dondo
09-29-2008, 09:32 AM
Lost my internet connection just as I was going to post this so sorry for it being late. Another dominating performance from the boys, with two of the Giants productive players sitting out. Its frightening how the cogs are at times interchangeable in a Don Hay system, yet the rewards for individual performance are excellent.
Giants Bruise Bruins
Vancouver 4 Chilliwack 1
Don Robinson
The Vancouver Giants complete their third in three with another win and move to the top of the BC Division, and possibly the league with the victory. The Giants dominated at the offensive end of the ice and their defensive positioning was second to none, allowing only a broken play breakaway to burst their potential to have back to back shutouts with two different goalies. Jonathon Blum was back from the Nashville camp/preseason where he showed their fans that he was going to be a player to watch in the future. The Preds are a very deep team on the blue-line with players like former Giant defensive stalwart Cody Franson about to step up to the NHL. Newly minted Captain Blum, scored a goal tonight and helped out with Mikhail Fisenko’s first goal in the dub, on the Giants only PP tally. Blum was awarded the first star and two points in his first game back and with players like Craig Schira and Neil Manning stepping up their games the Giants blue-line is daunting.
The Giants opened the scoring at the tail end of the first when James Wright tickled the twine with a sweet shot. Originally credited to James Henry it was in fact Adam Basford who got the puck in his own zone and fed it up to Garry Nunn. Nunn, who was sat last night versus the Winterhawks had a decided jump in his step in a bid to prove to Don Hay that he did know how to play Giants hockey. Nunn was not only effective on the offensive side of the puck, but also made some strong defensive plays, not giving up on a play all night. Hayzer’s doghouse can at times be deep, but if you work hard and smart you will get your ice time. Don’t and you ride the pine as Czech euro Andrej Kudrna did. Kudrna had a pretty good start of the season, but despite the difficulty he has with English and adjustment to a whole new league as a 17 yr old import, Hay expects him to play Giants hockey, drink the Kool-Aid and commit every shift. I personally don’t think that’ll be a problem for the young Czech as I have liked what I have seen so far and a floater he is not.
The Giants other euro pick this year is a bit different from Kudrna. Fluent in English and year older, Russian prospect Mikhail Fisenko brings a skilled two-way game and seems to have arrived drinking the Kool-Aid Hay was serving. Fisenko got his first of the season tonight, at 16:59 of the second on the PP, off of some good work from CPZ and Jonathon Blum. Fisenko snapped the puck past Mark Friesen, who was very good for the Bruins tonight and made the score a tad less lop-sided than it could have been. Earlier in the period Todd Kennedy and Liam Darragh dropped the mitts for a short bout with Kennedy getting the marginal take-down. A few minutes after that Partik Bunghal challenged Mike Berube who was game to drop the gloves. Berube got into a bit of trouble early but bounced back well connecting with a few good solid blows before getting the takedown, bringing Bunghal down to the ice with a move some UFC combatants would have applauded.
In the third the Vancouver squad brought their game up another notch, tormenting Friesen with shots and keeping up some serious pressure at the offensive end of the ice. Evander Kane got a goal at 5:34 of the final frame which started at the Giants end of the rink. Brent Regner made a beautiful move to get out into the open and fed CPZ streaking up the ice. Casey got a decent shot on net and had the presence of mind to flip the rebound back to Evander Kane who so far has been very good at finding open ice, loose pucks with a great hunger for the net. Kane scored his fourth of the season and the Giants third of the game putting the visitors up 3-0 early in the third. CPZ got the only assist on the play, but I am hoping upon reflection Regner is awarded the second assist as it was his work which made the goal possible.
Chilliwack would break Tyson Sexsmith’s shutout bid late in the third off of a loose puck at their own blue-line. Highly skilled and speedy Ryan Howse blasted up the ice with the puck making a few moves to get open before snapping the puck top shelf in what was a pure sniper’s goal. The goal was unassisted and brought the Chilliwack fans to their feet, giving them something to cheer about. The cheering would be short-lived though as Jonathon Blum did what he does best when given the chance. James Wright worked hard to get the puck to Garry Nunn cutting through the neutral zone. Blum recognized the rush developing and sprinted up ice to join the assault. Nunn dished the puck off to Blum in the Chilliwack zone and the returning captain made no mistake bulging the twine. The goal would prove to be the final one of the game with Blum being named first star followed by CPZ and Schira, although it easily could have been Manning who played as well as his blue-line mate and brought the same effort and skill to the ice. Manning and Schira have both impressed this season so far and have pushed Berube down the depth chart with their obvious chemistry.
