dondo
02-20-2011, 03:36 PM
Rockets Smoke Giants
Vancouver 3 Kelowna 6
I didn’t hear enough of this game to really give an in-depth recap, but suffice to say the Giants special teams, were not. Unless of course you are referring to the euphemistic meaning of special to mean challenged, disabled or deficient. Allowing a SH marker on your first PP of the game is an inauspicious way to open a game versus an opponent that has lately given you fits and stands in the way of you getting your 6th straight divisional title. Neil Manning was guilty of two big turnovers in this game, which resulted in goals by making that tough low-percentage pass when a safer outlet was available. It happens, but when you are struggling you make the safe play. The Rockets scored a SH goal and a PP marker in the first. The Giants got that one back in the second only to give it back a few minutes later. The Giants continued their sloppy play early in the third as the Rockets added another one. The Vancouver squad battled back, notching two and drawing within one, only to get into penalty trouble.
The Giants must have had a target on their back from the zebra’s point of view as they took all of the penalty calls in the final frame and it killed them. The G’s surrender two PP markers with the Rockets scoring 5 on 3 and then 5 on 4 on the same extended PP, the second goal being a solo effort off of a very poor give-away. The boys were leaving Segal high and dry in this one, but there are a couple that Mark could have bared down on and kept out. The Giants have got to work on their PK which has been killing them in their losses lately and their PP is bleeding, mishandling pucks, over-passing and failing to get set in the offensive zone by chasing down loose pucks. They have squandered their PP chances badly as of late and the whole special teams organization needs a violent shake-up.
Evan Bloodoff scored a SH and PP marker for the only goals of the first period. Spencer Bennett had a great chance late in the first to draw within one, but Adam Brown turned him aside a couple of times to preserve his shutout. David Musil finally broke the goose-egg mid-second, snapping a stealthy wrist shot past Brown. Brendan Rowinski and Michael Burns were in on the goal. Geordie Wudrick scored his 32nd of the season, off of a play resulting from a stupid turn-over. Spencer Main restored the two goal bulge early in the third, when the Giants got caught giving away the puck again. A few minutes later Dalton Sward buried the puck off of a feed by Brendan Gallagher and Wes Vannieuwenhuizen. Michael Burns drew the boys within one off of Rowinski, but late multiple penalties put the Giants behind the proverbial eight-ball. Zach Franko tallied one 5 on 3 and Mitch Callahan potted an unassisted tally the next shift.
Rookie Watch: Sward was a +2 and had a goal. Bellerive was back in the line-up, took a lazy penalty but was a +1. Hodder was a +1, fairly solid 5 on 5 and dropped the mitts with Stebner. Hart was even. Franson sat.
Fight Night: Zak Stebner and Zach Hodder dropped the gloves in the first, in a Zackian conflagration. Connor Redmond continued his battle from Wednesday with Tyrell Goulbourne going toe-to-toe. Both fights were in the first.
Zebra Cage: The numbers alone show an inconsistent calling pattern and the types of penalties called show a couple of refs who were busy trying to justify their existence. What little I heard did not fill me with any confidence in the officials in this one. Gallagher for boarding, really?
The Rockets out shot the Giants 33-30, went 3 for 7 on their PP and added a SH marker to completely dominate special teams in this one. The Giants current Achilles heel is their special teams and will kill them come playoff time, or sooner, if they don’t fix the problem. They have an inconsistent and soft PP they frequently squander with poor puck possession and sloppy passing around their blue-line. On their PK, where hard work and great goaltending are your best assets they sit back, allow lanes to the net and tend to be slow clearing the front of their net. I also have not personally been pleased with the number of long-distance floaters finding their way through Segal, recently. Hay has completely over-played his starter, especially in back-to-backs and after poor outings and as result is sending the wrong message, tiring Segal and the cracks are beginning to show. Segal made some great stops in this one though, which could have been even more lopsided, but I still think he needs a break and the team needs to know that if they desert him he might not get that next start. That fear is not there and as a result Segal has become a bit complacent early in games. Credit the Giants for battling back to get within one, but they need to take better care of the puck and make sure they make smarter plays when they have the momentum.
The Giants gave back the Divisional lead tonight with both teams now tied at 67 points, but the Rockets with more wins and more importantly more wins versus the Giants, get the nod. Its odd how the Rockets struggle against other teams and have been dropping games between wins against the Giants. The Giants have a week off to fix some of these problems before taking on Chilliwack in back-to-back games On Friday in Vancouver, for Lucic bobblehead night and Saturday at Prospera Centre, before returning home to Tri-Cities on Sunday versus the Americans at the Coliseum. The Americans are another team that have had the Giants number this season and have buried them handily in each game. The boys really need to beat Chilliwack twice and it would give them a huge boost to post a big game versus the Americans. The puck on Friday drops at 7:30pm at the Coliseum.
Three Stars
1. Evan Bloodoff
2. Geordie Wudrick
3. Colton Sissons
Dondos Doghouse: Not so special teams. They are killing us. Our PK below 80% makes me sick and our anaemic PP means that the boys hard work drawing penalties and going to the tough spots on the net are wasted. The Giants absolutely have to improve these aspects of their game.
