dondo
10-31-2010, 12:03 AM
Giants Drill Oil Kings
Vancouver 4 Edmonton 2
The Giants needed a bounce back win tonight after a poor loss in Red Deer last night. It’s a good thing they faced Edmonton as other than their goalie they could not be accused of playing their best hockey, garnering only 2 shots in the first period, one of which found the twine and a mere 6 shots in the third. Hayzer split up Cunningham and Gallagher to generate some depth offense in this one and it sort of worked, sort of. Edmonton actually held control of the play for most of the night and the Giants should have been far more dominant and aggressive at all ends of the ice. Brendan Jensen turned aside 35 of 37 and was pressed to make some at times brilliant stops, when the Giants got lazy and allowed their focus to lapse. It was one of those games the Giants probably shouldn’t have won, but getting 3 goals on 6 shots on Cam Lanigan, before the ‘tender got pulled was much more the story of the game. Lanigan lasted 22:46.
Matt McKay opened the scoring midway through the opening frame on the PP. Craig Cunningham and Michael Burns got the assists. Michael St Croix scored for Edmonton on a late period PP chance. The Oil Kings completely out played the Giants in the first, but Jensen stood tall and kept his team in the game. Brendan Gallagher scored a solo effort just :20 into the second and then Matt Bellerive scored his 2nd of the season at 2:46 of the middle frame, signaling the end of Lanigan’s night, it was only the Giants 6th shot on net. Henry padded the Giants lead in the third flipping a breakaway chance top shelf. Nathan Burns got the assist. St Croix scored one late to make it interesting (a ridiculous one-handed flip to the top corner, while being well-checked), but with the goalie pulled and a late PP chance the Oil Kings found nothing but flying blocking bodies from the Giants as the Vancouver boys sacrificed themselves to keep the puck from getting through 6 on 4.
Rookie Watch: Matt Bellerive scored what proved to be the GWG, playing with Cunningham and Lyon (Cunner and Dalton Reum had the helpers). Dalton Sward had some solid shifts. Tyler Hart was back from injury, playing hard shifts and keeping his end of the ice mostly safe. Cain Franson sat this game out.
Fight Night: Wes Vannieuwenhuizen got an instigator a 10 minute misconduct and 5 for fighting sticking up for a teammate who had been kneed. Adrian Van de Mosselaer was the culprit and dropped the mitts with the big d-man. Dalton Reum and David Stephens fought in the second out of a free for all, which saw Henry and Abney get double roughings.
Zebra Cage: Derek Herman and Jonathan Spurgeon called a bizarre game, evening up brutal penalties and keeping the whistle in the pocket at times when they should have been pulling it out.
The Giants were badly out shot 37-22 and their goalie had to stand on his head at times to keep them up on Edmonton. The Giants went 1 for 4 on their PP, while the Oil Kings were 1 for 3. The Giants should be thanking their goaltender as he made some clutch stops when he needed to make them as the boys did not come close to playing a complete game. Jensen basically stole the game in my estimation and the boys should not be too proud of their effort in this one. They out-played the Oil Kings at times in the second, but in third rarely touched the puck or generated good scoring chances. When they got their chances they tended to score on them and although that’s nice to see that kind of finish, its also a bit disappointing to see them not generate many more. Its not like Edmonton is a defensive stalwart franchise.
I would have much preferred to see the Giants take their game to the Oil Kings and really make a statement. Good to get the win for sure, but the boys need to stay focused and play better than just a few minutes here and there. In the end it will serve them much better in the long run. Cunner got two tonight and is up to 36 points in 18 games and Gallagher started what we hope to be another point streak with his 16th goal of the season tonight. The boys have a week off to relax and practice hard before taking on the Kelowna Rockets back at the Coliseum on Friday Nov 5.
Three Stars
1. Craig Cunningham
2. Michael St Croix
3. Brendan Jensen
Dondo’s Doghouse: The team for only showing up when they felt like and not taking their game to the Oil Kings. This is a team to really put the boots to, especially after a hard fought disappointing loss in Red Deer. They should have been primed and playing bits of game is not what I consider to be Giants hockey.
