dondo
12-02-2012, 02:15 AM
I was hoping the G's would open December with a win, but didn't expect it. They put together a solid outing, but could not hold on for at least a point. Feels like the boys learned a little something tonight. I hope I am right.
Americans Shave Giants
Vancouver 3 Tri-City 4
Good game, disappointing result. The Giants put some effort into tonight’s tilt trying to extend the Americans 5 game road losing streak, but it was not to be. Best game I have seen out of Wes Vannieuwenhuizen in awhile, battling in his own zone a nice one-timer to the top of the net on the PP and some solid defensive work. The boys worked for the majority of the game keeping the pressure on. They only really got into trouble when they sat back and allowed the Ams to come at them. Their Achilles heel those soft flip passes and plays gave the visitors too many chances though and in the end was their downfall. I liked a lot about the Giants game tonight though. I saw one-timers, point shots, players taking the shot when they had an open look and then creating havoc in front of the American’s cage. Liam Liston got the start and that was good and bad news. I still don’t understand why they are keeping Liston. He made some good stops, but also some horrible gaffes. I still think that we’d be better served developing Tyler Fuhr.
Liston went out to play the puck, something he is not very good at doing and turned over the puck behind the net giving the Americans a wide-open cage to shoot into. There could have been an interference call as he was delayed getting back to the net in a not quite wholly legal manner, but the Ams are sneaky and manage to run picks below the refs radar. Giants down by one. They got it back by finally getting their PP to work mid-period. Vannieuwenhuizen found the net wiring a one-timer top shelf. Mason Geertson and Dalton Sward got the helpers. Tri-City took back the lead in the second slipping through a soft five-hole goal. This coming after ringing the puck off of the post a shift earlier. The Giants responded with one of their own. Cain Franson buried the puck getting his own rebound and flipping it over Luke Lee-Knight playing his first WHL game of the season. He split his last season playing for the Chiefs and Raiders. Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck got the helpers on Franson’s tally. Tristan Sieben gave the G’s the lead in the third, scoring yet another greasy goal from the doorstep. The puck was deflected high off of a Geertson shot, fell down in the slot where Travis McEvoy put it on net. Sieben slipped the rebound past Lee-Knight It was the first lead for the Giants in the game. About five minutes later the Giants got caught scrambling in their own end of the ice after a chance to clear the zone failed. The Ams moved the puck around; it deflected off of an Ams player onto a D-man pinching down the slot. Tie game. The Giants caught a break late in the game being given a PP and a chance to get the win. Unfortunately Brett Kulak tried to stickhandle from the blue-line past a defender and lost the puck. Off of a clean breakaway the Americans beat Liston with 5.9 seconds left in the game, with the face-off at centre-ice. Game over.
Positives: The Giants played an intense close-checking game keeping the Americans back on their heels. They took shots and crashed the net well. A little puck luck and some effort led to goals. More players were showing up most every shift. I liked Geertson’s game tonight. I liked the line of Kessy, Franson and Houck and hope that Hay keeps them together. Less sitting back in this game and more pressure was good to see. I also enjoyed seeing young kids like Thomas Foster and Taylor Vickerman making the most of their limited shifts.
Negatives: Still some soft play with the puck and poor turnovers, but the effort trying to recover was better. Liston was hot and cold and sadly the first goal was definitely avoidable. The boys let a game they had in their hands slip by, without even a point to show for their effort. In the end the Giants wasted a gift playing against a back-up who has not had a start this season.
Zebra Cage: Pat Smith was the lone ref and although the calls were favourable to the Giants he missed a ton. Not exactly the best outing.
The Giants finally out shot an opponent 41-36. They went 1 for 3 on the PP, and held the Ams to 0 for 1. It felt like some progression was made tonight, but I have said that before. At least it looked like the boys were willing to lay it out there, dropped to block shots and were trying to recover better when they lost the puck. They may have taken another loss, but they put together a pretty good game in end. I’m sure the guys are not feeling that way now, but maybe in a few days they will realize what that kind of effort could bring in the future. Lee-Knight should not have gotten a star in this one though. He was okay, but hardly star worthy.
Next Up: The G’s have a few days to practice what they learned before they head to Victoria to take on the Royals. They have had some uneven games versus the Victoria squad and maybe they can rediscover the game they had tonight with different results.
