dondo
10-26-2011, 02:08 AM
Giants Skin Cougars
Vancouver 6 Prince George 2
The Giants have their special teams to thank for the win tonight, (never thought I’d be writing that this season as our special teams were so bad early on) scoring 2 SH’d markers, 2 PP markers and two at even strength. The second period was a crazy cacophony of fights and cheap shots and a parade to the penalty box. The boys continue to get production from throughout their line-up and the young guys are really stepping it up. Austin Vetterl had two greasy, go to the net, goals. Cain Franson had four great assists. Dalton Sward opened the scoring and was unlucky not to get more before being ejected from the game for being part of a multiple fight in the second. Marek Tvrdon with 2G and 1A and Brendan Gallagher with 1G and 1A rounded out the scoring. Funnily enough the lone ref seemed to misplace his whistle in the third as he called exactly zero.
Sward opened the scoring with a short-handed marker coming off of some good work and some nice passing by Franson. Sward deked and roofed the puck over Drew Owsley. Tvrdon wired a PP rocket, off of a nice Gallagher feed. Vetterl rounded out the scoring in the first, finishing off a Jackson Houck shot. Franson got the other helper. The Cougars got one back about six minutes into the second. Gallagher got that one back on the PP a few minutes later, with Tvrdon getting the lone assist. After many fights and penalties in the second and some uneven reffing Tvrdon scored a SH’d tally, off of Franson and Kiefer McNaughton. PG managed another just past the mid-way mark of the final frame, Vetterl notched his second late in the game to put the exclamation point on the tilt. Franson garnered his 4th assist and Bews got the other point on the play.
Rookie Watch: Bellerive (17) thrown out for fighting, sticking up for his teammate. Sward (17) hitting early and getting chances, scored a great SH’er before being thrown out of the game for sticking up for his teammate. Ast (16) almost had his head taken off by Martin Marincin which gathered a crowd but no penalty for the blind-side deliberate head-shot, from the zebra. He was not on the bench for the third period for precautionary reasons. Houck (16) taking the body well, getting some chances and an assist. Bews (17) an assist and some decent shifts, Hayzer is saying he should be a better player and has try in him and effort, but needs to unlearn some bad habits to meet his full potential. Arvin Atwal (15) Impressed he ripped off the birdcage and challenged a player to fight in a line brawl. Got thrown out for his efforts, but gained respect from fans and teammates I am sure. Kulak (17) very solid on the back-end, was on the ice for goals for and against, but ended up a plus. Vetterl (17) not known as a goal scorer, plays on the PK, scored twice going hard to the net – we are liking him.
Fight Night: Too many to mention and I’ll just confused with partners, so I’ll just give a laundry list. Jesse Forsberg v. James Henry, Henry gets instigator, 5 and a 10 min misconduct and Forsberg gets five for fighting after a dangerous check – someone tell me why we are rewarding guys for cheap shots and punishing guys who stick up for their teammates? The league says they are trying to stop dangerous hits and yet they have adopted this stupid freaking policy to the detriment of the game and in the process actually encouraging more cheap play. That kind of a logic is simply fukt. Bourke, Thompson and J. Forsberg v. Vannieuwenhuizen, Atwal, Bellerive – Martinook gets four for roughing – Marincin who tried to take off Ast’s head with a vicious blindside hit gets an “interference” minor and a game .. Okay let’s turn up the way-back machine: Orban gets five for interference for standing a guy up at the blue-line. Marincin targets the head with a blind side hit and gets two? Orban was suspended for 4 games. Marincin better get more or what the league is calling a “crackdown” is a fecking joke, kind of like the ref was tonight. Aschuak v. Gallagher .. Asuchak with a nasty boarding and Gallagher does not hesitate to jump in and take him on, Gally gets 2, 5 and 10 – Asuchak 2 for boarding and 5 for fighting. Sward v. Springer, second fight, both ejected.
