dondo
09-30-2007, 02:23 AM
a long and rather involved recap, but worth the read I believe as it'll give you all the details of the game and feeling for what it was like being there sitting in a seat.
enjoy
D
Giants Douse Rockets Sep 29 - VGHQ (http://www.vancouvergiantshq.com/September_29_GiantsbkDousebkRockets_144.html)
Giants Douse Rockets
Vancouver 5 Kelowna 0
Don Robinson - vancouvergiantshq.com
After sweeping their road trip to start the season the Giants were eager to get back home, raise a few banners and continue playing Giants hockey. The 12000 strong that showed up for their home opener got the opportunity to see more than a few new guys in traditional Giants burgundy garb and were not disappointed with what they saw. The home team embarrassed the visitors out-shooting them 16-0 in the first period and continuing that dominance throughout the game holding the Rockets to single digits in shots at just nine, ending the tally at 48-9. Sexsmith was not busy in the least, but made a couple of good stops to preserve the goose-egg, his 11th in a Giants uni.
Man it was good to get back to the rink, the much better souvenir banner (why the hell they couldn’t figure this out for last year still boggles my mind, but whatever), the low-key banner raising and even the local IATSE crew lamely hoisting the crooked banners stiltingly to the ceiling sent shivers down my spine. It was a pretty shoddy banner raising in execution, but pretty damn sweet seeing those banners go to the rafters, I must say. Garet Hunt got the biggest cheer during the intros of the team, closely followed by Repik and Machacek, with honourable mention going to Blum and I couldn’t help wonder “who are these other players?” I saw more than a few preseason tilts, but really did not have a strong idea of the team we had or how the new bits would fit into the mix. Those concerns would be wiped out though off the drop of the puck as the Giants re-established their tenacious forecheck and dominant puck possession play. No Gordie Howe tonight in attendance, but Pat Quinn was there to represent the owner contingent. It was a good crowd tonight and last years draft pick Evander Kane had a very solid night of his own, potting two markers.
The Giants came out flying in the first, but Kristofer Westblom stood tall turning away all of the sixteen shots the home squad threw his way. Westblom had a bit of luck on his side, but also made some excellent stops keeping his team in a game in which they had no desire to compete. The G-Men controlled the boards, the slot , the neutral zone, but especially their own end of the ice, where they gamely dropped to block shots and had picture perfect man to man coverage in their own zone.
The second opened much the same as the first. The Giants pressed hard in the offensive zone and were not willing to back-off into the neutral zone when they lost possession in the Kelowna end, but fought hard to regain possession before the puck crossed the blue line. Machacek opened the scoring short-handed firing a puck from the corner and going in off a either the goalie or a Rocket defender. Five minutes later Craig Cunningham got his first WHL goal ever, on the PP, (yay) celebrating like he’d just scored the game-winning goal in a Memorial Cup final. My first thought was “wow, is that guy ever excited”, but when I realized that it was Cunningham who scored the goal (off a pretty sweet one-timer I might add), then it all made sense. Michal Repik literally dived for the loose puck so he could hand it to Craig for his first goal. Congrats Craig, may this be the start of many more to come. The Giants weren’t done in the second as Lance Bouma chipped the puck over Westblom, putting the G-Men up 3-0. Westblom was pulled at that point in favour of Torrie Jung, who had a solid showing with his team having their backs against the wall.
The third began with fisticuffs just over a minute in, as brand new Giant Mike Reich (pronounced Reach, for those of you interested) singled Lyon Messier out of a scrum around the net and ended up pounding the top of his helmet as Messier dropped like a stone, turtling for all he was worth. Reich and Messier both got five and a game for their trouble. The much more interesting fight out of that scrum, however, was between Hunt and Luke Schenn a very large veteran Kelowna d-man. Schenn got the upper had early, tying up Hunt and battering the little tough guy with rights to the top of the head, but eventually Hunt got a fist loose, began throwing uppercuts and then managed to pull Schenn’s jersey over his head finishing off with some hard jabs, before the linesmen stepped in. Overall the fight was draw, but I haven’t seen a jersey actually pulled over a player’s head in many years so for me it was indeed memorable, especially because Garet looked straight at me and my buddy in the corner with the most aggressive fearsome wild man look. It was as if he was possessed, maybe he was. Chris Cloud and Bloodoff (not sure if it was Lucas or Evan) dropped the gloves a couple of minutes after that sawing off to a feisty draw.