Three Stars
1. Beau McCue
2. Luke Lee-Knight
3. Cain Franson
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to the top line – Cain Franson, Kale Kessy and Jackson Houck who all in their own way contributed their specialities to the line and the game.
Americans Shave Giants
Vancouver 3 Tri-City 4
Good game, disappointing result. The Giants put some effort into tonight’s tilt trying to extend the Americans 5 game road losing streak, but it was not to be. Best game I have seen out of Wes Vannieuwenhuizen in awhile, battling in his own zone a nice one-timer to the top of the net on the PP and some solid defensive work. The boys worked for the majority of the game keeping the pressure on. They only really got into trouble when they sat back and allowed the Ams to come at them. Their Achilles heel those soft flip passes and plays gave the visitors too many chances though and in the end was their downfall. I liked a lot about the Giants game tonight though. I saw one-timers, point shots, players taking the shot when they had an open look and then creating havoc in front of the American’s cage. Liam Liston got the start and that was good and bad news. I still don’t understand why they are keeping Liston. He made some good stops, but also some horrible gaffes. I still think that we’d be better served developing Tyler Fuhr.
Liston went out to play the puck, something he is not very good at doing and turned over the puck behind the net giving the Americans a wide-open cage to shoot into. There could have been an interference call as he was delayed getting back to the net in a not quite wholly legal manner, but the Ams are sneaky and manage to run picks below the refs radar. Giants down by one. They got it back by finally getting their PP to work mid-period. Vannieuwenhuizen found the net wiring a one-timer top shelf. Mason Geertson and Dalton Sward got the helpers. Tri-City took back the lead in the second slipping through a soft five-hole goal. This coming after ringing the puck off of the post a shift earlier. The Giants responded with one of their own. Cain Franson buried the puck getting his own rebound and flipping it over Luke Lee-Knight playing his first WHL game of the season. He split his last season playing for the Chiefs and Raiders. Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck got the helpers on Franson’s tally. Tristan Sieben gave the G’s the lead in the third, scoring yet another greasy goal from the doorstep. The puck was deflected high off of a Geertson shot, fell down in the slot where Travis McEvoy put it on net. Sieben slipped the rebound past Lee-Knight It was the first lead for the Giants in the game. About five minutes later the Giants got caught scrambling in their own end of the ice after a chance to clear the zone failed. The Ams moved the puck around; it deflected off of an Ams player onto a D-man pinching down the slot. Tie game. The Giants caught a break late in the game being given a PP and a chance to get the win. Unfortunately Brett Kulak tried to stickhandle from the blue-line past a defender and lost the puck. Off of a clean breakaway the Americans beat Liston with 5.9 seconds left in the game, with the face-off at centre-ice. Game over.
Positives: The Giants played an intense close-checking game keeping the Americans back on their heels. They took shots and crashed the net well. A little puck luck and some effort led to goals. More players were showing up most every shift. I liked Geertson’s game tonight. I liked the line of Kessy, Franson and Houck and hope that Hay keeps them together. Less sitting back in this game and more pressure was good to see. I also enjoyed seeing young kids like Thomas Foster and Taylor Vickerman making the most of their limited shifts.
Negatives: Still some soft play with the puck and poor turnovers, but the effort trying to recover was better. Liston was hot and cold and sadly the first goal was definitely avoidable. The boys let a game they had in their hands slip by, without even a point to show for their effort. In the end the Giants wasted a gift playing against a back-up who has not had a start this season.
Zebra Cage: Pat Smith was the lone ref and although the calls were favourable to the Giants he missed a ton. Not exactly the best outing.
The Giants finally out shot an opponent 41-36. They went 1 for 3 on the PP, and held the Ams to 0 for 1. It felt like some progression was made tonight, but I have said that before. At least it looked like the boys were willing to lay it out there, dropped to block shots and were trying to recover better when they lost the puck. They may have taken another loss, but they put together a pretty good game in end. I’m sure the guys are not feeling that way now, but maybe in a few days they will realize what that kind of effort could bring in the future. Lee-Knight should not have gotten a star in this one though. He was okay, but hardly star worthy.
Next Up: The G’s have a few days to practice what they learned before they head to Victoria to take on the Royals. They have had some uneven games versus the Victoria squad and maybe they can rediscover the game they had tonight with different results.
Three Stars
1. Beau McCue
2. Luke Lee-Knight
3. Cain Franson
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to the top line – Cain Franson, Kale Kessy and Jackson Houck who all in their own way contributed their specialities to the line and the game.