dondo
12-28-2011, 01:29 AM
Giants Snuff Blazers
Vancouver 4 Kamloops 3 OT/SO
After about a week off it was nice to see the boys come out well in the first period. Newly acquired euro Alexander Kuvaev had his first game with the club and scored a goal and the shoot-out winner. Welcome to the team Alex. He played mainly on a second line with Cain Franson and Dalton Sward. The Blazers and Giants were 1, 2 at the top of the BC Division and this game was going to be a good measuring stick game for both clubs. Adam Morrison was probably forced to make the tougher saves as the Blazers never gave up and battled back, never leading, but never out of it. The G's scored one in the first and added one in the second. The Blazers charged back and got one before the end of the middle frame. The visitors tied it up early in the third off of what should never have been called a penalty at the end of the second. I was surprised how cheap the Blazers played at times and even more surprised by the refs ignoring some pretty deliberate acts. The Giants went ahead again minutes later and then with just over two minutes left in the game the Blazers tied it up. Nothing solved in OT, so the teams went to a shootout. Kuvaev scored the only goal as Morrison turned aside all four shooters.
The Giants opened the scoring when Jordan Martinook ripped one in off the left wing at the face-off dot. Luke Fenske got the lone helper. Alex Kuvaev got a gritty goal past Cole Cheveldave, putting home his rebound, after Franson did a lot of the work getting it to the front of the net. Wes Vannieuwenhuizen had the other assist. The Blazers pressured hard in the second and finally solved Morrison off of a broken play, when a shot deflected in front to the open side, where a Blazer sniper was waiting. The Blazers opend the third on a bogus PP, and a really bad give-away upbthe slot by Neil Manning put the puck right onto Austin Madaisky's stick at the point. He buried it at the 11 second mark, behind Morrison who had little chance on the shot, tying the game. Nathan Burns pounded home a rebound off of Manning who flipped it in high on Cheveldave forcing a rebound and making up for his mindless gaffe earlier. James Henry got the other helper. Dylan Willick found the puck out of a scrum in the slot and ripped it top shelf glove-side on Morrison, once again tying the game with 2:19 left to play in regulation. The game went to OT and then a shootout, where the goalies were shining. Kuvaev finally beat Cheveldave with a hard low shot.
Rookie Watch: Kulak (17) a rare minus for Kulak who logged a ton of minutes. Bellerive (17) playing with the top line, unlucky not to get a couple of goals and I would have loved to see them go upstairs and take a look at the wrap-around that was waived off. Sward (17) very solid, had some great chances. Vetterl (17) played a good amount of minutes, had some great chances, but could not finish. Brodyn Nielsen (17) laid a few good checks with minimal minutes, was aggressive on the forecheck. Bews (17) a few good shifts, some decent backchecking, not a lot of minutes. Logan Harland (16) I don't recall ever seeing him on the ice, which is a shame as he is a young guy with size and some ability, but I think Hanlon was rolling three lines for the most part tonight. Orban (17) not a lot of minutes for Orban as the top four D were worked very hard.
Fight Night: none, some testy emotion
Zebra Cage: Pat Smith and Mike Campbell -- called a garbage game, missed a lot calling a lop-sided game. Kuvaev was hacked down from behind with a wicked gratuitous slash to the back of the legs as he was skating up ice, with no call. A fair amount of pick plays and hooks went uncalled and what they did call seemed pretty weak. The linesmen were a bit touched as well. D -
The Blazers out shot the Giants 38-36 padding their shots on their PP chances and their better effort in the second and third. There were times where it felt like the Giants were just hanging on. After the Blazers first goal the ice tilted and the G's were fortunate to get out the second up by one. The Blazers were 1 for 4 on their PP, while the Giants were 0 for 1. The refs let a lot go and then called soft stuff. Makes me shake my head. All I ask is some consistency.
