puck movement and big mobile bodies will make them a challenge for the other teams in the tournament. The Giants in the end had to rely upon their strong team play and gap control to keep the game close and get the OT winner. Its something Don Hay was saying last year after the memorial Cup that he wished he had done more and not got lured into playing the other team’s game. The Giants got the win tonight solely because they began to take care of their end first and worried about the other end when they got their opportunities. The Giants take on the Q on Sunday, the puck drops at the Coliseum at 1:30pm PDT. Tomorrow will see the Q (Lewiston Maineiacs) and the Dub ( Medicine Hat Tigers) facing off at 1:00pm PDT.

Three Stars

1- Milan Lucic
2- James Neal
3- Michal Repik

[Swando]

Thanks for the good recap Dondo. I hope others follow this thread. I totally agree with everything except Sexsmith's play. I'm hard on him and I think he matched Plymouths goalie. Tyson was not to fault on ANY goals. Plymouths 1st goal came as a result of a loose puck being picked up and Neal skated about 10 strides to middle ice and had great momentum to snap it by Sexy. This type of stop is one of the most difficult for a defender as he has to change directions quicker than an 80+ mph snap shot. The puck hit the back of the net so hard it bounced out like a rocket. I give credit to Neal and a poor coverage by the G's pk. You are right in that it reminded me of the MH OT goal but closer in by a far better shooter.

I couldn't help but noticing that Neal reminded me of Everett's Mueller but with a ton more grit. Likes to loom around the fringe areas and then attack at his convinience....plus loves the PP. Much more of a Beak-off and equally a hot dog.

[dondo]

Neal was all over the ice tonight.. I was looking at Scouts Memorial Cup preview posts tonight and it says that James Neal lead his team with playoff goals (13 ) and points (10 or something), and I'm not surprised. yeah Neal feels like he has the skill of Mueller and not the dive-itis the Everett boy has. Mueller can be pretty soft at times and I do not consider him to be a big game player -- I'm sure the Everett faithful will argue with me on that point, but that's how I see it.

I thought Sexy was okay, but I still think he sees that shot the whole way and if he comes out a bit more he should have made that stop. I do not argue that it was a great shot by Neal, and that Neal is much better player than Bosch. Their third goal that deflection by Ryder was a brilliant goal absolutely no chance for Sexy.

[Swando]

Remember Dondo that this the PK and if he comes out to far the Whalers had 2 guys sitting at the crease area for tap ins or 1 timers from a little outside. This is where a goalie must play his best at being further in his net rather than to challange as is needed in 5 on 5

[dondo]

true and Neal cut across th crease before he let fly, so maybe I'll cut sexy some slack on that one then, but you know Keetley would have had it :thumb: :p

and I'm not blaming Sexy for the loss of the WHL Title, but I think the Tigers won in the end because they had the better goalie.

I'm curious to see how good Sexy will be when he's 20 though. These playoffs gave him a few lessons and some good seasoning and I think he has nowhere to go but up -- Mem Cup is going to be a challenge for him though.

[Swando]

true and Neal cut across th crease before he let fly, so maybe I'll cut sexy some slack on that one then, but you know Keetley would have had it :thumb: :p

and I'm not blaming Sexy for the loss of the WHL Title, but I think the Tigers won in the end because they had the better goalie.

I'm curious to see how good Sexy will be when he's 20 though. These playoffs gave him a few lessons and some good seasoning and I think he has nowhere to go but up -- Mem Cup is going to be a challenge for him though.


Barring injury I think the Gmen are sitting pretty for the next 2 yrs in goal. Plus ..What a way to bring up a younger goalie now to learn from a very considerate individual like Tyson...much unlike Slade/cokehead
I agree that Keetly was the better goalie of the series and I also say he had the worst game of the 2 goalies in game 4. Had Giants won the series Sexsmith would have been MVP I think. Now he can one up Keetly and win the MVP in MC..I likw this...........TS for MVP in the MC . got a got ring to it

[www.BCSportsBeat.ca]

What a great game from start to finish.

Giants get huge win in OT over the Whalers (http://bcsportsbeat.ca)


The Vancouver Giants started the Memorial Cup on a winning note as they defeated the Plymouth Whalers 4-3 in overtime.

And, Kenndal McArdle, who misfired on an almost certain goal early on in the extra frame, can rest a lot easier as he scored the game winner at 5:06 of overtime.

J.D. Watt intercepted a poor clearing attempt by Brett Bellemore, he then quickly passed the puck to McArdle who was all alone in front of the net, and he had no trouble snapping the puck into the net.

It was a disappointing loss for Plymouth, who came back from three one-goal deficits in this game, as they scored on three consecutive power plays in the second period to keep it close.

