dondo
01-03-2013, 02:16 AM
a respectable outing for the boys, a few mistakes cost us the game though.
Blazers Lick Giants
Vancouver 2 Kamloops 4
The boys played a solid fairly balanced game. They could have fore-checked a bit more and gotten traffic going to the net and taken more shots, but all in all a solid outing versus a top team. The Giants checked closely and were not afraid to take the body. They hustled well, chasing down loose pucks and limited odd-man rush chances. Scott Cooke was given a star tonight and although I wouldn’t be handing him a star, he did set the right tone early. I was impressed with how clean and hard the Giants were checking in this game. The excitement factor was there and the boys gave themselves a great chance to get the win, but when the Blazers stepped it up in the third and got a few breaks the home squad were left behind. Tyler Fuhr was better than he was last game and looked a bit steadier, but still put himself out of position by over-committing to some saves more than I like to see. Fuhr is more of a battler than a positional goalie.
The Giants opened the scoring when Blake Orban wheeled and fired from the side boards. The puck got past Taran Kozun who was partially screened and the puck might also have re-directed off of a body before finding twine. Tyler Morrison got the only assist. The Blazers tied that up before the end of the second on the PP. Trevor Cheek scored a marker just past mid-second, maintaining puck possession through a few defenders and into the slot. Finding a seam he snapped the puck five-hole on some brilliant individual effort. Anthony Ast and Jackson Houck had the extra points on the play. On the PP with less than a minute in the period and leading by one, the Giants got caught pissing around with the puck at the blue-line and got burned. The Blazer player came in hard off the right wing and picked a spot short-side top of the net. Fuhr didn’t allow him much room as he came out to challenge. That SH’d goal against was a killer as the Giants had decent momentum at the time and should have been able to make it a bigger lead rather than cough it up badly. The Blazers took their first lead mid-way through the third, ripping a nice cross-crease pass off the rush past Fuhr. The Giants started to open the gaps up more giving the talented Blazers more room to move and they got caught scrambling. They also stopped skating and stood around for passes, instead of breaking out in full stride. Just over a minute later the Blazers made a poor penalty count when the Giants were unable to clear their zone when they had the chance allowing the Blazers to work the puck to the open man. The Giants kind of floated for the last minutes, instead of pressing the attack.
Team Notes: 15 yr old Jacob Stukel made his debut in a Giants uniform tonight and not only did he not look out of place, but he looked effective and noticed in the shifts he was one the ice. He has good speed, not afraid to take the body, or go into the corners and he also tried to make some fancy offensive plays that didn’t hurt his team, but could have helped them. Stukel was the Giants second round pick this year (2012).
Trade: 20 yr old Kale Kessy to Kamloops for 18 yr old Rob Trzonkowski and a 5th round pick in 2015. I have to say I think Kessy was worth more than an enforcer and a 5th- esp a 5th two years from now. I think Scott has a blind spot where his brother is concerned and Craig knows it. Good to see Kessy getting the chance to play for a contender, but I think we could/should have gotten more in return. Good luck Kale, we enjoyed having you as a Giant.
Fisticuffs: Scott Cooke v. Sam Grist. Cooke got Grist’s helmet off quickly after reluctant Grist dropped the gloves. Cooke got in a few shots, but none really connecting heavily and Grist missed most of his before they both fell to the ice.
Zebra Cage: Brett Iverson and Jason Cramer. They let them play and called a consistent game for the most part, but missed the boat on a few calls that affected the game. A bunch called in the first and then only one in each of the other two periods.
The Giants were out-shot 29-22. They went 0 for 2 on the PP, while the Blazers went 2 for 4. The Giants were guilty of two separate too-many men penalties (both served by Stukel out of a point of interest) and that is just a lack of focus. They also allowed a short-handed goal against because they were being dumb with the puck at the opposition’s blue-line. I liked Dalton Sward early and then later in the third. He disappeared for me in the second, but when he was noticed he was noticed. Trevor Cheek had a solid consistent game tonight. Cain Franson had some chances but always seemed to be playing perimeter hockey tonight. I need to see him battle to get to those sweet spots. Too many shifts off, by my observation. I liked Ast’s game as well.
Next Up: A big road trip versus the Central Division is not exactly a cake-walk for the Giants. Stir in the fact that it is 5 games in 6 nights and it gets even more challenging. The G’s play Friday in Red Deer, Saturday in Edmonton and Sunday afternoon in Calgary. During that time they get their under-17 players back in the line-up, so that will help on Sunday and possibly Saturday for some of them. The boys have Monday off and then play in Medicine Hat on Tuesday and Lethbridge on Wednesday. The trade deadline for the league closes while they are on their trip, so they could be shy a few assets come their home game on January 12th at the Coliseum. We are most definitely sellers this year and the only buying we’ll be doing is for prospects and hopefully higher picks than 5ths.
Three Stars
1. Tim Bozon
2. Colin Smith
3. Scott Cooke
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to the kid – 15 yr old Jacob Stukel - a second round bantam pick that seems to have all the right skills to have an impact at this level. He was unafraid to take the body and made some smart plays. I also liked his speed, but mainly his attitude. He’s a keeper.