Luke Fenske played a great game tonight. Smart plays, tough plays, some good hits and excellent play with the puck. Wes Vann. was tough to get past tonight. Manning had some major gaffes and sloppy play, but got a good point just when he should have been in the doghouse. Eric Walker was pretty awful tonight and in my mind the Giant's worst D-man, stats not-withstanding. He had some really poor give-aways forcing his goalie to make some clutch stops and had poor pinches while making some other poor decisions. Taylor Makin had a really good night when he got on the ice. He was quarterbacking his line, playing with Vetterl and Burns and excellent on the back-check and making some smart break-out moves coming out of his own zone and in the neutral ice. Kuvaev made his mark in his first game and despite rumours that he was soft and slow, he showed good foot-speed and a willingness to go to the net and take the body. Adding a 6'3" skilled forward will always help and if he plays like that all the time, I welcome him. I love Chucky, but I think he has a much more effective game in him and I would love to see him use it better and find the back of the net more, as he is capable. Morrison kept his team in there and had to make some tough stops to keep his team ahead through the second and third periods.
Good to see the boys get the win as I think they earned the extra point, but they need to hold on to those points and push back. They were fortunate not to let the game slip and had to work hard in their own zone to make that happen. The win marks their 5th shootout win of the season. It was a hard battle on the ice tonight and not a lot of room for either squad to move. I personally felt that the Blazers got away with a bunch of cheap play and obstruction in this one. The teams take on one another in the second of the home at home.
Like the Giants the Blazers have been solid on home ice, but they also had a great road record so the boys have to walk in there and play the same game, but better and force Cheveldave or whatever Blazer goalie finds himself between the pipes to regret kicking out those rebounds. The puck drops at 7pm PST in Kamloops, on Wednesday. WHL LIVE is offering free viewing until the New Year, check out the link on the WHL site.
Three Stars
1. Alexander Kuvaev
2. Austin Madaisky
3. Taylor Makin
Dondo's Hardhat: goes to .. Taylor Makin .. he was working every shift, made some great plays on both the offensive and defensive ends of the ice. Had poise and grit in a perfect balance. His third line kept the Blazers honest and challenged for goals.
Vancouver 4 Kamloops 3 OT/SO
After about a week off it was nice to see the boys come out well in the first period. Newly acquired euro Alexander Kuvaev had his first game with the club and scored a goal and the shoot-out winner. Welcome to the team Alex. He played mainly on a second line with Cain Franson and Dalton Sward. The Blazers and Giants were 1, 2 at the top of the BC Division and this game was going to be a good measuring stick game for both clubs. Adam Morrison was probably forced to make the tougher saves as the Blazers never gave up and battled back, never leading, but never out of it. The G's scored one in the first and added one in the second. The Blazers charged back and got one before the end of the middle frame. The visitors tied it up early in the third off of what should never have been called a penalty at the end of the second. I was surprised how cheap the Blazers played at times and even more surprised by the refs ignoring some pretty deliberate acts. The Giants went ahead again minutes later and then with just over two minutes left in the game the Blazers tied it up. Nothing solved in OT, so the teams went to a shootout. Kuvaev scored the only goal as Morrison turned aside all four shooters.
The Giants opened the scoring when Jordan Martinook ripped one in off the left wing at the face-off dot. Luke Fenske got the lone helper. Alex Kuvaev got a gritty goal past Cole Cheveldave, putting home his rebound, after Franson did a lot of the work getting it to the front of the net. Wes Vannieuwenhuizen had the other assist. The Blazers pressured hard in the second and finally solved Morrison off of a broken play, when a shot deflected in front to the open side, where a Blazer sniper was waiting. The Blazers opend the third on a bogus PP, and a really bad give-away upbthe slot by Neil Manning put the puck right onto Austin Madaisky's stick at the point. He buried it at the 11 second mark, behind Morrison who had little chance on the shot, tying the game. Nathan Burns pounded home a rebound off of Manning who flipped it in high on Cheveldave forcing a rebound and making up for his mindless gaffe earlier. James Henry got the other helper. Dylan Willick found the puck out of a scrum in the slot and ripped it top shelf glove-side on Morrison, once again tying the game with 2:19 left to play in regulation. The game went to OT and then a shootout, where the goalies were shining. Kuvaev finally beat Cheveldave with a hard low shot.