Zebra Cage: lone ref Sean Raphael, calls everything and anything for two periods, puts whistle up his butt in the third – not one call. Giants get called for “checks to the head” twice in the game, Cougars nada, despite trying to take off heads deliberately and dangerous head-related checks. Not too impressed with Raphael on his own, which is shame as I prefer the one ref system .. but only if it’s a good, consistent ref. Raphael has proved over the past couple of years he is not good. Nor consistent.
The Giants barely out shot the Cougars 29 – 24, allowing the Cats to push back in the third more than they should have been. The G’s went 2 for 6 on the PP, scored two SH’d goals. The Cougars were blanked on their PP chances 0 for 6. The Giants played a great all-around game, connecting in all situations and through their line-up. Their “fourth line” was very effective and dangerous. They were also very solid without the puck. It was good to see the home town boys standing up for their teammates and although I can understand the instigator penalty (begrudgingly and I think its still a very stupid rule that makes the game more dangerous rather than less), but this automatic 10 minute misconduct has gotten way out of hand – its one thing losing a player and cancelling out a potential PP with the instigator, but the prohibitive element of the automatic 10 minute misconduct is way beyond the pale. Often, as it did tonight, taking quality highly skilled players off the ice for 10 minutes for STICKING UP FOR THEIR TEAMMATE! It sends completely the wrong message and rewards the idiot taking the cheap shot. This habit has got to be broken and the league really needs to reverse this stupid policy. While they are at it, they can remove the game misconduct for multiple fights coming out of real emotion.
This game opens a big can of slimy fat earthworms as the Giants next tilt are two back-to-back games in PG on the weekend. What will those games hold and will the Cougars be allowed to take the kinds of liberties they were taking tonight? I know the Giants are no choirboys, but they are one of the smaller teams, frequently getting mugged and are also frequently punished sticking up for themselves. Maybe I am being a homer here, but it seems like we are team that rarely gets the benefit of the doubt. I suppose I have to put on my objective glasses over the next while and see if we are doing the kinds of things I am accusing other teams of doing, as I currently feel we are not. I do not know of a player on our team that deliberately hits to injure. We have had some of those in the past and I freely admitted them, but this season I just see either hard-nosed checks that have gone wrong or getting tagged for clean checks. I don’t see this team as cheap, but then maybe I am too close to them to properly determine. I do see our smaller guys being taken advantage of and not being protected by the refs in many circumstances. The number of times Gally has been wickedly crosschecked to the ice in the blue-paint and not got a call (more often get called for goaltender interference) is becoming prodigious.
Anyway - the Giants are going to add Taylor Makin the not big ( 6’ 185lb ), but hard-nosed 19 year old they just picked up as a free-agent. Apparently two other teams were interested, but the Giants lower place in the standings gave them signing rights. I personally don’t want to see some of our young guys lose their ice-time and I am concerned what adding a less than stellar veteran into the mix will do to the burgeoning chemistry the team currently has, but Scott Cooke is injured, Ast will probably be kept out for a game or two that a couple of rosters spots might open up. But I still worry we’ll see youngsters with promise like Houck sit more than they should. Neil Manning is also almost back and Blake Orban will be available on Saturday after serving his 4 game suspension for standing someone up at the blue-line.
The Giants have been very good at home, but still have yet to win on the road. I expect the squad as it now stands will fair better on the road than they have so far this season, but the boys need to shed themselves of that bugaboo as they go on a five game road trip. The Cougars have yet to win at home, so on Friday something’s gonna give. The Giants have solved a lot of their special teams problems (Tvrdon quarterbacking the PP has been a brilliant discovery), are working harder on the back check and have gained a large amount of confidence over the past few games. They have a goalie that has the occasional breakdown, but is far more solid and reliable than what they had before. They have won three straight after dropping three straight and would like to continue their winning streak. Expect to see both Connor Redmond and Taylor Makin to make appearances this weekend in PG. The puck drops on Friday in Prince George at 7pm PDT.
Three Stars
1) Cain Franson
2) Marek Tvrdon
3) Brendan Gallagher
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to: Franson – set-up man extraordinaire, a fair amount of scoring chances and support from his line-mates. Two shorthanded assists. Two even-strength assists. He deserved first star honours.