The game started with a quick pace and it did not take long for the big hits to start being thrown. There was no hesitation by either team to try and take control of the pace of the game.

At 4:09 of the first Jared Boll made a bone-crunching hit from behind on Brent Regner and took a penalty for it.

Vancouver capitalized on the ensuing powerplay at 5:41 when Mario Bliznak carried the puck to the far side point and then fed a pass across to Brendan Mikkelson. Mikkelson took a hard one-time shot that deflected off Plymouth defender Joe McCann’s skates and then off Spencer Machacek’s skates as he was screening in front and found its way through the five-hole of goalie Michal Neuvirth.

Later in the opening frame Wacey Rabbit caused a shorthanded turnover at the red line and went streaking up the boards with the puck and blasted a slap shot on net. Great save by Neuvirth as he deflected the puck over the boards with his glove.

At 14:13 another big open-ice hit by Boll on Machacek led to a bit of a brawl as J.D. Watt came to the defense of Machacek and threw Boll to the ice from behind.

Machacek was very slow in getting up following the hit. Boll received a charging and roughing penalty and Watt received a roughing penalty once the referees sorted everything out.

To start the second period Vancouver started to take control of the game playing their big crash and bang style hockey, Thelen and Lucic both made some key hits. While, Plymouth seemed to want to get to fancy and was having difficulty putting shots on net.

However, six minutes into the second they nearly tied up the game when James Neal took the puck away from Jonathon Blum behind the net and made a pass to Evan Brophy. Brophy snapped the puck into the crest of Tyson Sexsmith’s Jersey but Neal had an excellent opportunity on the rebound but Sexsmith was able to make the save. Brent Festerling took a hooking penalty on the play.

On the ensuing power play at 7:26 Daniel Ryder brought the puck up the boards and made a funny pass that bounced away and was found by Neal and from the hash marks he took a quick wrist shot that zipped past Sexsmith, who appeared to be too deep in his net, game tied 1-1.

Vancouver didn’t take long to regain the lead less then a minute later at 8:21 Michael Repik came flying up the ice and when he tried to go around Wes Cunningham he lost control of the puck. However he recovered possession and fired a quick pass to a trailing Milan Lucic who cleanly beat Neuvirth blocker side high.

A little later in the period at 10:25, with Plymouth on the power play again, Neal brought the puck in from the corner and made a backhand pass to the front of the net, that hit the skates of Blum, and Neal followed his pass and was able to backhand hard at the net and it trickled through Sexsmith’s pads and just got across the line to tie the game at two.

Vancouver’s third goal came right after Wacey Rabbit won an offensive zone face-off. Repik carried the puck down into the corner and started toward the back of the net, right before Repik went behind the net the puck he made a quick, subtle pass to the front of the net right on the stick of Lucic who was able to bury the puck into the net for his second goal of the game.

With five minutes left in the 2nd period Bliznak and McArdle came in on a 2-1 which Bliznak made a nice feed through the defenseman’s feet to McArdle who calmed the puck and passed it back in front and it was just tipped wide by Bliznak.

Soon after on another Plymouth power play Tom Sestito brought the puck out from the corner and skated up towards the point he got checked by Tim Kraus, but Sestito was able to get the puck back to Ryan McGinnis who absolutely blasted the puck from the far top point past Sexsmith.

With two minutes remaining Brophy made a nice touch pass, after he came in across the blue line and Boll cam streaking in very fast and made a move on Sexsmith and tried to lift it high but Sexsmith made an enormous glove save to keep the score tied.

To start the third period both teams seemed to be playing much more tentatively.

The first real chance for the go ahead goal game at about four minutes in when Brophy carried the puck in with tremendous speed and drove to the net and flipped it at Sexsmith but a great save put the puck behind the net and it was cleared by Vancouver.

Right before the halfway mark of the third Plymouth almost went up for the first time when Steven Whitley took a hard wrist shot from the point, it was deflected right before the net by Chris Terry, but Sexsmith was able to make the save.

There appeared to be some ice issues with the paint in behind the nets, that delayed the start of overtime but after a short delay they seemed to solve the problem and the game got underway.

At 2:15 into overtime Kenndal McArdle was fed an excellent pass from behind the net and somehow he shot the puck wide of the all but empty net.

Two minutes later Michael Repik made yet another awesome pass from behind the net to Lance Bouma who quickly snapped it on net but Neuvirth was able to make the save and keep his team in the game.

Then at 5:06 Kenndal McArdle redeemed himself with a beautiful snap shot off a pass from J.D. Watt to win the game for Vancouver.

The Giants out shot Plymouth 37 to 33.

Vancouver was 1 for 5 on the power play, while Plymouth went an impressive 3 for 5.

The game set a Memorial Cup record high attendance with 13,428 fans at the Pacific Coliseum.

