dondo
11-13-2011, 02:58 AM
Giants Stem Rockets
Vancouver 3 Kelowna 2 OT
It was a dark and stormy night. The Heroes of Hastings were being celebrated at the arena and the Giants came out flatter than the proverbial pancake. The Giants were wearing retro jerseys from the 1946-47 season when the Vancouver White Spots were one of three teams in the Pacific Coast Junior League. The team was owned by White Spot founder Nat Bailey. The boys managed minimal shots in the first and barely held on to finish at zeroes after the first period. The Rockets opened the scoring off of a horrible give-away, sending Bulmer the length of the ice being ineffectually chased by Musil and Kulak. The Giants tied it up on the PP just past the mid-way mark of the period. The Rockets restored their lead in the third off of yet another horrible give-away by Manning, while the Giants were on the PP. Manning made up for his sloppy gaffe by scoring a goal on that PP, tying up the game. The two squads were knotted at 2’s after three. Tvrdon scored in OT for the win. He ended up making up for a very poor, selfish and gratuitous cross-check right in front of the referee late in the game.
After skating to a scoreless tie after one it was the Rockets who opened the scoring in the second. Just 16 seconds into middle frame the Giants coughed up the puck just as a carry-over penalty had expired. Minnesota prospect Brett Bulmer, took the puck hard into the Giants zone out-racing the trailing G-Men defensemen, cutting across the net and slipping the puck far-side on Adam Morrison. The Giants were running the same script with their PPs, over-passing and really looking for that perfect play and then they found it. James Henry down to Jordan Martinook, across the crease to a wide-open Brendan Gallagher. The Rockets were tagged with cross checking, sending the Giants on the PP early in the third. The G’s got caught playing with soft passes around their blue-line and were picked when Manning bobbled the puck. Sissons went in all alone, out-racing Tvrdon who was the closest Giant player but could not catch the Rocket forward, who cut across the crease and slid a back-hand five-hole on Morrison. The Giants continuing their PP, finally got some pressure down low and Manning picked up the loose puck at the side of the net and picked the top corner from a bad angle when Jordon Cooke cheated away from the post. Musil had the lone assist. The Giants put on their best pressure of the game in the final five minutes of the third and were unlucky not to solve Cooke or the close checking Rockets. The G’s had been far behind the curve shot-wise, but managed to rack up 6 in the final five minutes. That momentum carried over into OT. On the Giants second shift, Marek Tvrdon stepped past a sprawling Rocket player, trying to block a pass, moved into open ice and snapped the puck top-shelf, short-side on Cooke.
Rookie Watch: Atwal (15/16) scratched. Houck (17) had a few less shifts than I normally see, saw a bit more ice-time when Nathan Burns went down with an injury in the second. Bews (17) continued to try, but just is not as effective as he was when he first came over. Vetterl (17) had some decent shifts looked good on the PK. Kulak (17) had a few suspect shifts and some poor give-aways, but did alright. Sward (17) was the only Giant consistently hitting. His hits are very effective and clean. He had some nice shifts in the game and worked his tail off. Bellerive (17) not seeing a lot of ice-time so its hard to see what he might be able to do. With Burns possibly out of the line-up for some time he might get a chance to step up a level.
Fight Night: One bout, coming out of a scrum by the penalty boxes. Taylor Makin threw down with Tyrell Goulbourne. Makin got good shots in early, but Goulbourne responded with some of his own. The two battled to a stand still at the side boards.
Zebra Cage: Derek Zalaski was the lone ref tonight and he called some pretty soft stuff early – I was thinking of a new children’s book – Zalaski and the Invisible Tripping Calls, but he let the boys play for the majority of the game. I personally felt he allowed the Rockets to get away with a fair amount of clutching and grabbing. The Giants broadcasters in the post-show talk thought he did a great job, though.
The Giants were out-shot 25-22, it took them five minutes before they even got a shot in the second. They out shot the Rockets in the third by a small margin, with the majority of their shots coming in the final five minutes. The G’s went 2 for 4 on their PP and were happy to have Tvrdon back quarterbacking the man-advantage. In my estimation Manning should be pulled off of the first unit, relegated to the second and Musil should be put back onto the first unit. The home squad held the Rockets to 0 for 4 on their PPs. Dalton Sward had a good night taking the body and playing some good intense shifts. He was the catalyst which got the Giants into that next gear in the game. Gallagher was his usual tenacious self, scoring the Giants opening marker and looking dangerous throughout the game. I love watching that kid, he plays every shift as hard as he can. It reminds me a bit of Garet Hunt, but with a huge amount of more skill. Nathan Burns was hauled down going to the net on a semi-breakaway and went into the back boards at an awkward angle in the second. It appears as if his knee (or maybe ankle) was damaged. He required help leaving the ice and could not put weight on his leg. The Rockets played a fairly solid close checking game, scored off of gaffes by the Giants and needed to maintain pressure in the third, but I am thankful they didn’t.
I found the three stars kind of whacked. Bulmer had a nice goal, but vanished for large parts of the game. There is no way he’s a first star. Morrison was very good, but star worthy? hmm. I felt that Sward should have got first star honours, Bulmer second and Morrison third if it had to be those three. I would have said Gally, Sward and maybe Martin for the Rockets. The Giants take on the Cougars tomorrow at the Coliseum. The Cougs were downed by Everett 3-2 down in Silvertip land. The G’s now sit firmly in second place in the BC Division, four ahead of Victoria and one back of the Kamloops Blazers. The puck drops at 5pm PST.
Three Stars
1) Brett Bulmer
2) Adam Morrison
3) Dalton Sward
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to Dalton Sward. I noticed him more than any other Giant. He acted as a catalyst to motivate and change momentum for his team according to Hay. I loved the way he took the body with hard, clean effective checks.