Those battles seemed to deplete any energy reserves the Rockets might have had left as they watched the Giants skates rings around them padding the lead with a couple of more goals, both scored by 16 yr old Evander Kane. The first came off of a nice feed from Jonny Blum, after some solid dipsying and also doodling by Michal Repik who had three assists on the night. The second was a beauty. A pass to the slot went off a Kelowna defender and bounced to the open side right onto Kane’s stick. Kane rifled a shot top shelf to put the Giants up 5-0, where they would remain the rest of the evening. I should mention an interesting tidbit is that when the Giants scored their fourth goal, their goal total equalled Kelowna’s shot total.
Total dominance by the home squad from start to finish. Lots of ice-time for the third and fourth liners, including PP time. The defense was seamless, blocking shot after shot and keeping all of the action to the outside. Very rarely did the Kelowna forwards gain access to the slot and when they did Sexsmith was there to make the stop. Jonny Blum earned top star honours for basically being invisible. There were some nice offensive forays, but it was really his ability to quietly cut off angles giving the other team nowhere to go and finishing his check in the corner as well as blocking the slot any way he could which gave him the nod. Apparently, playing with Festerling last year has rubbed off. The two assists didn’t hurt any either.
On a night where the Lions were playing at home, the Canucks away and the Giants their home opener, for the Giants to get that kind of crowd proves that the Giants are rising in the collective unconscious of the city. It was good night for the city, as all three Vancouver squads won their games with the Lions and Giants dominating their opponents. The Giants went 1 for 7 on the PP, while the Rockets went 0 for 6. The Giants head up the valley to take on the Chilliwack Bruins tomorrow (Sun). Puck drops at 5pm, and can be heard on NW AM980.
Three Stars
1. Jonathon Blum
2. Michal Repik
3. Evander Kane
enjoy
D
Giants Douse Rockets Sep 29 - VGHQ (http://www.vancouvergiantshq.com/September_29_GiantsbkDousebkRockets_144.html)
Giants Douse Rockets
Vancouver 5 Kelowna 0
Don Robinson - vancouvergiantshq.com
After sweeping their road trip to start the season the Giants were eager to get back home, raise a few banners and continue playing Giants hockey. The 12000 strong that showed up for their home opener got the opportunity to see more than a few new guys in traditional Giants burgundy garb and were not disappointed with what they saw. The home team embarrassed the visitors out-shooting them 16-0 in the first period and continuing that dominance throughout the game holding the Rockets to single digits in shots at just nine, ending the tally at 48-9. Sexsmith was not busy in the least, but made a couple of good stops to preserve the goose-egg, his 11th in a Giants uni.
Man it was good to get back to the rink, the much better souvenir banner (why the hell they couldn’t figure this out for last year still boggles my mind, but whatever), the low-key banner raising and even the local IATSE crew lamely hoisting the crooked banners stiltingly to the ceiling sent shivers down my spine. It was a pretty shoddy banner raising in execution, but pretty damn sweet seeing those banners go to the rafters, I must say. Garet Hunt got the biggest cheer during the intros of the team, closely followed by Repik and Machacek, with honourable mention going to Blum and I couldn’t help wonder “who are these other players?” I saw more than a few preseason tilts, but really did not have a strong idea of the team we had or how the new bits would fit into the mix. Those concerns would be wiped out though off the drop of the puck as the Giants re-established their tenacious forecheck and dominant puck possession play. No Gordie Howe tonight in attendance, but Pat Quinn was there to represent the owner contingent. It was a good crowd tonight and last years draft pick Evander Kane had a very solid night of his own, potting two markers.