Vancouver 6 Prince George 2
The Giants have their special teams to thank for the win tonight, (never thought I’d be writing that this season as our special teams were so bad early on) scoring 2 SH’d markers, 2 PP markers and two at even strength. The second period was a crazy cacophony of fights and cheap shots and a parade to the penalty box. The boys continue to get production from throughout their line-up and the young guys are really stepping it up. Austin Vetterl had two greasy, go to the net, goals. Cain Franson had four great assists. Dalton Sward opened the scoring and was unlucky not to get more before being ejected from the game for being part of a multiple fight in the second. Marek Tvrdon with 2G and 1A and Brendan Gallagher with 1G and 1A rounded out the scoring. Funnily enough the lone ref seemed to misplace his whistle in the third as he called exactly zero.
Sward opened the scoring with a short-handed marker coming off of some good work and some nice passing by Franson. Sward deked and roofed the puck over Drew Owsley. Tvrdon wired a PP rocket, off of a nice Gallagher feed. Vetterl rounded out the scoring in the first, finishing off a Jackson Houck shot. Franson got the other helper. The Cougars got one back about six minutes into the second. Gallagher got that one back on the PP a few minutes later, with Tvrdon getting the lone assist. After many fights and penalties in the second and some uneven reffing Tvrdon scored a SH’d tally, off of Franson and Kiefer McNaughton. PG managed another just past the mid-way mark of the final frame, Vetterl notched his second late in the game to put the exclamation point on the tilt. Franson garnered his 4th assist and Bews got the other point on the play.
Rookie Watch: Bellerive (17) thrown out for fighting, sticking up for his teammate. Sward (17) hitting early and getting chances, scored a great SH’er before being thrown out of the game for sticking up for his teammate. Ast (16) almost had his head taken off by Martin Marincin which gathered a crowd but no penalty for the blind-side deliberate head-shot, from the zebra. He was not on the bench for the third period for precautionary reasons. Houck (16) taking the body well, getting some chances and an assist. Bews (17) an assist and some decent shifts, Hayzer is saying he should be a better player and has try in him and effort, but needs to unlearn some bad habits to meet his full potential. Arvin Atwal (15) Impressed he ripped off the birdcage and challenged a player to fight in a line brawl. Got thrown out for his efforts, but gained respect from fans and teammates I am sure. Kulak (17) very solid on the back-end, was on the ice for goals for and against, but ended up a plus. Vetterl (17) not known as a goal scorer, plays on the PK, scored twice going hard to the net – we are liking him.
Fight Night: Too many to mention and I’ll just confused with partners, so I’ll just give a laundry list. Jesse Forsberg v. James Henry, Henry gets instigator, 5 and a 10 min misconduct and Forsberg gets five for fighting after a dangerous check – someone tell me why we are rewarding guys for cheap shots and punishing guys who stick up for their teammates? The league says they are trying to stop dangerous hits and yet they have adopted this stupid freaking policy to the detriment of the game and in the process actually encouraging more cheap play. That kind of a logic is simply fukt. Bourke, Thompson and J. Forsberg v. Vannieuwenhuizen, Atwal, Bellerive – Martinook gets four for roughing – Marincin who tried to take off Ast’s head with a vicious blindside hit gets an “interference” minor and a game .. Okay let’s turn up the way-back machine: Orban gets five for interference for standing a guy up at the blue-line. Marincin targets the head with a blind side hit and gets two? Orban was suspended for 4 games. Marincin better get more or what the league is calling a “crackdown” is a fecking joke, kind of like the ref was tonight. Aschuak v. Gallagher .. Asuchak with a nasty boarding and Gallagher does not hesitate to jump in and take him on, Gally gets 2, 5 and 10 – Asuchak 2 for boarding and 5 for fighting. Sward v. Springer, second fight, both ejected.
