dondo
10-13-2007, 02:05 AM
It may sound like I am grousing a lot about the reffing, but Colby Smith and Matt Kirk sucked, as usual. They sucked the life out of the game in the first and tried to affect the outcome calling an unbalanced game and calling things differently on either side of the puck. The Giants still have yet to find their identity, as they are lacking work ethic for the whole game, and look to lack a team unity right now. There's a couple of different books being played from out there and even some of the players who are reading the same book are on different pages. PK kept the teams in the game tonight and efforts from Hunt and Cunningham .. even though I mistakenly yelled out go _unt and Hunningham!! :D.
Giants Out Last Hitmen 4-3 SO Oct 12 - VGHQ (http://www.vancouvergiantshq.com/October_12_GiantsbkOutbkLastbkHitmen_149.html)
Giants Out Last Hitmen
Vancouver 4 Calgary 3 SO
Don Robinson - vancouvergiantshq.com
The Vancouver Giants pulled themselves up and dusted themselves off after being on the mat for their past two home games. They managed to turn a solid second period into a W, but just barely. The home team was very lucky not to have lost three straight as they were outgunned and outplayed in the third. The Giants got complacent holding a 3-1 lead going into the third and almost gave up more than just one point tonight. The refs weren’t any help this evening, but the G-Men did not do themselves any favours by getting caught sitting back. For the third straight game the Giants did not feel they had to play the full sixty as a team and they gifted a point to the Hitmen by not doing so.
After a scoreless first period Garet Hunt opened the scoring early in the second and Blum and Kane added a goal each. With time ticking down in the middle stanza the Giants sagged and allowed an uncontested breakaway to Kyle Bortis who made no mistake tickling the twine roofing it over Sexsmith’s glove from in close. That gave the Hitmen some life as they peppered the Giants net with 16 shots in the third. The visitors were getting all of the calls as the refs refused to see white late in the second and for almost all of the third, tagging the home squad with 6 straight penalties when the same thing and worse was going on the other side of the puck. To be frank the reffing was a travesty tonight and the Giants have really only their PK, which refused to allow a goal against, to thank for the win. Nothing was decided in OT so the game went to the dreaded shootout. The shootout went to the fourth shooter when Kane scored and Kozun didn’t, giving the home-team the slight win and an unsatisfying one at that. The fans will and should expect more from their team tomorrow night when they host the Tri-CityAmericans.
The teams played an even first period trading a few chances and both Dan Spence and Tyson Sexsmith had to be sharp to keep the game knotted at zeros. The officiating was pretty crappy from the get-go though, as the whistle happy zebras were charge happy and seemed intent on punishing every hard check thrown by the home squad. While in the meantime, there were some serious clutching and pick-plays being ignored on the other side of the puck. Ten penalties were doled out in the first as the refs sucked the life out of the game and seemed content to punish the teams for intense play but were hesitant to call the kind of frustrating play which should be called, namely hooks and holds which were in great abundance. Neither squad allowed a goal against on the man-advantage.
Garet Hunt opened the scoring cutting down the slot and snapping a sweet feed from Mario Bliznak off the RW. Hunt made no mistake tickling the twine to put the home squad up by one. That goal stood up until late in the second when Jonny Blum wired one from the point through traffic at 17:08. 33 seconds later Evander Kane got his fourth of the season putting in a rebound off a Mitch Czibere shot on the doorstep. The Hitmen got one of those back less than a minute later when Bortis was given a wide-open breakaway and roofed the puck over Sexsmith’s glove.
The Hitmen continued their roll, and the refs continued to be blind to any colour other than red as infractions happened right before their eyes and they chose to ignore them completely. The worst of which was when a Giant player had fallen down behind the Hitmen’s net going for the puck and Spence decided to throws a few blocker shots to the head of the prone Giant. The result? The Giants got tagged with a goal-tender interference penalty and Spence who should have got four in my mind, got bubkis. Not sure if Colby Smith or Matt Kirk will be able to look at themselves in the mirror tomorrow morning without feeling guilt for calling such a crappy lop-sided game. Carson McMillan notched two markers in the third to tie the game. The visitors out shot the home squad 16-4 in the third and took the game to the Giants end for the majority of the period. It helped them getting four consecutive PPs to gain that momentum.
The game tied we went to OT, where nothing was decided and it looked like both teams were content to play to the shootout. I hate the shootout. Its not hockey. Hockey is a team game, the shootout is a skill competition and a crapshoot luck of the draw. It is no way to decide a hockey game and win or lose it is never satisfying. This game did go to a shootout and neither team were able to score until the fourth shooter on either side. Evander Kane avoided a big poke-check, something Spence was successful with versus the first shooter and lifted the puck backhand into a wide open net. Sexsmith stoned Brandon Kozun to get his team the win.
The Giants were lucky to have come out with the win tonight and although the PK was miles better the discipline and play without the puck was still suspect. Mike Berube who was all over the ice was a –2 tonight along with his linemate Craig Schira who made some poor gaffes tonight. Whoever played with Cunningham and Hunt tonight got better, as those two seemed to have the most jump of any of the boys on the ice and dragged whoever their linemate was along with them. Repik was invisible. Bliznak seemed to be getting his game back and was actually skating and made a few nice passes. He was also able to win a few face-offs, something he couldn’t buy on Thanksgiving. Machacek was ineffectual and seems to me to be feeling the weight of the “C” as he does not seem content to be out there playing his game as much anymore. He had some nice shifts and made some great forays into the offensive end of the ice, but in the end had a lacklustre game for him.
The Giants went 0 for 6 on the PP, while holding their opponent to 0 for 9. The shots were even, tied 31 apiece. The Giants lead in shots at the end of the second 25-11 and gave up sixteen shots against while only shovelling four on Spence in the final stanza. Hunt had a goal and a helper and Cunningham notched two helpers. The G-Men invite the Tri-City Americans to the Coliseum tomorrow night, for their second of three in three nights. Puck drops at 7pm PDT.
