dondo
10-26-2009, 12:24 AM
Well I loved a lot of what the boys did, but I did not like when they sat back in neutral zone and allowed the Rockets a chance to get right back into it in the third. The Rockets played a pretty good game, but in my mind earned a few more penalties than they were given. Thankfully the Giants made both of their chances count.
Funk and Toigo both frustrated me again and have yet to play like I expect OAs to play. I would much rather watch Spooner make those mistakes than to see a 20 yr old stripped of the puck so easily and consistently, or make yet another awful blind back-pass into the slot. Maybe I'm biased or something, but I see very little that these guys bring that a younger guy couldn't and save our OA spots for the snipers we are so woefully lacking. In the end the Giants managed to get back into it and take the win, but needed a bit of luck to get the job done. Mike Piluso was all over the rink tonight and working both ends of the ice with equal intensity. He may not have got any points, but I felt he was pretty effective defusing chances and creating space. Gally and Henry were their usual intense selves as well and rarely take a second, let alone a shift, off.
Giants Grind Rockets
Vancouver 5 Kelowna 4
Don Robinson
The Giants opened the first much the same as they did in Kelowna scoring a couple of unanswered goals and as they did in Kelowna they sagged and let the Rockets come back to take the lead in the second before rediscovering their aggressive game. The Giants managed to squeak out a win despite their collapse in the middle frame. the game was a bit more energy filled than I expected considering both teams were on the back-end of three in three, as well as suffering through a flu onslaught. Rockets back-up Chad Ketting was excellent early and pretty solid for most of the night, but he allowed one short-side that he wants back. Unfortunately for him it was the game tying marker, changing the momentum back to the home team. The Giants seem to be willing to lay the body for only about 20 or 40 minutes so far this season and they need to find that effort for the full sixty. That said this is still a young team trying to find an identity, with veterans who are playing less than excellent hockey.
Kevin Connauton opened the scoring early in the game on the PP. Charging the net and slipping home a loose puck. The Rockets back-up Ketting weathered an onslaught early, looking up to the task and very difficult to get a puck past. Ketting had no chance on the Giants first two goals. Manning and Cunningham had the assists on the goal. About four minutes later the Giants tallied another goal on the man-advantage, this time with James Henry tickling the twine, with a nice tip. This time it was Manning and JT Barnett who garnered the assists.
Kyle St Denis got the Rockets going early in the second, chipping a tip up and over Jamie Tucker. Tyson Barrie tied the game a minute later on the PP, ripping a puck top shelf from the point. Tucker saw it at the last second but couldn’t make the save. Just over a minute after that the Rockets take the lead as Cody Chikie put home an unassisted tally, actually it was assisted by an extremely stupid lazy play by Nolan Toigo which put the puck right on Chikie’s stick. Toigo decided it was good idea to flip a sloppy blind back-handed back pass back into his own zone down the slot, with no recipient anywhere in sight. It was not the first time he pulled this bone-head maneuver and for my money should be the first cut when the OA cap comes into play. Cunningham got that one back a few minutes later picking the far top corner coming in off the left side. David Musil, who had some troubles tonight while making some good plays, and Brandon Scholten got the helpers. The Rockets got that one back though, regaining the lead when they were given another PP late in the frame. Spencer Main put the puck past Tucker.
Barnett tied the game with his 11th of the season, stripping the puck in the corner and throwing the puck short side on Ketting. The puck slipped through Ketting’s pads and into the net. It was one that Ketting would probably like back as he made some great stops tonight and the first could have been a blow out had he not been on point early on in the opening stanza. The Giants played a good hard period for the first half of the third and then decided to sit back and guard the neutral zone. They got caught scrambling in their own end of the ice badly, making dumb plays to clear the puck and forcing their goalie to make some very good saves to preserve the tie. The Ginats finally managed to reclaim the lead for good at the 16:38 mark of the third. After sitting back the majority of the second half of the third they finally put the pressure back on and were rewarded crashing the net. A goal originally given to Milan Kytnar was changed to Brendan Gallagher after the game. Either could have got as the Giants had a few swipes at the loose puck as everyone was in the crease. Gallagher lifted the puck up and over a sprawling Ketting for the GWG. The Giants put one off the post with the empty net and missed one over the net feeling eerily like the Canucks did the night before. The Giants never managed the empty net larker, but were able to hold onto their slim lead and get the regulation win.
The Giants went 2 for 2 on the PP and in my mind got kind of screwed by the refs who had a grand old time getting in their way, failing to call more than few hooks, holds and picks on the other side of the puck. The Rockets went 2 for 6 on the man-advantage and played about the same level of game as the Giants did, but seemed to be immune as the refs put their whistles in their pockets for the entire third period. The Giants gave their fans a bit of scare as they looked to have a collapse like they did in Kelowna, but managed to get a bit of luck, work their minimal PP chances to their best advantage and out last the Rockets to get the win. They come away from the weekend with 5 of a possible 6 points, while battling the flu, which has infected their line-up.
The Giants have the week off to practice and get healthy. Their efforts so far in the season have been sporadic, but they are getting a lot of wins with their tenacious style of play. Don Hay has a lot to do with their success, keeping it down to systems, effort and discipline. This will sometimes crush a few of the more creative players who do their best acting on instinct, but in the end it will allow this line-up of slightly under-skilled players to become more than the sum of their parts. The Giants take on the Calgary Hitmen who do not to appear to have lost much from last season and will be a good challenge for the G-Men to play, this Friday. The puck drops at the Coliseum on the 30th at 7:30pm PDT.
