dondo
12-14-2011, 02:31 PM
Birds Blank Giants
Vancouver 0 Seattle 3 EN
A very disappointing end to a very close game and as usual the US building star selectors have their heads rammed inextricably up their butt. Don’t sprain your arm wagging your own flag there boys. The game was tied 0-0 until 15:47 of the third period. Adam Morrison was making far tougher saves than Calvin Pickard, as the Thunderbirds were getting better chances than the Giants were generating in the game. Pickard had to make some big stops here and there, notably off of Martinook a couple of times, but the goalie at the other end was forced to come up with huge saves to hold his team in there, at times by a slim toe, or piece of a glove. After finally solving Morrison, the T-Birds potted another just over a minute later as the Giants began to take more offensive chances to try and tie the game back up with minutes dwindling. The home squad added an empty netter to make their late rout complete. I am not disputing the T-Birds played a better game or that the Giants were fortunate not to be down earlier, but to not give kudos and a nod to Morrison - and for a 1:35 (due to the utter, glaringly selfish stupidity of a certain official) Jackson Whistle - is blatantly discriminatory in my mind and simply rewards the end result not the process of the game.
The Giants were down a forward in this one due to illness and injury and played three lines with two spares, slotted in here and there. According to Hanlon the spares were to be Jackson Houck and Levi Bews. The boys played a pretty solid defensive game, but really allowed a few too many quality scoring chances to feel comfortable. Their goalie bailed them out save after save, but the guys were very good at not allowing second and third shots and were clearing the front of the net quite efficiently. Too many poor give-aways though and some poor decision making gave the T-Birds the edge in this one. The T-Birds played a patient, focused game, not allowing the Giants access to those prime scoring areas. The G’s also got caught having individuals trying to step it up for their scoring chances as opposed to bringing a puck support game into the fray.
Rookie Watch: Bellerive (17) given the chance to step up, but needs more of those chances to find his game. Hanlon loves what this player brings and is giving him every opportunity to elevate his game. Bellerive turned 17 just a few days ago, so he’s a young 17 and might need a few more months to find his game; the one that will set him apart from everyone else. Sward (17) still playing second line minutes, but I would like to see him try out a few turns on the top line. Kulak (17) a rare minus, but pretty solid back there. Bews (17) utility minutes. Ast (16) had his moments. Houck (17) physical with his minimal minutes. Vetterl (17) chance to get a regular third line shift.
Fight Night: nada
Zebra Cage: Brett Iverson and Mike Campbell… I’m not sure which one of these clowns made the decision to almost ruin a tightly contested game with extreme brain farts, but the level of bad decision making here boggles my freaking mind. Late in the second period, with the game hotly contested and the goalies the only ones actively keeping the score tied at zeroes, Morrison had some equipment problems which needed a bit of time to sort at the bench. After very little time had passed the “official” in question decided to not delay the game any further (although I have seen equipment adjustments take up to five minutes and this was not one of those) and force the Giants to put in Whistle. Whistle was forced to make two quick stops right off the hop (tough ones too) and a late stop and then when the Giants iced the puck the officials went by their book and would not allow the Giants to swap out their goalie. In end Whistle stopped all three shots he faced in his 1:35 of ice-time, but to me for a ref to make that decision is that particular instance when the player did not need to leave the bench to get the gear fixed is hubris to the extreme and a complete lack of awareness of the over-all situation. Applying rules, without assessing consequences or taking in account the actual realities of the circumstances is the quality of a well-trained sheep and not the quality of someone you want making decisions. Ever. I’m sure the league will applaud him for “making that tough decision”, but the reality is that he could have adversely affected the game due to lack of foresight, a huge dollop of petty-minded arrogance and a perfectly realized failure to grasp the reality of the game he was supposedly officiating.
The Giants out shot the T-Birds 37 – 34. Morrison made 28 stops of 30, Whistle 3 of 3 and the empty net ate one of his own. Pickard turned aside all 37 shots for his shut out. Neither team could score with the man-advantage both going 0 for 3 on the PP. David Musil was on the ice for all three goals against. Martinook played some big minutes with the top line. It was tough loss to take and Morrison did most everything he could to hold his team in there.
