dondo
03-14-2009, 12:38 AM
Not a great effort by the boys. Their good puck fortunes earlier in the season seem to catching up to them a bit as they had a couple go in off of skates. It feels like they are running on fumes right now and need something important to battle for to bring up their game. They were guilty of allowing easy goals and uncontested passing lanes and were not good in the face-off circle. Some really bad and careless turnovers tonight and the Giants were not good at all clearing their zone.
The Tips brought a big forecheck to the rink, and were very tenacious along the boards. They didn't press the offensive end too much and made almost all of their great opportunities count. They did not have to battle to get goals and that's not how you want it to be if you are the home team.
I'm hoping for a better effort tomorrow night and Tucker to get the nod in net as it's time for sexy to earn his starts. If that kind of adversity is the only thing to get him back on track then it needs to be done. He's gotten really complacent and in a recent interview admitted to be struggling a bit, fighting the puck and not playing his "A" game lately -- tonight he exemplified those comments.
Tips Topple Giants
Vancouver 3 Everett 5
Don Robinson
It would be really easy to over-analyse this game, but it all boils down to the Tips wanting it more, missed assignments, bad bounces and unfocused goaltending. I have been defending Tyson Sexsmith recently, but tonight he fought the puck, had one go in off of him, missed an easy wraparound, and was beat with a shot he had position on. In short he sucked. Now that’s not to say he’s a bad goalie or not as good as his stats indicate, but tonight he sucked and really needs to keep focused during the game. In this game he was not. Why the coaching brain-trust didn’t play Jamie Tucker who has shut-out the Tips twice already this season is beyond me. Its time that Sexsmith does not get a free pass anymore. From now on he should be earning his starts and he should not under any circumstances get the start tomorrow. Hay has to go with the hot hand and right now its not Tyson. That’s not saying it couldn’t be, but right now from my perspective he needs to earn his way back into the net. You cannot out shoot your opponent 43-16 and come away with a 5-3 loss, that just cannot happen. The Tips did not have to really break a sweat to score goals tonight. They notched two in the first, keeping the Giants off the score-sheet by collapsing to the net. They hustled down the puck and frequently came away unmolested. That’s not how you win games.
Parker was all alone in front of the net when he put his past Sexy. Maxwell’s goal went in off of Cunningham’s skate while he was standing in the crease. The Giants got those back in the second. Brent Regner flipped the puck ahead to Brendan Gallagher when Alexander made a bad pinch and the speedy forward took it hard down the wing snapping a shot far-side on Thomas Heemskerk. Evander Kane got one on the PP, chipping the puck past Heemskerk to tie the game. Casey Pierro-Zabotel scored one very early in the third giving the Giants their first lead of the night. The Tips did not give up though and tied the game just under four minutes later. Tochkin was trying to get the puck cross-crease from the corner and the puck went in off of Sexsmith. In the first seconds of a PP, Froese was right on the doorstep and although Sexsmith had got across and looked poised to make the save, the puck got through him. Harper put the dagger in, getting an incredibly soft back-handed wrap-around to go.
The Giants were 1 for 4 on the PP and scored a SH goal in the game. The Tips went 1 for 4 as well. The G-Men out shot the Silvertips 43-16, but very few of those shots were of the difficult variety. Heemskerk was solid but not great, he did not have to make big saves, because the Giants had a very hard time getting to the net. The Tips collapsed to the net very well clogging up the slot. They played a very good road game, taking advantage of their chances and out-working the Giants along the boards and in the face-off circle. Maybe the Giants heard about the curse of the Scotty Munro and decided to let the Hitmen take it uncontested, as they did not show up tonight and despite all the shots on net they had very few quality chances on the Tips netminder. Heemskerk controlled his rebounds very well in the game, not allowing good second shots. The home team did not want it enough and were not willing to put in the effort to take the win. They did not get enough support from between the pipes and were victims of bad bounces. The Giants close out their season versus their first round opponent, the Prince George Cougars, tomorrow night. The Coliseum should be packed as it’s fan appreciation night. The puck drops at 7pm PDT.