The Giants went 1 for 7 tonight on the PP and it was only Mark Friesen and a missed net here and there which stopped them from getting a couple of more. They held the Bruins to 0 for 7 tonight as Sexsmith was solid and the Giants defensive pressure on the PK smothering. The Giants out shot the Bruins 38-26 in the game. The refs seemed a bit sensitive tonight and the current trend this season seems to be calling everything and that has made for a lot of man and two-man advantages in this early season. My hope is that they mellow out a bit and call only that which affects a scoring chance or potential scoring opportunity, but that might not be how the league sees it, which would be unfortunate as it takes away from some seriously exciting five on five play and deliberately affects the flow and out come of some games.
Brendan Gallagher and Andrej Kudrna were healthy scratches tonight after having decent starts to the season. The competition for roster spots are tight on this team and Hay has the luxury of being ruthless with his scratches as everyone is fighting to get a solid regular place on the roster. The young guys are being given every chance to make this team and the sophomores and journeymen will need to bring it every shift or they might find themselves polishing the pine. With Blum back in the line-up and Curtis Kulchar on the mend, young defensemen like Maschmeyer, Spooner and Witt might find themselves sent down or sitting in the 7th spot on the defensive depth. When players like Mike Berube who could be a number two or three d-men on most squads is occupying the number 5 slot, you know you have a deep defensive corps.
The Giants get a much needed rest and some good practice days before playing five straight at home, two back to back (Fri/Sat) weekends followed by a Wed game will give home town fans a chance to see their team develop and find a regular roster by mid-October. The Giants next game will versus the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Coliseum on Friday October 3rd. As usual on Friday nights the puck drops at 7:30pm PST.
Three Stars
1) Jonathon Blum
2) Casey Pierro-Zabotel
3) Craig Schira
Giants Bruise Bruins
Vancouver 4 Chilliwack 1
Don Robinson
The Vancouver Giants complete their third in three with another win and move to the top of the BC Division, and possibly the league with the victory. The Giants dominated at the offensive end of the ice and their defensive positioning was second to none, allowing only a broken play breakaway to burst their potential to have back to back shutouts with two different goalies. Jonathon Blum was back from the Nashville camp/preseason where he showed their fans that he was going to be a player to watch in the future. The Preds are a very deep team on the blue-line with players like former Giant defensive stalwart Cody Franson about to step up to the NHL. Newly minted Captain Blum, scored a goal tonight and helped out with Mikhail Fisenko’s first goal in the dub, on the Giants only PP tally. Blum was awarded the first star and two points in his first game back and with players like Craig Schira and Neil Manning stepping up their games the Giants blue-line is daunting.
The Giants opened the scoring at the tail end of the first when James Wright tickled the twine with a sweet shot. Originally credited to James Henry it was in fact Adam Basford who got the puck in his own zone and fed it up to Garry Nunn. Nunn, who was sat last night versus the Winterhawks had a decided jump in his step in a bid to prove to Don Hay that he did know how to play Giants hockey. Nunn was not only effective on the offensive side of the puck, but also made some strong defensive plays, not giving up on a play all night. Hayzer’s doghouse can at times be deep, but if you work hard and smart you will get your ice time. Don’t and you ride the pine as Czech euro Andrej Kudrna did. Kudrna had a pretty good start of the season, but despite the difficulty he has with English and adjustment to a whole new league as a 17 yr old import, Hay expects him to play Giants hockey, drink the Kool-Aid and commit every shift. I personally don’t think that’ll be a problem for the young Czech as I have liked what I have seen so far and a floater he is not.
