dondo
09-29-2012, 01:37 AM
I hate losing to Everett
Tips Strip Giants
Vancouver 3 Everett 5
The Giants are pointless in their first three games against woefully average opponents. The Silvertips are not a good team, giving up 17 goals against in their first three games. They struggled to get shots on the Giants net, but capitalised on many, many turnovers by the sloppy Vancouver squad. The G`s were awful in their own end of the ice, coughing up the puck, making dumb cross ice passes and losing most every puck battle. They were waving at the puck, frequently getting caught flat-footed. They got no help from Liam Liston who allowed a bad goal on the first shot and then gave up two more in the next five shots. Three goals on 6 shots, is not even in the ball-park of acceptable. He can`t take all the blame as the G`s missing their assignments allowed some wide open chances, but he really has to stop the easy ones. The Giants closed the gap to 3-2, before coughing up yet another goal to give the Tips another two goal bulge. Liston was pulled after the fourth goal. Tyler Fuhr in relief made a few solid stops before giving up a goal slipped between the wickets off of yet more bad defensive work by the G`s in their own end of the ice.
Everett opened the scoring 2:08 in when they were allowed to walk in along the boards and wire the puck. Liston did not come out to challenge and was beat far side. John Niebrandt tied it up finishing a rush led by Anthony Ast and Jackson Houck. Everett got that back 1:54 into the second and then added another one the next shift when the Giants mismanaged the puck along the boards in their own end. Trevor Cheek scored his first goal as a Giant to draw his team back within one. The newly acquired OA player wired the puck playing the point on the second PP unit. Houck got the only helper on the play. At 1:54 into the third Everett notched another marker, picking the short side on a cheating Liston. Liston was pulled in favour of Fuhr, something that should have happened after goal #2 in my mind. Tristan Sieben scored his first as a Giant, tipping a Wes Vannieuwenhuizen shot five-hole on Austin Lotz. Musil got the other point. The Giants had a bit of momentum, but that was crushed when they allowed the Tips an open lane to the net and time to make a move before slipping the puck between the pads on Fuhr.
Team Notes: The real rookies were sat in this one as all of the 16 yr olds were riding the pine. 17 yr old Stewart Coyle got his first taste in a Giants uni and looked slow to me, frequently getting caught and unable to hold the puck at the line with multiple opportunities. It was an ugly outing for the young big D-man. Ales Kilnar also saw his first ice time as a Giant and looked okay, he was willing to forecheck and battle a bit. Arvin Atwal remains on the injury list. The Giants continue to carry 27 players with no identity, no structure and no team work ethic.
Zebra Cage: Ryan Benbow and Jason Cramer were good tonight, not that they had a lot of tough decisions to make. Neither team really shaved the infraction line as the game lacked enough of that kind of emotion, despite a couple of fights and some scrums. The linesmen were noticeably slow with the off-side whistles though.
Fisticuffs: Orban vs Chynoweth – quick battle, Chynoweth with the marginal take-down. Grayson vs Vannieuwenhuizen – more of wrestling match, no punches really connected - draw
None of the Giants escaped tonight without executing some form of glaring error. They have individual effort to thank for their moderate successes this young season and lack any sort of team continuity. I can count on one hand the players who actually had some form of impact tonight. Ast, Houck, Sward and Cheek. The defensive corps was simply gawd-awful, shying away from punishing players in their own zone, mistiming hits and getting easily deked with frightening regularity. Some of the Giants best defensive players were forwards. The Tips were bad in their own end, but did not give up the kind of blue-plate chances the Giants were giving the visitors. The G’s badly out-shot the Tips in the first two periods, but did not get the kinds of premium chances they were giving up. They made Lotz look better than he was and got caught chasing at both ends of the ice.
The Giants out shot the Tips 37-21, 30-11 after two periods. After two games battling back hard in the third and coming up short versus the Royals, the G’s had nowhere near that level of battle the third period tonight. The G’s went 1 for 3 on the PP, while the Tips were 0 for 1.
Hay was saying in the post-game interview that the Giants played well and had a lot of positives tonight. I disagree. I sincerely hope this is lip-service and not what he actually believes, because sadly it came down to individuals stepping up which kept the Giants close. The defensive zone coverage and goaltending were both a complete mess. Allowing Yogi to continue to run the most predictable PP in the WHL has not helped for seasons now and it’s time for a change. The PK lacks coherence and has players chasing the puck around the ice, instead of being positionally solid. We upgraded our size and yet it’s only players like Sward and Houck laying the body consistently. Moar had a couple of hits, but is one of those players in my observation who puts himself out of position to make the hit. Kulak looked horrible out there tonight, always behind the play, missing hits and getting caught standing still. Two more assists for Houck tonight, bringing his point total to 6 and leading the team handily. Sward had some nice hits in this one.
I know it is early, but with all of the deals mortgaging our future by shedding picks instead of players we’ve limited ourselves in the guise of increasing our options. Holding onto 7 more players than we need on a given night and 4 more than we should be carrying on the roster has given the team a very nebulous feel and seems to be confusing the players, from my perspective. Hay said Fuhr will be getting the start versus the Spokane Chiefs on Sunday. I am happy to hear this. If he shines he could and should steal the starters job. The team needs to do their goalies a favour though, by being a lot better in their own end of the ice. I’m hoping for a better team game (something I didn’t see tonight) on Sunday and that the players don’t become complacent with losing. Change my mind boys; please make me eat these words. Puck on Sunday drops at 4pm PST, NOT 5pm – not sure why the Giants made this dumb change, but that’s the way it is this season.
Three Stars
1. Austin Lotz
2. Reid Petryk
3. Trevor Cheek
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to - Trevor Cheek - I liked his game and effort tonight. Honourable mention: to Houck and Sward.