Vancouver 4 Edmonton 2
The Giants needed a bounce back win tonight after a poor loss in Red Deer last night. It’s a good thing they faced Edmonton as other than their goalie they could not be accused of playing their best hockey, garnering only 2 shots in the first period, one of which found the twine and a mere 6 shots in the third. Hayzer split up Cunningham and Gallagher to generate some depth offense in this one and it sort of worked, sort of. Edmonton actually held control of the play for most of the night and the Giants should have been far more dominant and aggressive at all ends of the ice. Brendan Jensen turned aside 35 of 37 and was pressed to make some at times brilliant stops, when the Giants got lazy and allowed their focus to lapse. It was one of those games the Giants probably shouldn’t have won, but getting 3 goals on 6 shots on Cam Lanigan, before the ‘tender got pulled was much more the story of the game. Lanigan lasted 22:46.
Matt McKay opened the scoring midway through the opening frame on the PP. Craig Cunningham and Michael Burns got the assists. Michael St Croix scored for Edmonton on a late period PP chance. The Oil Kings completely out played the Giants in the first, but Jensen stood tall and kept his team in the game. Brendan Gallagher scored a solo effort just :20 into the second and then Matt Bellerive scored his 2nd of the season at 2:46 of the middle frame, signaling the end of Lanigan’s night, it was only the Giants 6th shot on net. Henry padded the Giants lead in the third flipping a breakaway chance top shelf. Nathan Burns got the assist. St Croix scored one late to make it interesting (a ridiculous one-handed flip to the top corner, while being well-checked), but with the goalie pulled and a late PP chance the Oil Kings found nothing but flying blocking bodies from the Giants as the Vancouver boys sacrificed themselves to keep the puck from getting through 6 on 4.
Rookie Watch: Matt Bellerive scored what proved to be the GWG, playing with Cunningham and Lyon (Cunner and Dalton Reum had the helpers). Dalton Sward had some solid shifts. Tyler Hart was back from injury, playing hard shifts and keeping his end of the ice mostly safe. Cain Franson sat this game out.
Fight Night: Wes Vannieuwenhuizen got an instigator a 10 minute misconduct and 5 for fighting sticking up for a teammate who had been kneed. Adrian Van de Mosselaer was the culprit and dropped the mitts with the big d-man. Dalton Reum and David Stephens fought in the second out of a free for all, which saw Henry and Abney get double roughings.
Zebra Cage: Derek Herman and Jonathan Spurgeon called a bizarre game, evening up brutal penalties and keeping the whistle in the pocket at times when they should have been pulling it out.
The Giants were badly out shot 37-22 and their goalie had to stand on his head at times to keep them up on Edmonton. The Giants went 1 for 4 on their PP, while the Oil Kings were 1 for 3. The Giants should be thanking their goaltender as he made some clutch stops when he needed to make them as the boys did not come close to playing a complete game. Jensen basically stole the game in my estimation and the boys should not be too proud of their effort in this one. They out-played the Oil Kings at times in the second, but in third rarely touched the puck or generated good scoring chances. When they got their chances they tended to score on them and although that’s nice to see that kind of finish, its also a bit disappointing to see them not generate many more. Its not like Edmonton is a defensive stalwart franchise.
I would have much preferred to see the Giants take their game to the Oil Kings and really make a statement. Good to get the win for sure, but the boys need to stay focused and play better than just a few minutes here and there. In the end it will serve them much better in the long run. Cunner got two tonight and is up to 36 points in 18 games and Gallagher started what we hope to be another point streak with his 16th goal of the season tonight. The boys have a week off to relax and practice hard before taking on the Kelowna Rockets back at the Coliseum on Friday Nov 5.
Three Stars
1. Craig Cunningham
2. Michael St Croix
3. Brendan Jensen
Dondo’s Doghouse: The team for only showing up when they felt like and not taking their game to the Oil Kings. This is a team to really put the boots to, especially after a hard fought disappointing loss in Red Deer. They should have been primed and playing bits of game is not what I consider to be Giants hockey.