On Saturday the Medicine Hat Tigers will battle the Lewiston MAINEiacs at the Rink on Renfrew. Puck-drop 1:07pm PST.

-- Cam Martin

[Knuckles Muldoon]

I thought it was a weird game and had an entirely strange feel to it. Obviously, it's weird to play against a team you have no idea about. It felt more like an exhibition game than a MC game. I didn't think the Giants played very well. Lots of sloppy play with the puck, weak clearing attempts and poor passing. The Giants won on the strength of the efforts of a few players. Repik was easily the best player on the ice, period. He was a handful for the bigger Plymouth defense and was darting around with the puck at will. Rabbit, Lucic, Bliznak and Machacek were also very good. Sexy played well and made some terrific stops to save the game. The D-corps were struggling with the puck. They played well positionally, but were not too good with the puck. Much of that had to do with the size and physical nature of the Plymouth forwards. James Neal is quite a player. And as noted, yeah, he immediately reminded me of Mueller, but hungrier. With his reach and strength, he can quickly overwhelm any defender in an instant if he can get a little space with the puck.

Good win, but a strange experience. Last year, I was on the edge of my sofa watching the MC games from Moncton. Last night, I had none of that same anticipation or excitement. I'm still waiting for it to hit me.

[dondo]

I would say that our collective expectations for the Giants were massive last season. I think this time round we either believe they'll do it or they won't. Losing the WHL Title (pretty much by not showing up in game 6) really has taken that wind out of my sails.

Last nights game was good hockey game, unlike today's phone it in session. The Giants better have a serious hunger to win tomorrow or the Maine-iacs will bore the crap outta them and then score.

[Knuckles Muldoon]

Losing the WHL Title (pretty much by not showing up in game 6) really has taken that wind out of my sails.

That pretty well sums it up for me, too.

[Section_Z]

What I saw last night was a great game of hockey. Two evenly matched teams fighting for the puck all game. After seeing todays game, I think one of these two teams will take the Cup. Don't think I have to mention which one I'd prefer.

[Giantsfan]

and I'm not blaming Sexy for the loss of the WHL Title, but I think the Tigers won in the end because they had the better goalie.

I couldn't disagree more. Take away Russell, (who has yet to impress me), & add in Franson & Hunt & the Giants win the series in 5. Also, take into the fact that we got shafted by brutal reffing in most of the games & this series would've been over long ago.
Russell hasn't done anything to impress me, he's soft, a whiner & gets favortism by the refs. Frankly, I think Festerling has been the best defenseman in the playoffs miles ahead of Russell.

[Swando]

[QUOTE=Giantsfan]I couldn't disagree more. Take away Russell, (who has yet to impress me), & add in Franson & Hunt & the Giants win the series in 5. Also, take into the fact that we got shafted by brutal reffing in most of the games & this series would've been over long ago.
Russell hasn't done anything to impress me, he's soft, a whiner & gets favortism by the refs. Frankly, I think Festerling has been the best defenseman in the playoffs miles ahead of Russell.[/QUO

GiantsFan..you really should read what you post . You are totally agreeing with Dondo's post by saying that Russel did nothing etc. Hunt is a non factor why even bring his name up? yes reffing sucked in favor of the HAT and yes Festerling played great............. then why did we not win??? because Keetly stood on his head.. Sexsmith had a great series and is a great goalie but we faced a better goalie than the Giants could handle in Keetley for this 7 games series...he was the difference. If we faced Sexsmith as a goalie then Sexsmith might have been the difference.

[Giantsfan]

Swando, IMO, if the Giants didn't have to go with 5 defensemen for the last 2+ games they would've won. If you don't think the Giants weren't missing Franson, then give your head a shake. I don't think he's our best d-man, but don't think for a second he wouldn't have made a difference in the rotation & experience he would've added. He's also our #1 dman on the pp which has been up & down throughout the season. I realize Hunt isn't playing, but if he was in the lineup, he would've punished those Tiger dman more than Lucic. Hunt feeds off this type of game & he would've made such a HUGE difference in this series. You don't think the Tiger's defense would be dishing that puck off much quicker if #24 was charging at him full speed? I don't think Keetley played better than Sexsmith. To me, it was pretty much even.

As for Russell, I think he's been average at best. I know Wilms & Russell have been drooling over him at times, & I don't understand why? I think he's been less than stellar but I've only seen him in the Finals vs the Gmen. From what I've seen, Festerling, Blum & Thelin have been far superior to Russell.

