dondo
12-17-2011, 02:21 AM
Giants Club Cougars
Vancouver 3 Prince George 2
The Giants needed a win tonight after dropping their last two versus opponents they probably should have beat. Marek Tvrdon was off to the WJHC, so the top line was Bellerive, Martinook and Henry and they were all –2 on the night, on the ice for the only two goals against and not on for any of the goals for. The line of the night was Makin (sometimes Sward), Franson and Houck. Drew Owsley almost did what he did to the Giants when he was with Tri-Cities, namely shut them down. The Cougars opened the scoring at about the four minute mark of the game. The puck went in off a Giants defender’s skate and past Morrison on the Cougs second shot of the game. That score held up until the third period, when the Giants finally solved Owsley. They added another a couple of minutes later, but on the next shift coughed up the puck and gave that goal back. Despite badly out shooting the home squad the Giants found themselves tied again with just over 12 minutes left in regulation. Houck put the boys ahead just past the mid-way mark of the final frame and the G’s held on for the win, weathering late pressure as the Cougars actually pushed back.
The Cougars opened the scoring at 3:58, having a puck carom off of Eric Walker and in five-hole on Adam Morrison as he moved across the crease. The Giants proceeded to out-chance and out shoot the Cougars, keeping the pressure on, but failing to find a way past Drew Owsley who was very solid between the pipes for the Cats. It took until 5:46 of the third for the Giants to score their first goal in almost 6 periods and it was Cain Franson who ripped a beauty, with a bit of help from Brett Kulak and Neil Manning who made a nice pass to break Franson free. Taylor Makin made it 2-1 a couple of minutes later gutting it out on the doorstep and benefiting from some hard forechecking by Jackson Houck and Franson. A bad play and the Cougars turned the puck up the ice, scoring 19 seconds later. Morrison was badly screened and did not appear to see the shot. The Giants kept pushing and bringing a good forecheck until Houck found twine with a spin-around move off of a rebound, slipping the puck five-hole on Owsley. Franson and Dalton Sward with some hard work down low, garnered the assists.
Rookie Watch: two newbies tonight, seeing their first regular season ice-time with the Giants. Tyler Morrison (16) ( a defenseman from the AJHL) and Brodyn Neilsen (17) who saw ice in one game last year. Morrison (16) didn’t hear much from Morrison as he had minimal minutes. Neilsen (17) had some decent offensive forays and brought a good forecheck when given the opportunity. Kulak (17) again very solid on the back-end, with an important assist on the first Giants goal. Orban (17) was supposed to play some forward minutes, but I don’t recall him ever getting a shift - with Musil headed to Calgary tomorrow, he’ll slot in on D on Saturday I suspect. Houck (16) a goal and an assist, some great work around the puck, solid forecheck and stepped it up playing on the third unit. Vetterl (17) had his moments, frequently in on the forecheck pressuring the Cougars in their own end. Bews (17) don’t recall anything from him really.
Fight Night: barely a penalty let alone a fight.
Zebra Cage: Jeff Ingram and Colby Smith – hmm let’s see, only called penalties in the second period (none in the first, none in the third), missed a delay of game even though the player who made the gaffe skated straight to the box on his own and then after some awkward moments the penalty was not called,. Allowed a hard elbow to the back of the head of Sward with no call. Giants get 3 PP chances and the Cougars get 1. I suspect they missed a bunch more as well. I give them a D-.
The Giants out shot the Cats 33-21. They went 0 for 3 on the PP and held the Cougars to 0 for 1. The G’s definitely out-chanced and out played the Cougars in this one and the home squad only had their goalie to thank for holding them in there. Morrison had to make a few nice stops to keep his team in there though, but the Cougars didn’t really bring any pressure until the third period when they broke the double digit mark in shots. However; when the score was still 1-0 Morrison barely turned aside a puck off of the back-boards that threatened to slip past him. The Vancouver squad dominated the second period and were unlucky not to solve Owsley.
I have to say that I am impressed that the team did not panic or back-off and kept bringing consistent patient pressure believing that eventually they would get one to go. Some nights that doesn’t happen, but the boys found a way to get the W. Franson had a great night and was pressuring pucks in the offensive end. He looked dangerous pretty much every time he touched the puck and was not afraid to dig out the puck. Jackson Houck brought a good big presence to that line and kept the Cougars honest. Houck showed some agility and puck smarts playing on a more offensively minded line. The top line had a rough night, but it was not for lack of effort, however, there was some careless play for which they will want do-overs. I expect they will bounce back tomorrow. I would like to see Sward swapped for Bellerive and see what he can do with Henry and Martinook.
I am crossing my fingers that Jackson Whistle will get a much needed start tomorrow. If they don’t play him in this situation they might as well send him down and let him play big minutes instead of warming the bench with no hope of respite. That said, the win tonight for Morrison made him the top goaltender in the Dub for wins. The boys won’t have Musil (who has made his presence known more this year and seems to be finding his game) tomorrow night as he is off the play in the World Juniors. It could be a tough game as the Cougars tend to push back hard after a loss, but if the boys maintain the kind of presence (sans bad give-aways and careless puck play) they showed tonight they should come away with a win, hopefully for Whistle.
Three Stars
1. Cain Franson
2. Alex Forsberg
3. Jackson Houck
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to .. Jackson Houck. I loved seeing him step up his game and show some nice potential and contribute at both ends of the ice. Honourable mention to Franson who does go into corners and dig out pucks. Maybe he’s been reading the forum and decided to prove some of us wrong.