So now we have two straight losses with Morrison in net, neither his fault, but when is Whistle going to get some starts? Sadly because we have lost two straight, they cannot afford to put Whistle in there now and risk a third loss. I know hindsight is 20/20, but I really think the opportunity to give Whistle his start was against Lethbridge. After an emotional win, the back-to-back game usually takes the tone of over-whelming dominance or a spent team struggling. Usually the squad needs a bit of a change-up or lift to keep on their roll and putting the rookie between the pipes would probably have the focused the boys a bit more so they did not come out with concrete in their blades and zero effort.
Anyway, the Giants have a chance to bounce back and learn to win without Gallagher in the line-up. Its not so much missing the production of Brendan, but rather his energy on the ice and on the bench. He is an integral part of the whole and that small chunk missing from their pie has created a hole far larger than anyone could have imagined. Their final two tilts before the Christmas break are in Prince George and both are very winnable. I expect Morrison will start the first game, but I really hope that regardless of a win or loss that Whistle is earmarked for the second tilt. These are games the boys can and should win and it would restore some team confidence and leave them on a high going into the Christmas break. After the holidays they most likely not have Musil and Tvrdon in their line-up and Ast and Houck are both playing for Team Pacific in the under-17 tourney. I expect a player like Martinook will have to put the team on his back for a time and make a difference for the Giants to pull themselves out of their slump.
The next tilt is at CN Centre in PG. On Friday Dec 16, 2011 and then the tail-end of the back-to-back on Saturday the 17th. Both games start at 7pm PST. They are the final two games for the G’s before the Christmas break. They need to win at least one of them and winning both, especially if Whistle is between the pipes for one of them, would be a much needed present for the team and their fans.
Three Stars
1. Calvin Pickard
2. Branden Troock
3. Connor Honey (seriously? pfft!)
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to .. Morrison, turning away some tough shots and keeping his team in the game for all but 4 and a half minutes when they were struggling a bit, and being robbed of third star honours, in game where the goalies should have been 1-2 regardless of some late game tallies.
Vancouver 0 Seattle 3 EN
A very disappointing end to a very close game and as usual the US building star selectors have their heads rammed inextricably up their butt. Don’t sprain your arm wagging your own flag there boys. The game was tied 0-0 until 15:47 of the third period. Adam Morrison was making far tougher saves than Calvin Pickard, as the Thunderbirds were getting better chances than the Giants were generating in the game. Pickard had to make some big stops here and there, notably off of Martinook a couple of times, but the goalie at the other end was forced to come up with huge saves to hold his team in there, at times by a slim toe, or piece of a glove. After finally solving Morrison, the T-Birds potted another just over a minute later as the Giants began to take more offensive chances to try and tie the game back up with minutes dwindling. The home squad added an empty netter to make their late rout complete. I am not disputing the T-Birds played a better game or that the Giants were fortunate not to be down earlier, but to not give kudos and a nod to Morrison - and for a 1:35 (due to the utter, glaringly selfish stupidity of a certain official) Jackson Whistle - is blatantly discriminatory in my mind and simply rewards the end result not the process of the game.
The Giants were down a forward in this one due to illness and injury and played three lines with two spares, slotted in here and there. According to Hanlon the spares were to be Jackson Houck and Levi Bews. The boys played a pretty solid defensive game, but really allowed a few too many quality scoring chances to feel comfortable. Their goalie bailed them out save after save, but the guys were very good at not allowing second and third shots and were clearing the front of the net quite efficiently. Too many poor give-aways though and some poor decision making gave the T-Birds the edge in this one. The T-Birds played a patient, focused game, not allowing the Giants access to those prime scoring areas. The G’s also got caught having individuals trying to step it up for their scoring chances as opposed to bringing a puck support game into the fray.