Zebra Cage: lone ref Sean Raphael, calls everything and anything for two periods, puts whistle up his butt in the third – not one call. Giants get called for “checks to the head” twice in the game, Cougars nada, despite trying to take off heads deliberately and dangerous head-related checks. Not too impressed with Raphael on his own, which is shame as I prefer the one ref system .. but only if it’s a good, consistent ref. Raphael has proved over the past couple of years he is not good. Nor consistent.
The Giants barely out shot the Cougars 29 – 24, allowing the Cats to push back in the third more than they should have been. The G’s went 2 for 6 on the PP, scored two SH’d goals. The Cougars were blanked on their PP chances 0 for 6. The Giants played a great all-around game, connecting in all situations and through their line-up. Their “fourth line” was very effective and dangerous. They were also very solid without the puck. It was good to see the home town boys standing up for their teammates and although I can understand the instigator penalty (begrudgingly and I think its still a very stupid rule that makes the game more dangerous rather than less), but this automatic 10 minute misconduct has gotten way out of hand – its one thing losing a player and cancelling out a potential PP with the instigator, but the prohibitive element of the automatic 10 minute misconduct is way beyond the pale. Often, as it did tonight, taking quality highly skilled players off the ice for 10 minutes for STICKING UP FOR THEIR TEAMMATE! It sends completely the wrong message and rewards the idiot taking the cheap shot. This habit has got to be broken and the league really needs to reverse this stupid policy. While they are at it, they can remove the game misconduct for multiple fights coming out of real emotion.
This game opens a big can of slimy fat earthworms as the Giants next tilt are two back-to-back games in PG on the weekend. What will those games hold and will the Cougars be allowed to take the kinds of liberties they were taking tonight? I know the Giants are no choirboys, but they are one of the smaller teams, frequently getting mugged and are also frequently punished sticking up for themselves. Maybe I am being a homer here, but it seems like we are team that rarely gets the benefit of the doubt. I suppose I have to put on my objective glasses over the next while and see if we are doing the kinds of things I am accusing other teams of doing, as I currently feel we are not. I do not know of a player on our team that deliberately hits to injure. We have had some of those in the past and I freely admitted them, but this season I just see either hard-nosed checks that have gone wrong or getting tagged for clean checks. I don’t see this team as cheap, but then maybe I am too close to them to properly determine. I do see our smaller guys being taken advantage of and not being protected by the refs in many circumstances. The number of times Gally has been wickedly crosschecked to the ice in the blue-paint and not got a call (more often get called for goaltender interference) is becoming prodigious.
Anyway - the Giants are going to add Taylor Makin the not big ( 6’ 185lb ), but hard-nosed 19 year old they just picked up as a free-agent. Apparently two other teams were interested, but the Giants lower place in the standings gave them signing rights. I personally don’t want to see some of our young guys lose their ice-time and I am concerned what adding a less than stellar veteran into the mix will do to the burgeoning chemistry the team currently has, but Scott Cooke is injured, Ast will probably be kept out for a game or two that a couple of rosters spots might open up. But I still worry we’ll see youngsters with promise like Houck sit more than they should. Neil Manning is also almost back and Blake Orban will be available on Saturday after serving his 4 game suspension for standing someone up at the blue-line.
The Giants have been very good at home, but still have yet to win on the road. I expect the squad as it now stands will fair better on the road than they have so far this season, but the boys need to shed themselves of that bugaboo as they go on a five game road trip. The Cougars have yet to win at home, so on Friday something’s gonna give. The Giants have solved a lot of their special teams problems (Tvrdon quarterbacking the PP has been a brilliant discovery), are working harder on the back check and have gained a large amount of confidence over the past few games. They have a goalie that has the occasional breakdown, but is far more solid and reliable than what they had before. They have won three straight after dropping three straight and would like to continue their winning streak. Expect to see both Connor Redmond and Taylor Makin to make appearances this weekend in PG. The puck drops on Friday in Prince George at 7pm PDT.
Three Stars
1) Cain Franson
2) Marek Tvrdon
3) Brendan Gallagher
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to: Franson – set-up man extraordinaire, a fair amount of scoring chances and support from his line-mates. Two shorthanded assists. Two even-strength assists. He deserved first star honours.