dondo
04-15-2008, 01:07 AM
This series deserved to go to a 7th game, but it was not meant to be. Pretty frustrating listening to this one as it seemed like the Giants weren't willing to put in the battle to give themselves a chance to not only win but ideally dominate. That's the kind of effort I was hoping for. A back against the wall effort. Instead we are treated to soft flabby performance with a bit of luck both good and bad.
As it was they had their lowest shot total of the entire season including the playoffs (with 17). two similar teams, but the Chiefs showed up to play more than the G-Men did and that was the tale of the series. I have to admit I expected far more games like I saw in game five from the Giants, but we were treated to two games at home where the home team just didn't really show up. Not the Giants club I used to watching who, win or lose, usually never fail to show up. Not a happy camper right now.
Congrats to the Chiefs who played a great series and here's hoping they go on to beat the Ams and whoever comes out of the east and find their way to Kitchener for the chance to win it all.
Chiefs Eliminate Giants 3-1 - VGHQ (http://www.vancouvergiantshq.com/April_14_ChiefsbkEliminatebkGiants_221.html)
Chiefs Eliminate Giants
Vancouver 1 Spokane 3
Don Robinson
The Spokane Chiefs salted the series at home playing the same way they did for the majority of the series with tight checking and by limiting the Giants chances around the Spokane net. Even though the Chiefs were the better team on the night the Giants still had a chance in this game until some poor officiating interfered with the dynamic of the game. A go-ahead goal by the Giants in the third was waived off because the refs didn’t have the balls to make the right call. With a ref right at the net he did not make a call one way or the other and after an extended discussion the goal was waived off. Lance Bouma drove the net and according to the video replay in the building the puck clearly crossed the line before the net was knocked off its moorings. Its time for the league to implement video replay for the whole playoffs, instead of just the final series. There were several occasions these playoffs that ended up being the wrong call by inattentive officials in the heat of the moment. The right call might not have changed the eventual out-come of the game, but it would have most certainly shifted the dynamic of the game and not made the win a slightly tainted one.
Tyson Sexsmith was excellent early on when his team managed a paltry 3 shots on net in the first period while the home squad peppered the Giants ‘tender with 13. With time ticking down in the opening frame the Chiefs were able to finally solve Sexsmith with a wicked goal off of Jared Cowen’s stick. The goal came against the flow of the play as the Giants turned over the puck and were caught chasing. The Giants had a better second and got a bit of puck luck late in the middle period when a dump in caromed off a stanchion and bounced out into the slot. Mario Bliznak made no mistake tying up the game at 18:51 of the second. Jonathon Blum and Brent Regner got the assists. With the Chiefs showing a bit of frustration and the Giants coming on in the third it appeared as if the Giants had gone ahead in the game when Lance Bouma carrying the puck crashed the net. The puck was across the line before the net came off, but the official on the play wasn’t willing to make the call and as such completely changed the dynamic of the game.
The Chiefs managed to bulge the twine again as Ondrej Roman put it past Sexsmith giving the Chiefs a one goal lead, not a tie, with about five minutes left in the game.The Chiefs got an empty netter with about a 1:30 left and that was it for the Giants. They would not repeat as Memorial Cup Champions and they did not do enough to win the series or even force it to seven games, where this series deserved to go. The Giants got caught playing their system to a point where they were not able to be inventive or original and the Chiefs had read their book, studied it and aced the final and there was very little the Giants could do which surprised the Spokane squad.
Give the Chiefs their due. They played the Giants tight and were first onto the loose pucks most of the time, worked their butts off and forced the Giants to make sloppy plays. The Giants were not able to take care of the puck well enough in most of the games and they gave up more than a few stellar opportunities in the series. Both squads PKs were exceptional for the majority of the series. The Giants did not screen Tokarski nearly enough and they lost the games where they had their shots held far lower than is usual for them. Tonight they had their lowest shot total all regular season and all playoffs, with 17. They had 18 in game 2 of this series and 18 against a BC Division foe early in October 2007. They got a mere 4 shots on goal in the third as they were not fighting to find open ice. All in all a very disappointing way to allow a series to slip by them.
The Chiefs, a team modeled loosely on the Giants mold, played “Giants hockey” better than the Vancouver team was able to for this series and that’s why they are moving on. The Giants were unable to bring their level of compete up to the Chiefs level enough and lacked the volume of pure skill players the Chiefs possess. Oddly enough I felt that the Vancouver squad showed a great fragility when they were down in games in this series and that, more than anything, was the reason for their early exit. While still in games 2 and 4 they all but gave up when a bit of adversity reared its head. Very odd for a team with such post-season experience and success as well as thirteen returning players who were on their Memorial Cup winning squad.
The Giants were out shot 26-17 and we awarded only one PP, on which they failed to score. The G-Men were 0 for 1, while the Chiefs went 0 for 4. Some seriously suspect reffing in my mind as they let a lot go and let the boys play, but seemed to only see burgundy tonight when handing out penalties. Both teams played a pretty clean series and at times the games could have used a bit more emotion as that also could have changed the dynamic of some of the games. No fights in the series. No real cheap shots that I can recall and two great teams. I would have liked to see a bit more fight in a few more games, but there was some great hockey to watch none-the-less. Wishing the Chiefs the best in the series and hopefully a visit to the Memorial Cup in Kitchener. I just wish we’d played better in some of those games.
