dondo
09-02-2010, 01:07 AM
From my new blog. Enjoyed tonight immensely. Always like seeing the prospects, APs and newcomers in camp scrimmages. Good hockey tonight. There was some emotion. Henry and Gally even went toe to toe, when one took umbrage to a cheapish hit (from Gally ;) ) along the boards.
Lucic Vs Festerling: Giants Alumni Challenge
The Alumni challenge with guest coaches, former Giants Milan Lucic coaching Team Black and Brett Festerling coaching Team Grey, took place tonight closing out the Giants 2010 camp. Last night Grey crushed Team Black in the first cut down intra squad game, but tonight’s tilt was a much closer contest. Despite Gally (for those who don’t know that reference: Brendan Gallagher) notching a sweet hat trick, Team Grey fell short by one goal to take a 5-4 loss to Lucic’s Black squad.
It would be nice to be able write a recap of the game, but in the end I was too busy watching individuals play, picking a number to watch for a shift and getting a feel for the pieces which might fall together for this season’s roster. At the end of the game I realized that I didn’t pay close attention to who scored what goals, but that in itself is a bit of compliment as I was wrapped up in the play, immersed in one-on-one battles. It was good to see a game after a summer hockey drought for me. The boys had a good time tonight, but they also brought some intensity to the rink as a good deal are still fighting for roster spots and vying to be given the chance to shine in the preseason for the players who are on the bubble.
We sat up top behind the benches for the first period, but had to go down behind the net up against the glass for the next two as being up high just was not satisfying the need for intense in our face hockey. A few players stood out. Cunningham and Gallagher seemed to be a level above everyone else. The vets did well and there were a few prospects who had some solid shifts. 15 year old Jackson Houck is a big boy who moves well and appears to play hard every shift, seemed to see more from him late in the game as he upped his level. He had a couple of nice assists. Euro Marek Tvrdon playing with Cunner and Gally held his own and complemented the boys well. Had couple of very nice assists and was not afraid to go to the net. RJ Reed showed himself to be a speedy and effective forward. Fanned on a couple of shots, but in the end if the puck was there he was usually in the vicinity. Off-season OA pick-up Matt MacKay had a nice gutsy goal, set up by our other import, 19 year old Caspar Carning. Carning vanished at times, but made some nice plays at other times. Jordan Martinook got some late shifts and looked to be capable of becoming an impact player. I didn’t notice Dalton Sward until later, but he had some great moments.
On the defensive side, some of the prospects that turned my head consistently were Denton King and it appears at if Wes Vannieuwenhuizen (dammit if he makes the team I’m gonna have to learn how to spell that) found a better, less bunny-in-headlights game. He made some solid passes and was good in his own end. He could make the team this time around. I also liked Tyler Hart’s game as he was tenacious in front of his own net. The line of Greg Lamoureux, Kyzen Loo and Mico Dragutinovic had some very good, dangerous shifts for Black. I expect Lamoureux to seriously up his game this season as he’s been mostly invisible so far from my perspective in his tenure as Giant.
On the goalie front with each tender taking a period: Brendan Jensen was probably the best between the pipes tonight as he kept his team in the game during the third period. Derek Tendler had a much better time of it than he did last night as he started the game and managed to mostly hold his fort. Mark Segal was solid if unimpressive. Jackson Whistle had his struggles allowing an unfortunate goal just off of his glove. Whistle is a 15 year old who made it through all of the camp cuts to play in the final scrimmage.
The Giants first preseason game is this Friday September 3, at the Ladner Leisure Centre. The Kelowna Rockets visit Ladner before returning home for a tilt on Saturday versus the preseason G-Men.
Lucic Vs Festerling: Giants Alumni Challenge
The Alumni challenge with guest coaches, former Giants Milan Lucic coaching Team Black and Brett Festerling coaching Team Grey, took place tonight closing out the Giants 2010 camp. Last night Grey crushed Team Black in the first cut down intra squad game, but tonight’s tilt was a much closer contest. Despite Gally (for those who don’t know that reference: Brendan Gallagher) notching a sweet hat trick, Team Grey fell short by one goal to take a 5-4 loss to Lucic’s Black squad.
It would be nice to be able write a recap of the game, but in the end I was too busy watching individuals play, picking a number to watch for a shift and getting a feel for the pieces which might fall together for this season’s roster. At the end of the game I realized that I didn’t pay close attention to who scored what goals, but that in itself is a bit of compliment as I was wrapped up in the play, immersed in one-on-one battles. It was good to see a game after a summer hockey drought for me. The boys had a good time tonight, but they also brought some intensity to the rink as a good deal are still fighting for roster spots and vying to be given the chance to shine in the preseason for the players who are on the bubble.
We sat up top behind the benches for the first period, but had to go down behind the net up against the glass for the next two as being up high just was not satisfying the need for intense in our face hockey. A few players stood out. Cunningham and Gallagher seemed to be a level above everyone else. The vets did well and there were a few prospects who had some solid shifts. 15 year old Jackson Houck is a big boy who moves well and appears to play hard every shift, seemed to see more from him late in the game as he upped his level. He had a couple of nice assists. Euro Marek Tvrdon playing with Cunner and Gally held his own and complemented the boys well. Had couple of very nice assists and was not afraid to go to the net. RJ Reed showed himself to be a speedy and effective forward. Fanned on a couple of shots, but in the end if the puck was there he was usually in the vicinity. Off-season OA pick-up Matt MacKay had a nice gutsy goal, set up by our other import, 19 year old Caspar Carning. Carning vanished at times, but made some nice plays at other times. Jordan Martinook got some late shifts and looked to be capable of becoming an impact player. I didn’t notice Dalton Sward until later, but he had some great moments.
On the defensive side, some of the prospects that turned my head consistently were Denton King and it appears at if Wes Vannieuwenhuizen (dammit if he makes the team I’m gonna have to learn how to spell that) found a better, less bunny-in-headlights game. He made some solid passes and was good in his own end. He could make the team this time around. I also liked Tyler Hart’s game as he was tenacious in front of his own net. The line of Greg Lamoureux, Kyzen Loo and Mico Dragutinovic had some very good, dangerous shifts for Black. I expect Lamoureux to seriously up his game this season as he’s been mostly invisible so far from my perspective in his tenure as Giant.
On the goalie front with each tender taking a period: Brendan Jensen was probably the best between the pipes tonight as he kept his team in the game during the third period. Derek Tendler had a much better time of it than he did last night as he started the game and managed to mostly hold his fort. Mark Segal was solid if unimpressive. Jackson Whistle had his struggles allowing an unfortunate goal just off of his glove. Whistle is a 15 year old who made it through all of the camp cuts to play in the final scrimmage.
The Giants first preseason game is this Friday September 3, at the Ladner Leisure Centre. The Kelowna Rockets visit Ladner before returning home for a tilt on Saturday versus the preseason G-Men.