Rookie Watch: Bellerive (17) given the chance to step up, but needs more of those chances to find his game. Hanlon loves what this player brings and is giving him every opportunity to elevate his game. Bellerive turned 17 just a few days ago, so he’s a young 17 and might need a few more months to find his game; the one that will set him apart from everyone else. Sward (17) still playing second line minutes, but I would like to see him try out a few turns on the top line. Kulak (17) a rare minus, but pretty solid back there. Bews (17) utility minutes. Ast (16) had his moments. Houck (17) physical with his minimal minutes. Vetterl (17) chance to get a regular third line shift.
Fight Night: nada
Zebra Cage: Brett Iverson and Mike Campbell… I’m not sure which one of these clowns made the decision to almost ruin a tightly contested game with extreme brain farts, but the level of bad decision making here boggles my freaking mind. Late in the second period, with the game hotly contested and the goalies the only ones actively keeping the score tied at zeroes, Morrison had some equipment problems which needed a bit of time to sort at the bench. After very little time had passed the “official” in question decided to not delay the game any further (although I have seen equipment adjustments take up to five minutes and this was not one of those) and force the Giants to put in Whistle. Whistle was forced to make two quick stops right off the hop (tough ones too) and a late stop and then when the Giants iced the puck the officials went by their book and would not allow the Giants to swap out their goalie. In end Whistle stopped all three shots he faced in his 1:35 of ice-time, but to me for a ref to make that decision is that particular instance when the player did not need to leave the bench to get the gear fixed is hubris to the extreme and a complete lack of awareness of the over-all situation. Applying rules, without assessing consequences or taking in account the actual realities of the circumstances is the quality of a well-trained sheep and not the quality of someone you want making decisions. Ever. I’m sure the league will applaud him for “making that tough decision”, but the reality is that he could have adversely affected the game due to lack of foresight, a huge dollop of petty-minded arrogance and a perfectly realized failure to grasp the reality of the game he was supposedly officiating.
The Giants out shot the T-Birds 37 – 34. Morrison made 28 stops of 30, Whistle 3 of 3 and the empty net ate one of his own. Pickard turned aside all 37 shots for his shut out. Neither team could score with the man-advantage both going 0 for 3 on the PP. David Musil was on the ice for all three goals against. Martinook played some big minutes with the top line. It was tough loss to take and Morrison did most everything he could to hold his team in there.
So now we have two straight losses with Morrison in net, neither his fault, but when is Whistle going to get some starts? Sadly because we have lost two straight, they cannot afford to put Whistle in there now and risk a third loss. I know hindsight is 20/20, but I really think the opportunity to give Whistle his start was against Lethbridge. After an emotional win, the back-to-back game usually takes the tone of over-whelming dominance or a spent team struggling. Usually the squad needs a bit of a change-up or lift to keep on their roll and putting the rookie between the pipes would probably have the focused the boys a bit more so they did not come out with concrete in their blades and zero effort.
Anyway, the Giants have a chance to bounce back and learn to win without Gallagher in the line-up. Its not so much missing the production of Brendan, but rather his energy on the ice and on the bench. He is an integral part of the whole and that small chunk missing from their pie has created a hole far larger than anyone could have imagined. Their final two tilts before the Christmas break are in Prince George and both are very winnable. I expect Morrison will start the first game, but I really hope that regardless of a win or loss that Whistle is earmarked for the second tilt. These are games the boys can and should win and it would restore some team confidence and leave them on a high going into the Christmas break. After the holidays they most likely not have Musil and Tvrdon in their line-up and Ast and Houck are both playing for Team Pacific in the under-17 tourney. I expect a player like Martinook will have to put the team on his back for a time and make a difference for the Giants to pull themselves out of their slump.
The next tilt is at CN Centre in PG. On Friday Dec 16, 2011 and then the tail-end of the back-to-back on Saturday the 17th. Both games start at 7pm PST. They are the final two games for the G’s before the Christmas break. They need to win at least one of them and winning both, especially if Whistle is between the pipes for one of them, would be a much needed present for the team and their fans.
Three Stars
1. Calvin Pickard
2. Branden Troock
3. Connor Honey (seriously? pfft!)
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to .. Morrison, turning away some tough shots and keeping his team in the game for all but 4 and a half minutes when they were struggling a bit, and being robbed of third star honours, in game where the goalies should have been 1-2 regardless of some late game tallies.