Three Stars
1. Craig Cunningham
2. Tyson Barrie
3. Neil Manning
Funk and Toigo both frustrated me again and have yet to play like I expect OAs to play. I would much rather watch Spooner make those mistakes than to see a 20 yr old stripped of the puck so easily and consistently, or make yet another awful blind back-pass into the slot. Maybe I'm biased or something, but I see very little that these guys bring that a younger guy couldn't and save our OA spots for the snipers we are so woefully lacking. In the end the Giants managed to get back into it and take the win, but needed a bit of luck to get the job done. Mike Piluso was all over the rink tonight and working both ends of the ice with equal intensity. He may not have got any points, but I felt he was pretty effective defusing chances and creating space. Gally and Henry were their usual intense selves as well and rarely take a second, let alone a shift, off.
Giants Grind Rockets
Vancouver 5 Kelowna 4
Don Robinson
The Giants opened the first much the same as they did in Kelowna scoring a couple of unanswered goals and as they did in Kelowna they sagged and let the Rockets come back to take the lead in the second before rediscovering their aggressive game. The Giants managed to squeak out a win despite their collapse in the middle frame. the game was a bit more energy filled than I expected considering both teams were on the back-end of three in three, as well as suffering through a flu onslaught. Rockets back-up Chad Ketting was excellent early and pretty solid for most of the night, but he allowed one short-side that he wants back. Unfortunately for him it was the game tying marker, changing the momentum back to the home team. The Giants seem to be willing to lay the body for only about 20 or 40 minutes so far this season and they need to find that effort for the full sixty. That said this is still a young team trying to find an identity, with veterans who are playing less than excellent hockey.
Kevin Connauton opened the scoring early in the game on the PP. Charging the net and slipping home a loose puck. The Rockets back-up Ketting weathered an onslaught early, looking up to the task and very difficult to get a puck past. Ketting had no chance on the Giants first two goals. Manning and Cunningham had the assists on the goal. About four minutes later the Giants tallied another goal on the man-advantage, this time with James Henry tickling the twine, with a nice tip. This time it was Manning and JT Barnett who garnered the assists.
Kyle St Denis got the Rockets going early in the second, chipping a tip up and over Jamie Tucker. Tyson Barrie tied the game a minute later on the PP, ripping a puck top shelf from the point. Tucker saw it at the last second but couldn’t make the save. Just over a minute after that the Rockets take the lead as Cody Chikie put home an unassisted tally, actually it was assisted by an extremely stupid lazy play by Nolan Toigo which put the puck right on Chikie’s stick. Toigo decided it was good idea to flip a sloppy blind back-handed back pass back into his own zone down the slot, with no recipient anywhere in sight. It was not the first time he pulled this bone-head maneuver and for my money should be the first cut when the OA cap comes into play. Cunningham got that one back a few minutes later picking the far top corner coming in off the left side. David Musil, who had some troubles tonight while making some good plays, and Brandon Scholten got the helpers. The Rockets got that one back though, regaining the lead when they were given another PP late in the frame. Spencer Main put the puck past Tucker.
Barnett tied the game with his 11th of the season, stripping the puck in the corner and throwing the puck short side on Ketting. The puck slipped through Ketting’s pads and into the net. It was one that Ketting would probably like back as he made some great stops tonight and the first could have been a blow out had he not been on point early on in the opening stanza. The Giants played a good hard period for the first half of the third and then decided to sit back and guard the neutral zone. They got caught scrambling in their own end of the ice badly, making dumb plays to clear the puck and forcing their goalie to make some very good saves to preserve the tie. The Ginats finally managed to reclaim the lead for good at the 16:38 mark of the third. After sitting back the majority of the second half of the third they finally put the pressure back on and were rewarded crashing the net. A goal originally given to Milan Kytnar was changed to Brendan Gallagher after the game. Either could have got as the Giants had a few swipes at the loose puck as everyone was in the crease. Gallagher lifted the puck up and over a sprawling Ketting for the GWG. The Giants put one off the post with the empty net and missed one over the net feeling eerily like the Canucks did the night before. The Giants never managed the empty net larker, but were able to hold onto their slim lead and get the regulation win.
The Giants went 2 for 2 on the PP and in my mind got kind of screwed by the refs who had a grand old time getting in their way, failing to call more than few hooks, holds and picks on the other side of the puck. The Rockets went 2 for 6 on the man-advantage and played about the same level of game as the Giants did, but seemed to be immune as the refs put their whistles in their pockets for the entire third period. The Giants gave their fans a bit of scare as they looked to have a collapse like they did in Kelowna, but managed to get a bit of luck, work their minimal PP chances to their best advantage and out last the Rockets to get the win. They come away from the weekend with 5 of a possible 6 points, while battling the flu, which has infected their line-up.
The Giants have the week off to practice and get healthy. Their efforts so far in the season have been sporadic, but they are getting a lot of wins with their tenacious style of play. Don Hay has a lot to do with their success, keeping it down to systems, effort and discipline. This will sometimes crush a few of the more creative players who do their best acting on instinct, but in the end it will allow this line-up of slightly under-skilled players to become more than the sum of their parts. The Giants take on the Calgary Hitmen who do not to appear to have lost much from last season and will be a good challenge for the G-Men to play, this Friday. The puck drops at the Coliseum on the 30th at 7:30pm PDT.
Three Stars
1. Craig Cunningham
2. Tyson Barrie
3. Neil Manning