Three Stars
1) Tyler Maxwell
2) Brendan Gallagher
3) Taylor Ellington
The Tips brought a big forecheck to the rink, and were very tenacious along the boards. They didn't press the offensive end too much and made almost all of their great opportunities count. They did not have to battle to get goals and that's not how you want it to be if you are the home team.
I'm hoping for a better effort tomorrow night and Tucker to get the nod in net as it's time for sexy to earn his starts. If that kind of adversity is the only thing to get him back on track then it needs to be done. He's gotten really complacent and in a recent interview admitted to be struggling a bit, fighting the puck and not playing his "A" game lately -- tonight he exemplified those comments.
Tips Topple Giants
Vancouver 3 Everett 5
Don Robinson
It would be really easy to over-analyse this game, but it all boils down to the Tips wanting it more, missed assignments, bad bounces and unfocused goaltending. I have been defending Tyson Sexsmith recently, but tonight he fought the puck, had one go in off of him, missed an easy wraparound, and was beat with a shot he had position on. In short he sucked. Now that’s not to say he’s a bad goalie or not as good as his stats indicate, but tonight he sucked and really needs to keep focused during the game. In this game he was not. Why the coaching brain-trust didn’t play Jamie Tucker who has shut-out the Tips twice already this season is beyond me. Its time that Sexsmith does not get a free pass anymore. From now on he should be earning his starts and he should not under any circumstances get the start tomorrow. Hay has to go with the hot hand and right now its not Tyson. That’s not saying it couldn’t be, but right now from my perspective he needs to earn his way back into the net. You cannot out shoot your opponent 43-16 and come away with a 5-3 loss, that just cannot happen. The Tips did not have to really break a sweat to score goals tonight. They notched two in the first, keeping the Giants off the score-sheet by collapsing to the net. They hustled down the puck and frequently came away unmolested. That’s not how you win games.
Parker was all alone in front of the net when he put his past Sexy. Maxwell’s goal went in off of Cunningham’s skate while he was standing in the crease. The Giants got those back in the second. Brent Regner flipped the puck ahead to Brendan Gallagher when Alexander made a bad pinch and the speedy forward took it hard down the wing snapping a shot far-side on Thomas Heemskerk. Evander Kane got one on the PP, chipping the puck past Heemskerk to tie the game. Casey Pierro-Zabotel scored one very early in the third giving the Giants their first lead of the night. The Tips did not give up though and tied the game just under four minutes later. Tochkin was trying to get the puck cross-crease from the corner and the puck went in off of Sexsmith. In the first seconds of a PP, Froese was right on the doorstep and although Sexsmith had got across and looked poised to make the save, the puck got through him. Harper put the dagger in, getting an incredibly soft back-handed wrap-around to go.
The Giants were 1 for 4 on the PP and scored a SH goal in the game. The Tips went 1 for 4 as well. The G-Men out shot the Silvertips 43-16, but very few of those shots were of the difficult variety. Heemskerk was solid but not great, he did not have to make big saves, because the Giants had a very hard time getting to the net. The Tips collapsed to the net very well clogging up the slot. They played a very good road game, taking advantage of their chances and out-working the Giants along the boards and in the face-off circle. Maybe the Giants heard about the curse of the Scotty Munro and decided to let the Hitmen take it uncontested, as they did not show up tonight and despite all the shots on net they had very few quality chances on the Tips netminder. Heemskerk controlled his rebounds very well in the game, not allowing good second shots. The home team did not want it enough and were not willing to put in the effort to take the win. They did not get enough support from between the pipes and were victims of bad bounces. The Giants close out their season versus their first round opponent, the Prince George Cougars, tomorrow night. The Coliseum should be packed as it’s fan appreciation night. The puck drops at 7pm PDT.
Three Stars
1) Tyler Maxwell
2) Brendan Gallagher
3) Taylor Ellington