dondo
10-25-2010, 02:21 AM
Giants Club Silvertips
Vancouver 3 Everett 1
The Giants were looking for their 3rd straight win after bouncing back from three straight losses and discover their team game. Getting a couple of injured players back in the line-up has helped ease the pressure on some of the 3rd line performers who were clearly feeling the pressure of extra minutes and responsibility. For probably the first time this season the Giants played a complete team game for almost a full sixty minutes. The almost being a poor give-away that was in the back of the net almost as quickly as the bad pass up the centre was received by the other team. Other than that though the Giants limited their penalties, limited their opponents shots on goal and played well at both ends of the ice. Brendan Jensen got the start in the second of back-to-back games, as it appears as if the Giants are happy going with the hot hand. He had a very solid night, turning away shots down low and getting across the crease in a timely fashion. He also had a few nice up-ice passes that caught the Tips flat-footed.
The Tips opened the scoring off the aforementioned bad giveaway by the Giants, late in the first taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Neil Manning floated one through from the point on the PP in the second to tie the game. Jordan Martinook scored what would prove to be the game winner from the high slot just after the expiry of another Giants PP. Kudos go to James Henry and Craig Cunningham for their work getting the assists. Craig Cunningham added another goal mid-third off of some great tenacious work by Brendan Gallagher, for insurance.
Rookie Watch: Dalton Sward continues to find his stride laying the body a bit and making two nice big hits on one shift. Now that the Giants have a bit of size I need to see them use it more like that. Matt Bellerive had some small, but effective shifts and also used his body. Cain Franson had an assist on the first goal and was given some playing time with the big boys on a shift here and there. Tyler Hart left Friday’s game after the first period with an undisclosed injury and is now day to day as far as I know.
Fight Night: Only one fight in this one, in the first period versus Tyler Maxwell and Brendan Gallagher? What? Two of the top four scorers in the league (about the same size) dropping the mitts and having a fairly balanced bout, with Maxwell getting the takedown. Not bad for a lightweight tussle as both Gallagher and Maxwell are known for being intense. The funny thing is that it came out in open ice and almost acknowledged as opposed to out of scrum in the crease.
Zebra Cage: another decently reffed game in this one. Some questionable calls on both sides, but for the most part kept their whistles in their pockets until they needed to pull them out. Linesmen were not as good as Friday’s crew though, in my mind. The flow of the game from the official side of things was not as efficient.
The Giants out shot the Silvertips 27-21. The G’s were 1 for 5 on the PP, while the Tips went 0 for 3. The Giants were better at staying out of the box in this game and played a tighter checking game. They are still not great at clearing their end when they get into trouble and are still trying to make that up ice pass through traffic instead of the safe play off the boards just to get it out. The real nice thing is that the team feels like they are making progress and forging a chemistry that is becoming more evident. The boys are starting to commit to blocking shots and support their team-mates. Jensen seems to be taking the opportunities he is getting lately and running with them and could end up taking the starter’s spot.
Brendan Gallagher extended his league leading point streak to 15 games, getting 26 in that time. Craig Cunningham added a couple of more points to continue to lead the league with 31. Jordan Martinook was evident during the entire game and not just bits and pieces, his shifts were more effective and consistent and he drove the net and took the body as needed. David Musil and Wes Vannieuwenhuizen were both pretty solid. Manning is still a bit careless with the puck, but his contributions on the offensive side of the puck cannot be disputed. Luke Fenske was better paired with Manning as well. The boys go on an Alberta road trip this next week, with stops in Lethbridge, Red Deer and Edmonton. They also have a team building dude ranch experience planned, something Hay has done with the Giants and the Blazers in the past.
