dondo
01-09-2010, 12:29 AM
The Giants won a game they were expected to win, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Oil Kings in Edmonton. The G's had a bit of a soft first and Derek Tendler making his first WHL start was a bit shaky controlling rebounds. He settled down in the second making a couple of great stops allowing his team to roll in the period, scoring 4 goals to the Oil Kings 1. Giants PP looked good and their PK was fairly decent. Good to see the Giants find their hustle for the final forty though, lots of depth players sacrificing to make the play. The Oil Kings played a pretty determined game, but could not take down the Giants who have now won three straight, going for their fourth straight win for the first time this season.
Giants Pump Oil Kings
Vancouver 5 Edmonton 3
Don Robinson
The Giants and Oil Kings tangled on Shaw tonight in Edmonton. Dan Russell stills bug the piss out of me, but in the end it was decent tilt despite wanting to saw my ears off my head. I think the G-Men allowed the game to be closer than it should have been, but give credit to the Edmonton boys for not giving up and playing a fairly tight checking game. The Oil Kings scored twice in the first to take a 2-0 lead into the break. Rookie tender Derek Tendler got his first start in the WHL and would have liked the second goal back. The Giants came back in the second scoring 4 goals to 1 taking a 4-3 lead into the third. The Oil Kings got close to tying it up, but Tendler made some really nice stops to hold his team in the game. The G’s salted it away with a late empty-net goal.
Edmonton opened the scoring on their first PP of the game. Tomas Vincour scored off of a great cross-crease feed, when the Giants failed to contain Brett Breitkruz coming off the boards. The Giants controlled the play for the majority of the period and were out-shooting the Oil Kings, but could not bulge the twine. The Oil Kings padded their lead when a wrister from the slot fluttered over Tendler’s glove. Dylan Wruck found the back of the net slipping the puck past the Giants goalie. It was one that Tendler would probably want another shot at, but he made up for that in the second when he stoned young up and comer Klarc Wilson and then made a great pad stop on Breitkruz off the rebound. Tendler’s rebound control is a part of his game he might want to work on as he was letting out some juicy ones tonight, but he’s still young. Vincour and powerful d-man Mark Pysyk played the first for Edmonton, but both were out for the rest of the game suffering with the flu. Those players tried hard to play in the first, having some success, but apparently could not continue after the opening frame. The Giants came out pretty soft in the period making some sloppy passes, but made up for it in the second and third.
The Giants got going in the second when defenseman Connauton tallied his 20th of the season cutting down the wing and lifting the puck past Cam Lanigan. The goal came off of some great pressure in the Edmonton end of the ice and keeping the puck active. Mike Piluso and Nathan Burns got the helpers. Connor Redmond scored his second of the season and second in as many games. He had a pretty good night both offensively and defensively, hustling at both ends and feeling like he was finding the game that made him a first round bantam draft. Going to the tough zones, he pounded the puck past Lanigan from the slot while being harassed and up-ended as he took the shot. Lance Bouma who got an assist on the play did some great work to keep the puck alive in the Oil Kings zone, finally finding Greg Lamoureaux who made a nice pass to Redmond. Neil Manning found the back of the net from the point on a Giants PP a bit later. Connauton and JT Barnett got the assists on the play. Wilson finally got it past Tendler late in the middle stanza, tying the game at 3s. A very late PP chance for the Giants gave them back the lead. Craig Cunningham scored from the slot, as the Giants got yet another goal off of great puck pressure in the Oil Kings zone and simple tenacity for the puck. Cunningham cut across the crease to snap home a loose puck. Bouma and Brendan Gallagher earned the points off of some great effort with and without the puck.
The Oil Kings battled back in the third. After being out shot 12-5 in the second and out-scored 4-1, they pushed back in the final frame, but the Giants weren’t about to lay down. Backing off a bit and making safer plays the Giants still brought puck pressure in the Edmonton end of the ice when they could. The Oil Kings could not get a great momentum going, despite out-shooting the G-Men. Giants goalie Tendler was good when he had to be, handling pucks around his net as he did in the second and not the first. The Giants were good coming back and thwarting chances with an aggressive back-check. It took ‘til late in the game before the Giants put the game out of reach. With the goalie pulled the Oil Kings had some decent pressure going, but a smart play by James Henry to chip the puck out of the zone and up to Garry Nunn, allowed Nunn to find the empty-net. I was happy to see Henry get a point in this one, because he was doing it all out there tonight. He exerted great pressure at both ends of the ice and hustled his butt off to loose pucks. He was finding seams and making great plays. He’s one of those guys who you might not think is that important, but notice a huge hole in your line-up when he’s out for any length of time. He’s the kind of character player that teams need to have depth and cohesion.
The Giants out-shot the Edmonton squad 35-23. The G’s were 2 for 4 on their PP, while the Oil Kings went 1 for 4. I was not totally fond of the refs tonight as I felt they let a bunch of stuff go, but for the most part it was balanced and not glaringly lop-sided one way or the other. It was nice to see players like Redmond and Lamoureaux having an impact on the ice tonight as their work ethic is getting better. That said, this was a close game versus an Oil King squad that haven’t won this year so far and their last home victory came sometime before Christmas and although the steps made tonight are positive the team has to remember to stay focused. Tonight was the first game of three in three nights and it doesn’t get any easier taking on the Hitmen tomorrow at home and then the Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday. The Giants have won three straight, but have yet to win four in a row this season. Tomorrow will prove a big challenge for the G-Men to beat a skilled Calgary squad and buck their fourth game bad juju. Should be an interesting tilt. The puck drops in Calgary at 7:00pm local time, 6:00pm PST.