Vancouver 3 Kelowna 6
I didn’t hear enough of this game to really give an in-depth recap, but suffice to say the Giants special teams, were not. Unless of course you are referring to the euphemistic meaning of special to mean challenged, disabled or deficient. Allowing a SH marker on your first PP of the game is an inauspicious way to open a game versus an opponent that has lately given you fits and stands in the way of you getting your 6th straight divisional title. Neil Manning was guilty of two big turnovers in this game, which resulted in goals by making that tough low-percentage pass when a safer outlet was available. It happens, but when you are struggling you make the safe play. The Rockets scored a SH goal and a PP marker in the first. The Giants got that one back in the second only to give it back a few minutes later. The Giants continued their sloppy play early in the third as the Rockets added another one. The Vancouver squad battled back, notching two and drawing within one, only to get into penalty trouble.
The Giants must have had a target on their back from the zebra’s point of view as they took all of the penalty calls in the final frame and it killed them. The G’s surrender two PP markers with the Rockets scoring 5 on 3 and then 5 on 4 on the same extended PP, the second goal being a solo effort off of a very poor give-away. The boys were leaving Segal high and dry in this one, but there are a couple that Mark could have bared down on and kept out. The Giants have got to work on their PK which has been killing them in their losses lately and their PP is bleeding, mishandling pucks, over-passing and failing to get set in the offensive zone by chasing down loose pucks. They have squandered their PP chances badly as of late and the whole special teams organization needs a violent shake-up.
Evan Bloodoff scored a SH and PP marker for the only goals of the first period. Spencer Bennett had a great chance late in the first to draw within one, but Adam Brown turned him aside a couple of times to preserve his shutout. David Musil finally broke the goose-egg mid-second, snapping a stealthy wrist shot past Brown. Brendan Rowinski and Michael Burns were in on the goal. Geordie Wudrick scored his 32nd of the season, off of a play resulting from a stupid turn-over. Spencer Main restored the two goal bulge early in the third, when the Giants got caught giving away the puck again. A few minutes later Dalton Sward buried the puck off of a feed by Brendan Gallagher and Wes Vannieuwenhuizen. Michael Burns drew the boys within one off of Rowinski, but late multiple penalties put the Giants behind the proverbial eight-ball. Zach Franko tallied one 5 on 3 and Mitch Callahan potted an unassisted tally the next shift.
Rookie Watch: Sward was a +2 and had a goal. Bellerive was back in the line-up, took a lazy penalty but was a +1. Hodder was a +1, fairly solid 5 on 5 and dropped the mitts with Stebner. Hart was even. Franson sat.
Fight Night: Zak Stebner and Zach Hodder dropped the gloves in the first, in a Zackian conflagration. Connor Redmond continued his battle from Wednesday with Tyrell Goulbourne going toe-to-toe. Both fights were in the first.
Zebra Cage: The numbers alone show an inconsistent calling pattern and the types of penalties called show a couple of refs who were busy trying to justify their existence. What little I heard did not fill me with any confidence in the officials in this one. Gallagher for boarding, really?
The Rockets out shot the Giants 33-30, went 3 for 7 on their PP and added a SH marker to completely dominate special teams in this one. The Giants current Achilles heel is their special teams and will kill them come playoff time, or sooner, if they don’t fix the problem. They have an inconsistent and soft PP they frequently squander with poor puck possession and sloppy passing around their blue-line. On their PK, where hard work and great goaltending are your best assets they sit back, allow lanes to the net and tend to be slow clearing the front of their net. I also have not personally been pleased with the number of long-distance floaters finding their way through Segal, recently. Hay has completely over-played his starter, especially in back-to-backs and after poor outings and as result is sending the wrong message, tiring Segal and the cracks are beginning to show. Segal made some great stops in this one though, which could have been even more lopsided, but I still think he needs a break and the team needs to know that if they desert him he might not get that next start. That fear is not there and as a result Segal has become a bit complacent early in games. Credit the Giants for battling back to get within one, but they need to take better care of the puck and make sure they make smarter plays when they have the momentum.
The Giants gave back the Divisional lead tonight with both teams now tied at 67 points, but the Rockets with more wins and more importantly more wins versus the Giants, get the nod. Its odd how the Rockets struggle against other teams and have been dropping games between wins against the Giants. The Giants have a week off to fix some of these problems before taking on Chilliwack in back-to-back games On Friday in Vancouver, for Lucic bobblehead night and Saturday at Prospera Centre, before returning home to Tri-Cities on Sunday versus the Americans at the Coliseum. The Americans are another team that have had the Giants number this season and have buried them handily in each game. The boys really need to beat Chilliwack twice and it would give them a huge boost to post a big game versus the Americans. The puck on Friday drops at 7:30pm at the Coliseum.
Three Stars
1. Evan Bloodoff
2. Geordie Wudrick
3. Colton Sissons
Dondos Doghouse: Not so special teams. They are killing us. Our PK below 80% makes me sick and our anaemic PP means that the boys hard work drawing penalties and going to the tough spots on the net are wasted. The Giants absolutely have to improve these aspects of their game.