Rookie Watch: Kulak (17) a rare minus for Kulak who logged a ton of minutes. Bellerive (17) playing with the top line, unlucky not to get a couple of goals and I would have loved to see them go upstairs and take a look at the wrap-around that was waived off. Sward (17) very solid, had some great chances. Vetterl (17) played a good amount of minutes, had some great chances, but could not finish. Brodyn Nielsen (17) laid a few good checks with minimal minutes, was aggressive on the forecheck. Bews (17) a few good shifts, some decent backchecking, not a lot of minutes. Logan Harland (16) I don't recall ever seeing him on the ice, which is a shame as he is a young guy with size and some ability, but I think Hanlon was rolling three lines for the most part tonight. Orban (17) not a lot of minutes for Orban as the top four D were worked very hard.
Fight Night: none, some testy emotion
Zebra Cage: Pat Smith and Mike Campbell -- called a garbage game, missed a lot calling a lop-sided game. Kuvaev was hacked down from behind with a wicked gratuitous slash to the back of the legs as he was skating up ice, with no call. A fair amount of pick plays and hooks went uncalled and what they did call seemed pretty weak. The linesmen were a bit touched as well. D -
The Blazers out shot the Giants 38-36 padding their shots on their PP chances and their better effort in the second and third. There were times where it felt like the Giants were just hanging on. After the Blazers first goal the ice tilted and the G's were fortunate to get out the second up by one. The Blazers were 1 for 4 on their PP, while the Giants were 0 for 1. The refs let a lot go and then called soft stuff. Makes me shake my head. All I ask is some consistency.
Luke Fenske played a great game tonight. Smart plays, tough plays, some good hits and excellent play with the puck. Wes Vann. was tough to get past tonight. Manning had some major gaffes and sloppy play, but got a good point just when he should have been in the doghouse. Eric Walker was pretty awful tonight and in my mind the Giant's worst D-man, stats not-withstanding. He had some really poor give-aways forcing his goalie to make some clutch stops and had poor pinches while making some other poor decisions. Taylor Makin had a really good night when he got on the ice. He was quarterbacking his line, playing with Vetterl and Burns and excellent on the back-check and making some smart break-out moves coming out of his own zone and in the neutral ice. Kuvaev made his mark in his first game and despite rumours that he was soft and slow, he showed good foot-speed and a willingness to go to the net and take the body. Adding a 6'3" skilled forward will always help and if he plays like that all the time, I welcome him. I love Chucky, but I think he has a much more effective game in him and I would love to see him use it better and find the back of the net more, as he is capable. Morrison kept his team in there and had to make some tough stops to keep his team ahead through the second and third periods.
Good to see the boys get the win as I think they earned the extra point, but they need to hold on to those points and push back. They were fortunate not to let the game slip and had to work hard in their own zone to make that happen. The win marks their 5th shootout win of the season. It was a hard battle on the ice tonight and not a lot of room for either squad to move. I personally felt that the Blazers got away with a bunch of cheap play and obstruction in this one. The teams take on one another in the second of the home at home.
Like the Giants the Blazers have been solid on home ice, but they also had a great road record so the boys have to walk in there and play the same game, but better and force Cheveldave or whatever Blazer goalie finds himself between the pipes to regret kicking out those rebounds. The puck drops at 7pm PST in Kamloops, on Wednesday. WHL LIVE is offering free viewing until the New Year, check out the link on the WHL site.
Three Stars
1. Alexander Kuvaev
2. Austin Madaisky
3. Taylor Makin
Dondo's Hardhat: goes to .. Taylor Makin .. he was working every shift, made some great plays on both the offensive and defensive ends of the ice. Had poise and grit in a perfect balance. His third line kept the Blazers honest and challenged for goals.