Vancouver 3 Prince George 2
The Giants needed a win tonight after dropping their last two versus opponents they probably should have beat. Marek Tvrdon was off to the WJHC, so the top line was Bellerive, Martinook and Henry and they were all –2 on the night, on the ice for the only two goals against and not on for any of the goals for. The line of the night was Makin (sometimes Sward), Franson and Houck. Drew Owsley almost did what he did to the Giants when he was with Tri-Cities, namely shut them down. The Cougars opened the scoring at about the four minute mark of the game. The puck went in off a Giants defender’s skate and past Morrison on the Cougs second shot of the game. That score held up until the third period, when the Giants finally solved Owsley. They added another a couple of minutes later, but on the next shift coughed up the puck and gave that goal back. Despite badly out shooting the home squad the Giants found themselves tied again with just over 12 minutes left in regulation. Houck put the boys ahead just past the mid-way mark of the final frame and the G’s held on for the win, weathering late pressure as the Cougars actually pushed back.
The Cougars opened the scoring at 3:58, having a puck carom off of Eric Walker and in five-hole on Adam Morrison as he moved across the crease. The Giants proceeded to out-chance and out shoot the Cougars, keeping the pressure on, but failing to find a way past Drew Owsley who was very solid between the pipes for the Cats. It took until 5:46 of the third for the Giants to score their first goal in almost 6 periods and it was Cain Franson who ripped a beauty, with a bit of help from Brett Kulak and Neil Manning who made a nice pass to break Franson free. Taylor Makin made it 2-1 a couple of minutes later gutting it out on the doorstep and benefiting from some hard forechecking by Jackson Houck and Franson. A bad play and the Cougars turned the puck up the ice, scoring 19 seconds later. Morrison was badly screened and did not appear to see the shot. The Giants kept pushing and bringing a good forecheck until Houck found twine with a spin-around move off of a rebound, slipping the puck five-hole on Owsley. Franson and Dalton Sward with some hard work down low, garnered the assists.
Rookie Watch: two newbies tonight, seeing their first regular season ice-time with the Giants. Tyler Morrison (16) ( a defenseman from the AJHL) and Brodyn Neilsen (17) who saw ice in one game last year. Morrison (16) didn’t hear much from Morrison as he had minimal minutes. Neilsen (17) had some decent offensive forays and brought a good forecheck when given the opportunity. Kulak (17) again very solid on the back-end, with an important assist on the first Giants goal. Orban (17) was supposed to play some forward minutes, but I don’t recall him ever getting a shift - with Musil headed to Calgary tomorrow, he’ll slot in on D on Saturday I suspect. Houck (16) a goal and an assist, some great work around the puck, solid forecheck and stepped it up playing on the third unit. Vetterl (17) had his moments, frequently in on the forecheck pressuring the Cougars in their own end. Bews (17) don’t recall anything from him really.
Fight Night: barely a penalty let alone a fight.
Zebra Cage: Jeff Ingram and Colby Smith – hmm let’s see, only called penalties in the second period (none in the first, none in the third), missed a delay of game even though the player who made the gaffe skated straight to the box on his own and then after some awkward moments the penalty was not called,. Allowed a hard elbow to the back of the head of Sward with no call. Giants get 3 PP chances and the Cougars get 1. I suspect they missed a bunch more as well. I give them a D-.
The Giants out shot the Cats 33-21. They went 0 for 3 on the PP and held the Cougars to 0 for 1. The G’s definitely out-chanced and out played the Cougars in this one and the home squad only had their goalie to thank for holding them in there. Morrison had to make a few nice stops to keep his team in there though, but the Cougars didn’t really bring any pressure until the third period when they broke the double digit mark in shots. However; when the score was still 1-0 Morrison barely turned aside a puck off of the back-boards that threatened to slip past him. The Vancouver squad dominated the second period and were unlucky not to solve Owsley.
I have to say that I am impressed that the team did not panic or back-off and kept bringing consistent patient pressure believing that eventually they would get one to go. Some nights that doesn’t happen, but the boys found a way to get the W. Franson had a great night and was pressuring pucks in the offensive end. He looked dangerous pretty much every time he touched the puck and was not afraid to dig out the puck. Jackson Houck brought a good big presence to that line and kept the Cougars honest. Houck showed some agility and puck smarts playing on a more offensively minded line. The top line had a rough night, but it was not for lack of effort, however, there was some careless play for which they will want do-overs. I expect they will bounce back tomorrow. I would like to see Sward swapped for Bellerive and see what he can do with Henry and Martinook.
I am crossing my fingers that Jackson Whistle will get a much needed start tomorrow. If they don’t play him in this situation they might as well send him down and let him play big minutes instead of warming the bench with no hope of respite. That said, the win tonight for Morrison made him the top goaltender in the Dub for wins. The boys won’t have Musil (who has made his presence known more this year and seems to be finding his game) tomorrow night as he is off the play in the World Juniors. It could be a tough game as the Cougars tend to push back hard after a loss, but if the boys maintain the kind of presence (sans bad give-aways and careless puck play) they showed tonight they should come away with a win, hopefully for Whistle.
Three Stars
1. Cain Franson
2. Alex Forsberg
3. Jackson Houck
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to .. Jackson Houck. I loved seeing him step up his game and show some nice potential and contribute at both ends of the ice. Honourable mention to Franson who does go into corners and dig out pucks. Maybe he’s been reading the forum and decided to prove some of us wrong.