Vancouver 3 Kelowna 2 OT
It was a dark and stormy night. The Heroes of Hastings were being celebrated at the arena and the Giants came out flatter than the proverbial pancake. The Giants were wearing retro jerseys from the 1946-47 season when the Vancouver White Spots were one of three teams in the Pacific Coast Junior League. The team was owned by White Spot founder Nat Bailey. The boys managed minimal shots in the first and barely held on to finish at zeroes after the first period. The Rockets opened the scoring off of a horrible give-away, sending Bulmer the length of the ice being ineffectually chased by Musil and Kulak. The Giants tied it up on the PP just past the mid-way mark of the period. The Rockets restored their lead in the third off of yet another horrible give-away by Manning, while the Giants were on the PP. Manning made up for his sloppy gaffe by scoring a goal on that PP, tying up the game. The two squads were knotted at 2’s after three. Tvrdon scored in OT for the win. He ended up making up for a very poor, selfish and gratuitous cross-check right in front of the referee late in the game.
After skating to a scoreless tie after one it was the Rockets who opened the scoring in the second. Just 16 seconds into middle frame the Giants coughed up the puck just as a carry-over penalty had expired. Minnesota prospect Brett Bulmer, took the puck hard into the Giants zone out-racing the trailing G-Men defensemen, cutting across the net and slipping the puck far-side on Adam Morrison. The Giants were running the same script with their PPs, over-passing and really looking for that perfect play and then they found it. James Henry down to Jordan Martinook, across the crease to a wide-open Brendan Gallagher. The Rockets were tagged with cross checking, sending the Giants on the PP early in the third. The G’s got caught playing with soft passes around their blue-line and were picked when Manning bobbled the puck. Sissons went in all alone, out-racing Tvrdon who was the closest Giant player but could not catch the Rocket forward, who cut across the crease and slid a back-hand five-hole on Morrison. The Giants continuing their PP, finally got some pressure down low and Manning picked up the loose puck at the side of the net and picked the top corner from a bad angle when Jordon Cooke cheated away from the post. Musil had the lone assist. The Giants put on their best pressure of the game in the final five minutes of the third and were unlucky not to solve Cooke or the close checking Rockets. The G’s had been far behind the curve shot-wise, but managed to rack up 6 in the final five minutes. That momentum carried over into OT. On the Giants second shift, Marek Tvrdon stepped past a sprawling Rocket player, trying to block a pass, moved into open ice and snapped the puck top-shelf, short-side on Cooke.
Rookie Watch: Atwal (15/16) scratched. Houck (17) had a few less shifts than I normally see, saw a bit more ice-time when Nathan Burns went down with an injury in the second. Bews (17) continued to try, but just is not as effective as he was when he first came over. Vetterl (17) had some decent shifts looked good on the PK. Kulak (17) had a few suspect shifts and some poor give-aways, but did alright. Sward (17) was the only Giant consistently hitting. His hits are very effective and clean. He had some nice shifts in the game and worked his tail off. Bellerive (17) not seeing a lot of ice-time so its hard to see what he might be able to do. With Burns possibly out of the line-up for some time he might get a chance to step up a level.
Fight Night: One bout, coming out of a scrum by the penalty boxes. Taylor Makin threw down with Tyrell Goulbourne. Makin got good shots in early, but Goulbourne responded with some of his own. The two battled to a stand still at the side boards.
Zebra Cage: Derek Zalaski was the lone ref tonight and he called some pretty soft stuff early – I was thinking of a new children’s book – Zalaski and the Invisible Tripping Calls, but he let the boys play for the majority of the game. I personally felt he allowed the Rockets to get away with a fair amount of clutching and grabbing. The Giants broadcasters in the post-show talk thought he did a great job, though.
The Giants were out-shot 25-22, it took them five minutes before they even got a shot in the second. They out shot the Rockets in the third by a small margin, with the majority of their shots coming in the final five minutes. The G’s went 2 for 4 on their PP and were happy to have Tvrdon back quarterbacking the man-advantage. In my estimation Manning should be pulled off of the first unit, relegated to the second and Musil should be put back onto the first unit. The home squad held the Rockets to 0 for 4 on their PPs. Dalton Sward had a good night taking the body and playing some good intense shifts. He was the catalyst which got the Giants into that next gear in the game. Gallagher was his usual tenacious self, scoring the Giants opening marker and looking dangerous throughout the game. I love watching that kid, he plays every shift as hard as he can. It reminds me a bit of Garet Hunt, but with a huge amount of more skill. Nathan Burns was hauled down going to the net on a semi-breakaway and went into the back boards at an awkward angle in the second. It appears as if his knee (or maybe ankle) was damaged. He required help leaving the ice and could not put weight on his leg. The Rockets played a fairly solid close checking game, scored off of gaffes by the Giants and needed to maintain pressure in the third, but I am thankful they didn’t.
I found the three stars kind of whacked. Bulmer had a nice goal, but vanished for large parts of the game. There is no way he’s a first star. Morrison was very good, but star worthy? hmm. I felt that Sward should have got first star honours, Bulmer second and Morrison third if it had to be those three. I would have said Gally, Sward and maybe Martin for the Rockets. The Giants take on the Cougars tomorrow at the Coliseum. The Cougs were downed by Everett 3-2 down in Silvertip land. The G’s now sit firmly in second place in the BC Division, four ahead of Victoria and one back of the Kamloops Blazers. The puck drops at 5pm PST.
Three Stars
1) Brett Bulmer
2) Adam Morrison
3) Dalton Sward
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to Dalton Sward. I noticed him more than any other Giant. He acted as a catalyst to motivate and change momentum for his team according to Hay. I loved the way he took the body with hard, clean effective checks.