The Giants came out flying in the first, but Kristofer Westblom stood tall turning away all of the sixteen shots the home squad threw his way. Westblom had a bit of luck on his side, but also made some excellent stops keeping his team in a game in which they had no desire to compete. The G-Men controlled the boards, the slot , the neutral zone, but especially their own end of the ice, where they gamely dropped to block shots and had picture perfect man to man coverage in their own zone.
The second opened much the same as the first. The Giants pressed hard in the offensive zone and were not willing to back-off into the neutral zone when they lost possession in the Kelowna end, but fought hard to regain possession before the puck crossed the blue line. Machacek opened the scoring short-handed firing a puck from the corner and going in off a either the goalie or a Rocket defender. Five minutes later Craig Cunningham got his first WHL goal ever, on the PP, (yay) celebrating like he’d just scored the game-winning goal in a Memorial Cup final. My first thought was “wow, is that guy ever excited”, but when I realized that it was Cunningham who scored the goal (off a pretty sweet one-timer I might add), then it all made sense. Michal Repik literally dived for the loose puck so he could hand it to Craig for his first goal. Congrats Craig, may this be the start of many more to come. The Giants weren’t done in the second as Lance Bouma chipped the puck over Westblom, putting the G-Men up 3-0. Westblom was pulled at that point in favour of Torrie Jung, who had a solid showing with his team having their backs against the wall.
The third began with fisticuffs just over a minute in, as brand new Giant Mike Reich (pronounced Reach, for those of you interested) singled Lyon Messier out of a scrum around the net and ended up pounding the top of his helmet as Messier dropped like a stone, turtling for all he was worth. Reich and Messier both got five and a game for their trouble. The much more interesting fight out of that scrum, however, was between Hunt and Luke Schenn a very large veteran Kelowna d-man. Schenn got the upper had early, tying up Hunt and battering the little tough guy with rights to the top of the head, but eventually Hunt got a fist loose, began throwing uppercuts and then managed to pull Schenn’s jersey over his head finishing off with some hard jabs, before the linesmen stepped in. Overall the fight was draw, but I haven’t seen a jersey actually pulled over a player’s head in many years so for me it was indeed memorable, especially because Garet looked straight at me and my buddy in the corner with the most aggressive fearsome wild man look. It was as if he was possessed, maybe he was. Chris Cloud and Bloodoff (not sure if it was Lucas or Evan) dropped the gloves a couple of minutes after that sawing off to a feisty draw.
Those battles seemed to deplete any energy reserves the Rockets might have had left as they watched the Giants skates rings around them padding the lead with a couple of more goals, both scored by 16 yr old Evander Kane. The first came off of a nice feed from Jonny Blum, after some solid dipsying and also doodling by Michal Repik who had three assists on the night. The second was a beauty. A pass to the slot went off a Kelowna defender and bounced to the open side right onto Kane’s stick. Kane rifled a shot top shelf to put the Giants up 5-0, where they would remain the rest of the evening. I should mention an interesting tidbit is that when the Giants scored their fourth goal, their goal total equalled Kelowna’s shot total.
Total dominance by the home squad from start to finish. Lots of ice-time for the third and fourth liners, including PP time. The defense was seamless, blocking shot after shot and keeping all of the action to the outside. Very rarely did the Kelowna forwards gain access to the slot and when they did Sexsmith was there to make the stop. Jonny Blum earned top star honours for basically being invisible. There were some nice offensive forays, but it was really his ability to quietly cut off angles giving the other team nowhere to go and finishing his check in the corner as well as blocking the slot any way he could which gave him the nod. Apparently, playing with Festerling last year has rubbed off. The two assists didn’t hurt any either.
On a night where the Lions were playing at home, the Canucks away and the Giants their home opener, for the Giants to get that kind of crowd proves that the Giants are rising in the collective unconscious of the city. It was good night for the city, as all three Vancouver squads won their games with the Lions and Giants dominating their opponents. The Giants went 1 for 7 on the PP, while the Rockets went 0 for 6. The Giants head up the valley to take on the Chilliwack Bruins tomorrow (Sun). Puck drops at 5pm, and can be heard on NW AM980.
Three Stars
1. Jonathon Blum
2. Michal Repik
3. Evander Kane