Three Stars
1. Ondrej Roman
2. Dustin Tokarski
3. Tyson Sexsmith
As it was they had their lowest shot total of the entire season including the playoffs (with 17). two similar teams, but the Chiefs showed up to play more than the G-Men did and that was the tale of the series. I have to admit I expected far more games like I saw in game five from the Giants, but we were treated to two games at home where the home team just didn't really show up. Not the Giants club I used to watching who, win or lose, usually never fail to show up. Not a happy camper right now.
Congrats to the Chiefs who played a great series and here's hoping they go on to beat the Ams and whoever comes out of the east and find their way to Kitchener for the chance to win it all.
Chiefs Eliminate Giants 3-1 - VGHQ (http://www.vancouvergiantshq.com/April_14_ChiefsbkEliminatebkGiants_221.html)
Chiefs Eliminate Giants
Vancouver 1 Spokane 3
Don Robinson
The Spokane Chiefs salted the series at home playing the same way they did for the majority of the series with tight checking and by limiting the Giants chances around the Spokane net. Even though the Chiefs were the better team on the night the Giants still had a chance in this game until some poor officiating interfered with the dynamic of the game. A go-ahead goal by the Giants in the third was waived off because the refs didn’t have the balls to make the right call. With a ref right at the net he did not make a call one way or the other and after an extended discussion the goal was waived off. Lance Bouma drove the net and according to the video replay in the building the puck clearly crossed the line before the net was knocked off its moorings. Its time for the league to implement video replay for the whole playoffs, instead of just the final series. There were several occasions these playoffs that ended up being the wrong call by inattentive officials in the heat of the moment. The right call might not have changed the eventual out-come of the game, but it would have most certainly shifted the dynamic of the game and not made the win a slightly tainted one.
Tyson Sexsmith was excellent early on when his team managed a paltry 3 shots on net in the first period while the home squad peppered the Giants ‘tender with 13. With time ticking down in the opening frame the Chiefs were able to finally solve Sexsmith with a wicked goal off of Jared Cowen’s stick. The goal came against the flow of the play as the Giants turned over the puck and were caught chasing. The Giants had a better second and got a bit of puck luck late in the middle period when a dump in caromed off a stanchion and bounced out into the slot. Mario Bliznak made no mistake tying up the game at 18:51 of the second. Jonathon Blum and Brent Regner got the assists. With the Chiefs showing a bit of frustration and the Giants coming on in the third it appeared as if the Giants had gone ahead in the game when Lance Bouma carrying the puck crashed the net. The puck was across the line before the net came off, but the official on the play wasn’t willing to make the call and as such completely changed the dynamic of the game.
The Chiefs managed to bulge the twine again as Ondrej Roman put it past Sexsmith giving the Chiefs a one goal lead, not a tie, with about five minutes left in the game.The Chiefs got an empty netter with about a 1:30 left and that was it for the Giants. They would not repeat as Memorial Cup Champions and they did not do enough to win the series or even force it to seven games, where this series deserved to go. The Giants got caught playing their system to a point where they were not able to be inventive or original and the Chiefs had read their book, studied it and aced the final and there was very little the Giants could do which surprised the Spokane squad.
Give the Chiefs their due. They played the Giants tight and were first onto the loose pucks most of the time, worked their butts off and forced the Giants to make sloppy plays. The Giants were not able to take care of the puck well enough in most of the games and they gave up more than a few stellar opportunities in the series. Both squads PKs were exceptional for the majority of the series. The Giants did not screen Tokarski nearly enough and they lost the games where they had their shots held far lower than is usual for them. Tonight they had their lowest shot total all regular season and all playoffs, with 17. They had 18 in game 2 of this series and 18 against a BC Division foe early in October 2007. They got a mere 4 shots on goal in the third as they were not fighting to find open ice. All in all a very disappointing way to allow a series to slip by them.
The Chiefs, a team modeled loosely on the Giants mold, played “Giants hockey” better than the Vancouver team was able to for this series and that’s why they are moving on. The Giants were unable to bring their level of compete up to the Chiefs level enough and lacked the volume of pure skill players the Chiefs possess. Oddly enough I felt that the Vancouver squad showed a great fragility when they were down in games in this series and that, more than anything, was the reason for their early exit. While still in games 2 and 4 they all but gave up when a bit of adversity reared its head. Very odd for a team with such post-season experience and success as well as thirteen returning players who were on their Memorial Cup winning squad.
The Giants were out shot 26-17 and we awarded only one PP, on which they failed to score. The G-Men were 0 for 1, while the Chiefs went 0 for 4. Some seriously suspect reffing in my mind as they let a lot go and let the boys play, but seemed to only see burgundy tonight when handing out penalties. Both teams played a pretty clean series and at times the games could have used a bit more emotion as that also could have changed the dynamic of some of the games. No fights in the series. No real cheap shots that I can recall and two great teams. I would have liked to see a bit more fight in a few more games, but there was some great hockey to watch none-the-less. Wishing the Chiefs the best in the series and hopefully a visit to the Memorial Cup in Kitchener. I just wish we’d played better in some of those games.
Three Stars
1. Ondrej Roman
2. Dustin Tokarski
3. Tyson Sexsmith