dondo
03-28-2012, 06:09 PM
Chiefs Trump Giants
Round 1 – Game 3
Vancouver 2 Spokane 3
The Giants let that game get away from them. Spokane lead with Eric Williams between the pipes and he played very well in the first when the Giants had their pressure going, getting 13 shots on net. Adam Morrison did not play very well in the opening frame though, giving up two goals on 6 shots. The number of shots are not always indicative of quality of chances, but it seemed that Morrison was not that good in this one after being spectacular in game 2. The G’s got caught taking really dumb penalties at bad times and did not seem to have their A game going. Martinook was held off the scoresheet after lighting up the first two games. Franson gave the G’s a lift in the second potting a nice tally and Gallagher gutted out a late goal to draw it close in the final minutes. The G’s squandered their minimal PP chances and the last few minutes of the game, where they seemed content to pass it around with seconds ticking down. That did not please me. Spokane did not get a PP goal in the game, but used the momentum of them to get the win. The parade to the penalty box for the G’s in the second killed any chance of gaining momentum and lost them energy and possession despite the 100% kill ratio.
Spokane opened the scoring as Gow potted one at 3:48 in the first. Gal added a late one as the Giants allowed too many mistakes to hurt them. Cain Franson scored at 3:48 of the second drawing the visitors to within one. Austin Fyten had the lone assist as Franson ripped it. The rest of the second the G’s spent scrambling. Baldwin scored his first of the playoffs late in the third to increase the Chiefs lead to 3. The goal came just as a Chiefs PP had expired, in which the home team had the G’s pinned in their end of the ice for the majority. Gallagher got that one back a couple of minutes later, off of a nice feed by Neil Manning. Sadly the boys had a tough time getting themselves out of their zone for the final few minutes and when they finally gained the line and pulled the goalie, they spent the majority of the time working the puck along the boards and around the perimeter. Next time they should be taking the shot, crashing the crease and looking for the loose puck and some luck. Even if they force a face-off in that situation they are better off than cycling the crap out of it. They are the Giants after-all and not the cycle sisters playing for that other Vancouver squad.
Team Notes: Kuvaev was a healthy scratch (finally) with Ast back in, but Ast got rocked awkwardly early on and spent the majority of time on the bench. Hay still playing Carter Popoff and sitting guys like Scott Cooke, which to be honest I don’t like. Popoff is okay, but Cooke plays a gritty style the Giants need in the playoffs - esp against a grinding team like Spokane. Martinook won WHL player of the week for last week and his 8 points of production in games 1 and 2 of this series.
Zebra Cage: Trent Knorr and Sean Raphael. Not a disaster, but a few things missed and then called the other way later. Not sure how Gallagher taking a nasty check to the head isn’t a call, but McNaughton being tagged for it later is a call. The Giants were not subtle last night though and earned most of the penalties they got. Lazy checks from behind and lazier tripping calls won’t help them down the road. Goalie interference on Martinook for skating behind the goalie though.. hmmm.
The Giants and Chiefs both had 28 shots on net and after a soft first, Morrison was better in the second and third. The Chiefs were hungry to win that game and now have a hope of splitting the series. They earned a game five chance and will be working to come back to Vancouver tied. The Giants need to find the elements that made them effective in Vancouver. It can’t just be the tough line changes in Spokane and inability to match lines well on the road that was their downfall in game three, there was something more there. They didn’t have enough real effort and were sloppy with the puck and with taking unnecessary penalties. They are a better team than that from the goal out and need to show it. The Chiefs are not a team to give up, give in or stop playing. They will battle for every opportunity and if you back-off they will get you. The G’s need to pepper the net with traffic in front of Williams and ride that edge of intensity without tipping over.
Game 4 goes tonight at 7:05 PDT back in Spokane. The Giants have a chance to put the pressure on and come home with a chance to finish it on Friday. The Chiefs won’t be standing by and watching that happen, so guys like Martinook will have to battle for their ice and take the game to them the way they did in games 1 and 2.
Three Stars
1. Eric Williams
2. Blake Gal
3. Cain Franson
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to .. Cain Franson opened the scoring for the G’s and got some great chances playing with Houck and Sward/Makin.