Three Stars
1. David Musil
2. Jordan Martinook
3. Brendan Jensen
Dondo’s Doghouse: I actually don’t have a doghouse denizen for this game. The boys to a man played hard and well and despite a couple of gaffes here and there, none were doghouse worthy, not even the refs
Vancouver 3 Everett 1
The Giants were looking for their 3rd straight win after bouncing back from three straight losses and discover their team game. Getting a couple of injured players back in the line-up has helped ease the pressure on some of the 3rd line performers who were clearly feeling the pressure of extra minutes and responsibility. For probably the first time this season the Giants played a complete team game for almost a full sixty minutes. The almost being a poor give-away that was in the back of the net almost as quickly as the bad pass up the centre was received by the other team. Other than that though the Giants limited their penalties, limited their opponents shots on goal and played well at both ends of the ice. Brendan Jensen got the start in the second of back-to-back games, as it appears as if the Giants are happy going with the hot hand. He had a very solid night, turning away shots down low and getting across the crease in a timely fashion. He also had a few nice up-ice passes that caught the Tips flat-footed.
The Tips opened the scoring off the aforementioned bad giveaway by the Giants, late in the first taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Neil Manning floated one through from the point on the PP in the second to tie the game. Jordan Martinook scored what would prove to be the game winner from the high slot just after the expiry of another Giants PP. Kudos go to James Henry and Craig Cunningham for their work getting the assists. Craig Cunningham added another goal mid-third off of some great tenacious work by Brendan Gallagher, for insurance.
Rookie Watch: Dalton Sward continues to find his stride laying the body a bit and making two nice big hits on one shift. Now that the Giants have a bit of size I need to see them use it more like that. Matt Bellerive had some small, but effective shifts and also used his body. Cain Franson had an assist on the first goal and was given some playing time with the big boys on a shift here and there. Tyler Hart left Friday’s game after the first period with an undisclosed injury and is now day to day as far as I know.
Fight Night: Only one fight in this one, in the first period versus Tyler Maxwell and Brendan Gallagher? What? Two of the top four scorers in the league (about the same size) dropping the mitts and having a fairly balanced bout, with Maxwell getting the takedown. Not bad for a lightweight tussle as both Gallagher and Maxwell are known for being intense. The funny thing is that it came out in open ice and almost acknowledged as opposed to out of scrum in the crease.
Zebra Cage: another decently reffed game in this one. Some questionable calls on both sides, but for the most part kept their whistles in their pockets until they needed to pull them out. Linesmen were not as good as Friday’s crew though, in my mind. The flow of the game from the official side of things was not as efficient.
The Giants out shot the Silvertips 27-21. The G’s were 1 for 5 on the PP, while the Tips went 0 for 3. The Giants were better at staying out of the box in this game and played a tighter checking game. They are still not great at clearing their end when they get into trouble and are still trying to make that up ice pass through traffic instead of the safe play off the boards just to get it out. The real nice thing is that the team feels like they are making progress and forging a chemistry that is becoming more evident. The boys are starting to commit to blocking shots and support their team-mates. Jensen seems to be taking the opportunities he is getting lately and running with them and could end up taking the starter’s spot.
Brendan Gallagher extended his league leading point streak to 15 games, getting 26 in that time. Craig Cunningham added a couple of more points to continue to lead the league with 31. Jordan Martinook was evident during the entire game and not just bits and pieces, his shifts were more effective and consistent and he drove the net and took the body as needed. David Musil and Wes Vannieuwenhuizen were both pretty solid. Manning is still a bit careless with the puck, but his contributions on the offensive side of the puck cannot be disputed. Luke Fenske was better paired with Manning as well. The boys go on an Alberta road trip this next week, with stops in Lethbridge, Red Deer and Edmonton. They also have a team building dude ranch experience planned, something Hay has done with the Giants and the Blazers in the past.
Three Stars
1. David Musil
2. Jordan Martinook
3. Brendan Jensen
Dondo’s Doghouse: I actually don’t have a doghouse denizen for this game. The boys to a man played hard and well and despite a couple of gaffes here and there, none were doghouse worthy, not even the refs