Blazers Lick Giants
Vancouver 2 Kamloops 4
The boys played a solid fairly balanced game. They could have fore-checked a bit more and gotten traffic going to the net and taken more shots, but all in all a solid outing versus a top team. The Giants checked closely and were not afraid to take the body. They hustled well, chasing down loose pucks and limited odd-man rush chances. Scott Cooke was given a star tonight and although I wouldn’t be handing him a star, he did set the right tone early. I was impressed with how clean and hard the Giants were checking in this game. The excitement factor was there and the boys gave themselves a great chance to get the win, but when the Blazers stepped it up in the third and got a few breaks the home squad were left behind. Tyler Fuhr was better than he was last game and looked a bit steadier, but still put himself out of position by over-committing to some saves more than I like to see. Fuhr is more of a battler than a positional goalie.
The Giants opened the scoring when Blake Orban wheeled and fired from the side boards. The puck got past Taran Kozun who was partially screened and the puck might also have re-directed off of a body before finding twine. Tyler Morrison got the only assist. The Blazers tied that up before the end of the second on the PP. Trevor Cheek scored a marker just past mid-second, maintaining puck possession through a few defenders and into the slot. Finding a seam he snapped the puck five-hole on some brilliant individual effort. Anthony Ast and Jackson Houck had the extra points on the play. On the PP with less than a minute in the period and leading by one, the Giants got caught pissing around with the puck at the blue-line and got burned. The Blazer player came in hard off the right wing and picked a spot short-side top of the net. Fuhr didn’t allow him much room as he came out to challenge. That SH’d goal against was a killer as the Giants had decent momentum at the time and should have been able to make it a bigger lead rather than cough it up badly. The Blazers took their first lead mid-way through the third, ripping a nice cross-crease pass off the rush past Fuhr. The Giants started to open the gaps up more giving the talented Blazers more room to move and they got caught scrambling. They also stopped skating and stood around for passes, instead of breaking out in full stride. Just over a minute later the Blazers made a poor penalty count when the Giants were unable to clear their zone when they had the chance allowing the Blazers to work the puck to the open man. The Giants kind of floated for the last minutes, instead of pressing the attack.
Team Notes: 15 yr old Jacob Stukel made his debut in a Giants uniform tonight and not only did he not look out of place, but he looked effective and noticed in the shifts he was one the ice. He has good speed, not afraid to take the body, or go into the corners and he also tried to make some fancy offensive plays that didn’t hurt his team, but could have helped them. Stukel was the Giants second round pick this year (2012).
Trade: 20 yr old Kale Kessy to Kamloops for 18 yr old Rob Trzonkowski and a 5th round pick in 2015. I have to say I think Kessy was worth more than an enforcer and a 5th- esp a 5th two years from now. I think Scott has a blind spot where his brother is concerned and Craig knows it. Good to see Kessy getting the chance to play for a contender, but I think we could/should have gotten more in return. Good luck Kale, we enjoyed having you as a Giant.
Fisticuffs: Scott Cooke v. Sam Grist. Cooke got Grist’s helmet off quickly after reluctant Grist dropped the gloves. Cooke got in a few shots, but none really connecting heavily and Grist missed most of his before they both fell to the ice.
Zebra Cage: Brett Iverson and Jason Cramer. They let them play and called a consistent game for the most part, but missed the boat on a few calls that affected the game. A bunch called in the first and then only one in each of the other two periods.
The Giants were out-shot 29-22. They went 0 for 2 on the PP, while the Blazers went 2 for 4. The Giants were guilty of two separate too-many men penalties (both served by Stukel out of a point of interest) and that is just a lack of focus. They also allowed a short-handed goal against because they were being dumb with the puck at the opposition’s blue-line. I liked Dalton Sward early and then later in the third. He disappeared for me in the second, but when he was noticed he was noticed. Trevor Cheek had a solid consistent game tonight. Cain Franson had some chances but always seemed to be playing perimeter hockey tonight. I need to see him battle to get to those sweet spots. Too many shifts off, by my observation. I liked Ast’s game as well.
Next Up: A big road trip versus the Central Division is not exactly a cake-walk for the Giants. Stir in the fact that it is 5 games in 6 nights and it gets even more challenging. The G’s play Friday in Red Deer, Saturday in Edmonton and Sunday afternoon in Calgary. During that time they get their under-17 players back in the line-up, so that will help on Sunday and possibly Saturday for some of them. The boys have Monday off and then play in Medicine Hat on Tuesday and Lethbridge on Wednesday. The trade deadline for the league closes while they are on their trip, so they could be shy a few assets come their home game on January 12th at the Coliseum. We are most definitely sellers this year and the only buying we’ll be doing is for prospects and hopefully higher picks than 5ths.
Three Stars
1. Tim Bozon
2. Colin Smith
3. Scott Cooke
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to the kid – 15 yr old Jacob Stukel - a second round bantam pick that seems to have all the right skills to have an impact at this level. He was unafraid to take the body and made some smart plays. I also liked his speed, but mainly his attitude. He’s a keeper.