Tips Strip Giants
Vancouver 3 Everett 5
The Giants are pointless in their first three games against woefully average opponents. The Silvertips are not a good team, giving up 17 goals against in their first three games. They struggled to get shots on the Giants net, but capitalised on many, many turnovers by the sloppy Vancouver squad. The G`s were awful in their own end of the ice, coughing up the puck, making dumb cross ice passes and losing most every puck battle. They were waving at the puck, frequently getting caught flat-footed. They got no help from Liam Liston who allowed a bad goal on the first shot and then gave up two more in the next five shots. Three goals on 6 shots, is not even in the ball-park of acceptable. He can`t take all the blame as the G`s missing their assignments allowed some wide open chances, but he really has to stop the easy ones. The Giants closed the gap to 3-2, before coughing up yet another goal to give the Tips another two goal bulge. Liston was pulled after the fourth goal. Tyler Fuhr in relief made a few solid stops before giving up a goal slipped between the wickets off of yet more bad defensive work by the G`s in their own end of the ice.
Everett opened the scoring 2:08 in when they were allowed to walk in along the boards and wire the puck. Liston did not come out to challenge and was beat far side. John Niebrandt tied it up finishing a rush led by Anthony Ast and Jackson Houck. Everett got that back 1:54 into the second and then added another one the next shift when the Giants mismanaged the puck along the boards in their own end. Trevor Cheek scored his first goal as a Giant to draw his team back within one. The newly acquired OA player wired the puck playing the point on the second PP unit. Houck got the only helper on the play. At 1:54 into the third Everett notched another marker, picking the short side on a cheating Liston. Liston was pulled in favour of Fuhr, something that should have happened after goal #2 in my mind. Tristan Sieben scored his first as a Giant, tipping a Wes Vannieuwenhuizen shot five-hole on Austin Lotz. Musil got the other point. The Giants had a bit of momentum, but that was crushed when they allowed the Tips an open lane to the net and time to make a move before slipping the puck between the pads on Fuhr.
Team Notes: The real rookies were sat in this one as all of the 16 yr olds were riding the pine. 17 yr old Stewart Coyle got his first taste in a Giants uni and looked slow to me, frequently getting caught and unable to hold the puck at the line with multiple opportunities. It was an ugly outing for the young big D-man. Ales Kilnar also saw his first ice time as a Giant and looked okay, he was willing to forecheck and battle a bit. Arvin Atwal remains on the injury list. The Giants continue to carry 27 players with no identity, no structure and no team work ethic.
Zebra Cage: Ryan Benbow and Jason Cramer were good tonight, not that they had a lot of tough decisions to make. Neither team really shaved the infraction line as the game lacked enough of that kind of emotion, despite a couple of fights and some scrums. The linesmen were noticeably slow with the off-side whistles though.
Fisticuffs: Orban vs Chynoweth – quick battle, Chynoweth with the marginal take-down. Grayson vs Vannieuwenhuizen – more of wrestling match, no punches really connected - draw
None of the Giants escaped tonight without executing some form of glaring error. They have individual effort to thank for their moderate successes this young season and lack any sort of team continuity. I can count on one hand the players who actually had some form of impact tonight. Ast, Houck, Sward and Cheek. The defensive corps was simply gawd-awful, shying away from punishing players in their own zone, mistiming hits and getting easily deked with frightening regularity. Some of the Giants best defensive players were forwards. The Tips were bad in their own end, but did not give up the kind of blue-plate chances the Giants were giving the visitors. The G’s badly out-shot the Tips in the first two periods, but did not get the kinds of premium chances they were giving up. They made Lotz look better than he was and got caught chasing at both ends of the ice.
The Giants out shot the Tips 37-21, 30-11 after two periods. After two games battling back hard in the third and coming up short versus the Royals, the G’s had nowhere near that level of battle the third period tonight. The G’s went 1 for 3 on the PP, while the Tips were 0 for 1.
Hay was saying in the post-game interview that the Giants played well and had a lot of positives tonight. I disagree. I sincerely hope this is lip-service and not what he actually believes, because sadly it came down to individuals stepping up which kept the Giants close. The defensive zone coverage and goaltending were both a complete mess. Allowing Yogi to continue to run the most predictable PP in the WHL has not helped for seasons now and it’s time for a change. The PK lacks coherence and has players chasing the puck around the ice, instead of being positionally solid. We upgraded our size and yet it’s only players like Sward and Houck laying the body consistently. Moar had a couple of hits, but is one of those players in my observation who puts himself out of position to make the hit. Kulak looked horrible out there tonight, always behind the play, missing hits and getting caught standing still. Two more assists for Houck tonight, bringing his point total to 6 and leading the team handily. Sward had some nice hits in this one.
I know it is early, but with all of the deals mortgaging our future by shedding picks instead of players we’ve limited ourselves in the guise of increasing our options. Holding onto 7 more players than we need on a given night and 4 more than we should be carrying on the roster has given the team a very nebulous feel and seems to be confusing the players, from my perspective. Hay said Fuhr will be getting the start versus the Spokane Chiefs on Sunday. I am happy to hear this. If he shines he could and should steal the starters job. The team needs to do their goalies a favour though, by being a lot better in their own end of the ice. I’m hoping for a better team game (something I didn’t see tonight) on Sunday and that the players don’t become complacent with losing. Change my mind boys; please make me eat these words. Puck on Sunday drops at 4pm PST, NOT 5pm – not sure why the Giants made this dumb change, but that’s the way it is this season.
Three Stars
1. Austin Lotz
2. Reid Petryk
3. Trevor Cheek
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to - Trevor Cheek - I liked his game and effort tonight. Honourable mention: to Houck and Sward.