Three Stars
1. Garet Hunt
2. Carson McMillan
3. Craig Cunningham
Giants Out Last Hitmen 4-3 SO Oct 12 - VGHQ (http://www.vancouvergiantshq.com/October_12_GiantsbkOutbkLastbkHitmen_149.html)
Giants Out Last Hitmen
Vancouver 4 Calgary 3 SO
Don Robinson - vancouvergiantshq.com
The Vancouver Giants pulled themselves up and dusted themselves off after being on the mat for their past two home games. They managed to turn a solid second period into a W, but just barely. The home team was very lucky not to have lost three straight as they were outgunned and outplayed in the third. The Giants got complacent holding a 3-1 lead going into the third and almost gave up more than just one point tonight. The refs weren’t any help this evening, but the G-Men did not do themselves any favours by getting caught sitting back. For the third straight game the Giants did not feel they had to play the full sixty as a team and they gifted a point to the Hitmen by not doing so.
After a scoreless first period Garet Hunt opened the scoring early in the second and Blum and Kane added a goal each. With time ticking down in the middle stanza the Giants sagged and allowed an uncontested breakaway to Kyle Bortis who made no mistake tickling the twine roofing it over Sexsmith’s glove from in close. That gave the Hitmen some life as they peppered the Giants net with 16 shots in the third. The visitors were getting all of the calls as the refs refused to see white late in the second and for almost all of the third, tagging the home squad with 6 straight penalties when the same thing and worse was going on the other side of the puck. To be frank the reffing was a travesty tonight and the Giants have really only their PK, which refused to allow a goal against, to thank for the win. Nothing was decided in OT so the game went to the dreaded shootout. The shootout went to the fourth shooter when Kane scored and Kozun didn’t, giving the home-team the slight win and an unsatisfying one at that. The fans will and should expect more from their team tomorrow night when they host the Tri-CityAmericans.
The teams played an even first period trading a few chances and both Dan Spence and Tyson Sexsmith had to be sharp to keep the game knotted at zeros. The officiating was pretty crappy from the get-go though, as the whistle happy zebras were charge happy and seemed intent on punishing every hard check thrown by the home squad. While in the meantime, there were some serious clutching and pick-plays being ignored on the other side of the puck. Ten penalties were doled out in the first as the refs sucked the life out of the game and seemed content to punish the teams for intense play but were hesitant to call the kind of frustrating play which should be called, namely hooks and holds which were in great abundance. Neither squad allowed a goal against on the man-advantage.
Garet Hunt opened the scoring cutting down the slot and snapping a sweet feed from Mario Bliznak off the RW. Hunt made no mistake tickling the twine to put the home squad up by one. That goal stood up until late in the second when Jonny Blum wired one from the point through traffic at 17:08. 33 seconds later Evander Kane got his fourth of the season putting in a rebound off a Mitch Czibere shot on the doorstep. The Hitmen got one of those back less than a minute later when Bortis was given a wide-open breakaway and roofed the puck over Sexsmith’s glove.
The Hitmen continued their roll, and the refs continued to be blind to any colour other than red as infractions happened right before their eyes and they chose to ignore them completely. The worst of which was when a Giant player had fallen down behind the Hitmen’s net going for the puck and Spence decided to throws a few blocker shots to the head of the prone Giant. The result? The Giants got tagged with a goal-tender interference penalty and Spence who should have got four in my mind, got bubkis. Not sure if Colby Smith or Matt Kirk will be able to look at themselves in the mirror tomorrow morning without feeling guilt for calling such a crappy lop-sided game. Carson McMillan notched two markers in the third to tie the game. The visitors out shot the home squad 16-4 in the third and took the game to the Giants end for the majority of the period. It helped them getting four consecutive PPs to gain that momentum.
The game tied we went to OT, where nothing was decided and it looked like both teams were content to play to the shootout. I hate the shootout. Its not hockey. Hockey is a team game, the shootout is a skill competition and a crapshoot luck of the draw. It is no way to decide a hockey game and win or lose it is never satisfying. This game did go to a shootout and neither team were able to score until the fourth shooter on either side. Evander Kane avoided a big poke-check, something Spence was successful with versus the first shooter and lifted the puck backhand into a wide open net. Sexsmith stoned Brandon Kozun to get his team the win.
The Giants were lucky to have come out with the win tonight and although the PK was miles better the discipline and play without the puck was still suspect. Mike Berube who was all over the ice was a –2 tonight along with his linemate Craig Schira who made some poor gaffes tonight. Whoever played with Cunningham and Hunt tonight got better, as those two seemed to have the most jump of any of the boys on the ice and dragged whoever their linemate was along with them. Repik was invisible. Bliznak seemed to be getting his game back and was actually skating and made a few nice passes. He was also able to win a few face-offs, something he couldn’t buy on Thanksgiving. Machacek was ineffectual and seems to me to be feeling the weight of the “C” as he does not seem content to be out there playing his game as much anymore. He had some nice shifts and made some great forays into the offensive end of the ice, but in the end had a lacklustre game for him.
The Giants went 0 for 6 on the PP, while holding their opponent to 0 for 9. The shots were even, tied 31 apiece. The Giants lead in shots at the end of the second 25-11 and gave up sixteen shots against while only shovelling four on Spence in the final stanza. Hunt had a goal and a helper and Cunningham notched two helpers. The G-Men invite the Tri-City Americans to the Coliseum tomorrow night, for their second of three in three nights. Puck drops at 7pm PDT.
Three Stars
1. Garet Hunt
2. Carson McMillan
3. Craig Cunningham