The Giants other euro pick this year is a bit different from Kudrna. Fluent in English and year older, Russian prospect Mikhail Fisenko brings a skilled two-way game and seems to have arrived drinking the Kool-Aid Hay was serving. Fisenko got his first of the season tonight, at 16:59 of the second on the PP, off of some good work from CPZ and Jonathon Blum. Fisenko snapped the puck past Mark Friesen, who was very good for the Bruins tonight and made the score a tad less lop-sided than it could have been. Earlier in the period Todd Kennedy and Liam Darragh dropped the mitts for a short bout with Kennedy getting the marginal take-down. A few minutes after that Partik Bunghal challenged Mike Berube who was game to drop the gloves. Berube got into a bit of trouble early but bounced back well connecting with a few good solid blows before getting the takedown, bringing Bunghal down to the ice with a move some UFC combatants would have applauded.
In the third the Vancouver squad brought their game up another notch, tormenting Friesen with shots and keeping up some serious pressure at the offensive end of the ice. Evander Kane got a goal at 5:34 of the final frame which started at the Giants end of the rink. Brent Regner made a beautiful move to get out into the open and fed CPZ streaking up the ice. Casey got a decent shot on net and had the presence of mind to flip the rebound back to Evander Kane who so far has been very good at finding open ice, loose pucks with a great hunger for the net. Kane scored his fourth of the season and the Giants third of the game putting the visitors up 3-0 early in the third. CPZ got the only assist on the play, but I am hoping upon reflection Regner is awarded the second assist as it was his work which made the goal possible.
Chilliwack would break Tyson Sexsmith’s shutout bid late in the third off of a loose puck at their own blue-line. Highly skilled and speedy Ryan Howse blasted up the ice with the puck making a few moves to get open before snapping the puck top shelf in what was a pure sniper’s goal. The goal was unassisted and brought the Chilliwack fans to their feet, giving them something to cheer about. The cheering would be short-lived though as Jonathon Blum did what he does best when given the chance. James Wright worked hard to get the puck to Garry Nunn cutting through the neutral zone. Blum recognized the rush developing and sprinted up ice to join the assault. Nunn dished the puck off to Blum in the Chilliwack zone and the returning captain made no mistake bulging the twine. The goal would prove to be the final one of the game with Blum being named first star followed by CPZ and Schira, although it easily could have been Manning who played as well as his blue-line mate and brought the same effort and skill to the ice. Manning and Schira have both impressed this season so far and have pushed Berube down the depth chart with their obvious chemistry.
The Giants went 1 for 7 tonight on the PP and it was only Mark Friesen and a missed net here and there which stopped them from getting a couple of more. They held the Bruins to 0 for 7 tonight as Sexsmith was solid and the Giants defensive pressure on the PK smothering. The Giants out shot the Bruins 38-26 in the game. The refs seemed a bit sensitive tonight and the current trend this season seems to be calling everything and that has made for a lot of man and two-man advantages in this early season. My hope is that they mellow out a bit and call only that which affects a scoring chance or potential scoring opportunity, but that might not be how the league sees it, which would be unfortunate as it takes away from some seriously exciting five on five play and deliberately affects the flow and out come of some games.
Brendan Gallagher and Andrej Kudrna were healthy scratches tonight after having decent starts to the season. The competition for roster spots are tight on this team and Hay has the luxury of being ruthless with his scratches as everyone is fighting to get a solid regular place on the roster. The young guys are being given every chance to make this team and the sophomores and journeymen will need to bring it every shift or they might find themselves polishing the pine. With Blum back in the line-up and Curtis Kulchar on the mend, young defensemen like Maschmeyer, Spooner and Witt might find themselves sent down or sitting in the 7th spot on the defensive depth. When players like Mike Berube who could be a number two or three d-men on most squads is occupying the number 5 slot, you know you have a deep defensive corps.
The Giants get a much needed rest and some good practice days before playing five straight at home, two back to back (Fri/Sat) weekends followed by a Wed game will give home town fans a chance to see their team develop and find a regular roster by mid-October. The Giants next game will versus the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Coliseum on Friday October 3rd. As usual on Friday nights the puck drops at 7:30pm PST.
Three Stars
1) Jonathon Blum
2) Casey Pierro-Zabotel
3) Craig Schira