Three Stars
1. Brett Breitkruz
2. Kevin Connauton
3. Craig Cunningham
Giants Pump Oil Kings
Vancouver 5 Edmonton 3
Don Robinson
The Giants and Oil Kings tangled on Shaw tonight in Edmonton. Dan Russell stills bug the piss out of me, but in the end it was decent tilt despite wanting to saw my ears off my head. I think the G-Men allowed the game to be closer than it should have been, but give credit to the Edmonton boys for not giving up and playing a fairly tight checking game. The Oil Kings scored twice in the first to take a 2-0 lead into the break. Rookie tender Derek Tendler got his first start in the WHL and would have liked the second goal back. The Giants came back in the second scoring 4 goals to 1 taking a 4-3 lead into the third. The Oil Kings got close to tying it up, but Tendler made some really nice stops to hold his team in the game. The G’s salted it away with a late empty-net goal.
Edmonton opened the scoring on their first PP of the game. Tomas Vincour scored off of a great cross-crease feed, when the Giants failed to contain Brett Breitkruz coming off the boards. The Giants controlled the play for the majority of the period and were out-shooting the Oil Kings, but could not bulge the twine. The Oil Kings padded their lead when a wrister from the slot fluttered over Tendler’s glove. Dylan Wruck found the back of the net slipping the puck past the Giants goalie. It was one that Tendler would probably want another shot at, but he made up for that in the second when he stoned young up and comer Klarc Wilson and then made a great pad stop on Breitkruz off the rebound. Tendler’s rebound control is a part of his game he might want to work on as he was letting out some juicy ones tonight, but he’s still young. Vincour and powerful d-man Mark Pysyk played the first for Edmonton, but both were out for the rest of the game suffering with the flu. Those players tried hard to play in the first, having some success, but apparently could not continue after the opening frame. The Giants came out pretty soft in the period making some sloppy passes, but made up for it in the second and third.
The Giants got going in the second when defenseman Connauton tallied his 20th of the season cutting down the wing and lifting the puck past Cam Lanigan. The goal came off of some great pressure in the Edmonton end of the ice and keeping the puck active. Mike Piluso and Nathan Burns got the helpers. Connor Redmond scored his second of the season and second in as many games. He had a pretty good night both offensively and defensively, hustling at both ends and feeling like he was finding the game that made him a first round bantam draft. Going to the tough zones, he pounded the puck past Lanigan from the slot while being harassed and up-ended as he took the shot. Lance Bouma who got an assist on the play did some great work to keep the puck alive in the Oil Kings zone, finally finding Greg Lamoureaux who made a nice pass to Redmond. Neil Manning found the back of the net from the point on a Giants PP a bit later. Connauton and JT Barnett got the assists on the play. Wilson finally got it past Tendler late in the middle stanza, tying the game at 3s. A very late PP chance for the Giants gave them back the lead. Craig Cunningham scored from the slot, as the Giants got yet another goal off of great puck pressure in the Oil Kings zone and simple tenacity for the puck. Cunningham cut across the crease to snap home a loose puck. Bouma and Brendan Gallagher earned the points off of some great effort with and without the puck.
The Oil Kings battled back in the third. After being out shot 12-5 in the second and out-scored 4-1, they pushed back in the final frame, but the Giants weren’t about to lay down. Backing off a bit and making safer plays the Giants still brought puck pressure in the Edmonton end of the ice when they could. The Oil Kings could not get a great momentum going, despite out-shooting the G-Men. Giants goalie Tendler was good when he had to be, handling pucks around his net as he did in the second and not the first. The Giants were good coming back and thwarting chances with an aggressive back-check. It took ‘til late in the game before the Giants put the game out of reach. With the goalie pulled the Oil Kings had some decent pressure going, but a smart play by James Henry to chip the puck out of the zone and up to Garry Nunn, allowed Nunn to find the empty-net. I was happy to see Henry get a point in this one, because he was doing it all out there tonight. He exerted great pressure at both ends of the ice and hustled his butt off to loose pucks. He was finding seams and making great plays. He’s one of those guys who you might not think is that important, but notice a huge hole in your line-up when he’s out for any length of time. He’s the kind of character player that teams need to have depth and cohesion.
The Giants out-shot the Edmonton squad 35-23. The G’s were 2 for 4 on their PP, while the Oil Kings went 1 for 4. I was not totally fond of the refs tonight as I felt they let a bunch of stuff go, but for the most part it was balanced and not glaringly lop-sided one way or the other. It was nice to see players like Redmond and Lamoureaux having an impact on the ice tonight as their work ethic is getting better. That said, this was a close game versus an Oil King squad that haven’t won this year so far and their last home victory came sometime before Christmas and although the steps made tonight are positive the team has to remember to stay focused. Tonight was the first game of three in three nights and it doesn’t get any easier taking on the Hitmen tomorrow at home and then the Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday. The Giants have won three straight, but have yet to win four in a row this season. Tomorrow will prove a big challenge for the G-Men to beat a skilled Calgary squad and buck their fourth game bad juju. Should be an interesting tilt. The puck drops in Calgary at 7:00pm local time, 6:00pm PST.
Three Stars
1. Brett Breitkruz
2. Kevin Connauton
3. Craig Cunningham