Round 1 – Game 3
Vancouver 2 Spokane 3
The Giants let that game get away from them. Spokane lead with Eric Williams between the pipes and he played very well in the first when the Giants had their pressure going, getting 13 shots on net. Adam Morrison did not play very well in the opening frame though, giving up two goals on 6 shots. The number of shots are not always indicative of quality of chances, but it seemed that Morrison was not that good in this one after being spectacular in game 2. The G’s got caught taking really dumb penalties at bad times and did not seem to have their A game going. Martinook was held off the scoresheet after lighting up the first two games. Franson gave the G’s a lift in the second potting a nice tally and Gallagher gutted out a late goal to draw it close in the final minutes. The G’s squandered their minimal PP chances and the last few minutes of the game, where they seemed content to pass it around with seconds ticking down. That did not please me. Spokane did not get a PP goal in the game, but used the momentum of them to get the win. The parade to the penalty box for the G’s in the second killed any chance of gaining momentum and lost them energy and possession despite the 100% kill ratio.
Spokane opened the scoring as Gow potted one at 3:48 in the first. Gal added a late one as the Giants allowed too many mistakes to hurt them. Cain Franson scored at 3:48 of the second drawing the visitors to within one. Austin Fyten had the lone assist as Franson ripped it. The rest of the second the G’s spent scrambling. Baldwin scored his first of the playoffs late in the third to increase the Chiefs lead to 3. The goal came just as a Chiefs PP had expired, in which the home team had the G’s pinned in their end of the ice for the majority. Gallagher got that one back a couple of minutes later, off of a nice feed by Neil Manning. Sadly the boys had a tough time getting themselves out of their zone for the final few minutes and when they finally gained the line and pulled the goalie, they spent the majority of the time working the puck along the boards and around the perimeter. Next time they should be taking the shot, crashing the crease and looking for the loose puck and some luck. Even if they force a face-off in that situation they are better off than cycling the crap out of it. They are the Giants after-all and not the cycle sisters playing for that other Vancouver squad.
Team Notes: Kuvaev was a healthy scratch (finally) with Ast back in, but Ast got rocked awkwardly early on and spent the majority of time on the bench. Hay still playing Carter Popoff and sitting guys like Scott Cooke, which to be honest I don’t like. Popoff is okay, but Cooke plays a gritty style the Giants need in the playoffs - esp against a grinding team like Spokane. Martinook won WHL player of the week for last week and his 8 points of production in games 1 and 2 of this series.
Zebra Cage: Trent Knorr and Sean Raphael. Not a disaster, but a few things missed and then called the other way later. Not sure how Gallagher taking a nasty check to the head isn’t a call, but McNaughton being tagged for it later is a call. The Giants were not subtle last night though and earned most of the penalties they got. Lazy checks from behind and lazier tripping calls won’t help them down the road. Goalie interference on Martinook for skating behind the goalie though.. hmmm.
The Giants and Chiefs both had 28 shots on net and after a soft first, Morrison was better in the second and third. The Chiefs were hungry to win that game and now have a hope of splitting the series. They earned a game five chance and will be working to come back to Vancouver tied. The Giants need to find the elements that made them effective in Vancouver. It can’t just be the tough line changes in Spokane and inability to match lines well on the road that was their downfall in game three, there was something more there. They didn’t have enough real effort and were sloppy with the puck and with taking unnecessary penalties. They are a better team than that from the goal out and need to show it. The Chiefs are not a team to give up, give in or stop playing. They will battle for every opportunity and if you back-off they will get you. The G’s need to pepper the net with traffic in front of Williams and ride that edge of intensity without tipping over.
Game 4 goes tonight at 7:05 PDT back in Spokane. The Giants have a chance to put the pressure on and come home with a chance to finish it on Friday. The Chiefs won’t be standing by and watching that happen, so guys like Martinook will have to battle for their ice and take the game to them the way they did in games 1 and 2.
Three Stars
1. Eric Williams
2. Blake Gal
3. Cain Franson
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to .. Cain Franson opened the scoring for the G’s and got some great chances playing with Houck and Sward/Makin.