[dondo]

GF you've really got to get a clue before you mouth off. :confused:

You -- of any of the new posters here have the least cause to tell someone else to "give their head a shake". Most of the time I find your posts are so convoluted that I have a problem following the thought you are trying to express. (see above -- where you say you disagree but then go off on some defenseman tangent and whine about Russell, who may be a bit cheap, but is exceptional in his own end of the ice and a definite threat)

Without Keetley we win the series in five or six at the most. We as a team did not show up in game 6 and that's our fault. As good as the Tigers are as a squad, they really would not be the force they can be without Keetley who is an exceptional goalie and gives his team a chance to win every night.

Tyson is a young above average goalie who is very solid, but rarely steals games for his team and has been known to allow a softie now and again. He is good at closing the door, and is very calm and solid positionally and I am dying to see what he'll be like as a twenty year old.

Sure losing a D-man hurts us, but not as much as not having a game stealing goalie at the other end of the rink does. I am happy they went with 5 D instead of trying to shoe-horn Manning into that kind of series. I also do not see it as the reason we lost games 6 and 7. We were in game 7, we as a team sagged heavily in game 6, but even then still had a chance.

[Giantsfan]

Hey Dondo, Sexsmith had 3 shutouts in the Med Hat series. How many did Keetley have?... Exactly!

If you don't think Russell would've been rushing passes & making hasty decisions with Hunt on him you haven't been watching the same team I have all season.

[dondo]

hmmm..... those were the only wins the team got ... if he was scored on he couldn't hold the game, he had far fewer shots than Keetley and far fewer quality chances as the Giants kept the puck to the outside very well.

I like Sexy, but I still think that Keetley was the better goaltender. And I know there are more than a few people who agree with me.

Garet wasn't on the ice for any of the playoffs so I don't think its relevant. It like saying we would have won if Brule was back for another run -- its immaterial.

but whatever .. thanks for the concise response .. I'm not trying to discourage you from posting at all, just looking for a bit of clarity.

[Giantsfan]

hmmm..... those were the only wins the team got ... if he was scored on he couldn't hold the game, he had far fewer shots than Keetley and far fewer quality chances as the Giants kept the puck to the outside very well.

I like Sexy, but I still think that Keetley was the better goaltender. And I know there are more than a few people who agree with me.

Garet wasn't on the ice for any of the playoffs so I don't think its relevant. It like saying we would have won if Brule was back for another run -- its immaterial.

but whatever .. thanks for the concise response .. I'm not trying to discourage you from posting at all, just looking for a bit of clarity.

Clarity about what? We disagree. I also know there are more than a few people who agree with me on the goaltending issue. So be it.
I don't know why you have such a hard on for Russell? He had a whopping 3 assists in the WHL Finals. WOW! That doesn't tell the entire tale, but don't try to sell me that he was "exceptional in his own end of the ice and a definite threat" when he didn't score any goals & got favoritism by the officials.

BTW, Cody Franson had 1 goal & 1 assist in the 4 games he played. So, overall, he had 1 less point in 3 fewer games & he definately could've been the difference in games 5, 6 & 7.

[Swando]

GF I think that having 5 dmen did not hurt us for the following reason. Players love more ice time. I personally think that a Thelan stepped up his game due to getting the extra ice time with Franson gone. As did Regner getting chances on the PP. I didn't like Russels play at all in the series and I hated his over exagerting getting hit stuff. I to also hated his seemingly non penalized mix-ups. As far a Sexsmith vs Keetley I'd say it was a toss up BUT we shot against Keetly and out shot them by a wide margin on most games. I'd like to think that if we had Keetley maybe the outcome would have been the same and Sexy would have stoned us!

[Giantsfan]

I think that losing Cody Franson was the difference in the series. Sure players step up & take on larger roles when someone goes down, but Franson was playing top line minutes & getting a few points so I don't think having him injured for the final 3 games helped the Giants in any way. Even though we got the short end of brutal officiating, I'd take Franson on the pp over anyone else we have on defense. He already had 1 goal, & we'll never know what could've been. In game 7 you could really tell by watching the guys how tired they were especially when the Tigers knew that they only had 5 dmen, & anytime one got a penalty, then that's extra tough to kill penalties for the remaining 4 dmen. Guys like Dorsette & Stevens were really laying the hits on the defense trying to wear them down & it paid off. I think the Tigers-Giants game will be by far the most intense & entertaining game in the Memorial Cup.

[Swando]

Glad we can all have our opinions but I thot we were equally strong without him and maybe even a tad better on the defensive side. MH never gave our D a chance on the PP as they kept men high all the time. We were brutal the first few games and got better after Franson was hurt cause they didn't key on him... I still say Keetley was the big difference and I will not reply again

[dondo]

wow GF we really have to agree to disagree on this one .. I'm with Swando as both Regner and Thelen were able to elevate their games as a result. As I said before -- inserting Manning into the line-up would not have helped and probably hindered our defense.

And if you still don't believe me then check out what NWB says about this subject in another tread.