dondo
02-28-2013, 01:31 AM
Giants get their first win versus the Blazers, avoid sweepage and put together 40 big minutes.
Giants Quench Blazers
Vancouver 5 Kamloops 3
The only Giant to show up in the first period was (thankfully) their goalie, who had to turn away 18 shots allowing only one to get by him waiting for the rest of his team to shed their bus legs. The Giants were sloppy as hell in the first period and had a hard time getting the puck out of their end, bringing their offense on-line and moving toward the other end of the ice. I’m not sure if there was a communal bucket of smelling salts in the dressing room in-between periods, but the boys came out a completely different team in the second. They were winning puck battles and face-offs and took those dumb side to side passes out of their game and started to put it up the ice. Kamloops took their foot off of the gas as the Giants put pedal to metal. In the third the Giants continued to play hard, but the Blazers woke up a bit and some PP chances and goals made it close, but credit the Vancouver boys for not giving in and getting some insurance on a PP of their own. Other than the first it is the kind of game the Giants have to play versus the Blazers, tough but not stupid.
Kamloops opened the scoring early in the first on the PP. Jared Rathjen weathered an onslaught for the remainder of the first holding his team in the hunt. The Giants woke up and found twine in the second. Some good hard work from Dalton Sward coming from behind the net got the boys on the board. Thomas Foster had the lone assist on the play. Cain Franson used a wrap-around move just over five minutes later, giving the Giants their first lead of the game. Carter Popoff and Taylor Vickerman got the helpers. Kamloops tied it up early in the third, but some good individual work by Brendan Rouse with an unassisted tally got the point back. Travis McEvoy added some insurance going to the net, with Carter Popoff and Blake Orban getting the assists on the play. The Blazers closed the gap on the PP a short time later. Rouse scored his second late in the game when the Giants got a PP of their own. Brett Kulak and Franson got the helpers on the play. The Giants have had a tough time holding onto leads and winning in the third this year, so this was a good game for them and many individuals brought their ‘A’ game once they woke up.
Team Notes: Wes Vannieuwenhuizen was back in the line-up after serving his suspension. Jackson Houck was scratched with a lower body injury and Reid Zalitach left the game after twisting his leg and going down awkwardly. They are afraid that Zalitach might have a knee-cap injury and be out for the remainder of the season, which would be sad as he has been playing his best hockey as of late and getting into a groove. Tyler Morrison moved up to forward in this one, but bounced back and forth when Zalitach went down and Atwal was in the box for an extended period of time.
Fight Night: Only one but it’s the kind of fight you like to see. Arvin Atwal v. Chase Souto. Souto lays a very questionable hit on Foster and Atwal takes him to task. Souto gets in most of the shots, but Atwal hung in there sticking up for his teammate. Souto should have got a major and game imo, for leaving his feet and intending to injure, but good for Atwal.
Zebra Cage: Mike Campbell and Jason Cramer balanced calls, but fairly gutless imo. I would like to have seen them take some dangerous plays to task more and stop rewarding cheap shots.
The Giants were badly out shot in the first period, but managed to claw back that stat and edge out the Blazers 38-37 by out-shooting the home team 30-18 in the final two frames. The Giants went 1 for 4 on the PP, but allowed the Blazers to pot 2 for 4. The PK wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t the best part of their game with a bit of bad luck thrown in. Other than the first period, the Giants played a solid game especially in their own end of the ice while still keeping some good pressure going in the Blazers end. They stopped pissing around with the puck and engaged a North-South game with an emphasis on going to the net. This is the kind of game they really should have been playing all season and taking it to the net creates chances and is exciting to watch for the fans.
Some really nice individual efforts in this one and with Houck out of the line-up it allowed a few guys to climb the depth chart and get a chance to play a line or two above their normal position. Thomas Foster showed some nice work and gave us a peek into the kind of player he should become and if he gets some good effective pounds on him in the off-season he could be a power-forward candidate. Taylor Vickerman also seems to be finding his game, got some good chances today and a good assist. It’s nice to see the young guys getting confidence, especially when they are given better ice time. Atwal was effective on the back-end. Orban was very good in his own end and had some good work in this game. McEvoy found twine going to the net and created some chances for himself. Sward continued to play his complete game, but again we see the kind of drive to the net we need to see all the time. Sward is getting to be a very good two-way forward and is dependable at both ends, but offensively he should be much better and I am hoping to see him potting in the 20 goal range next season if he really embraces his best game. Rouse seems to be feeling the final games getting close and is making the most of them in his last season in the Dub. His game tonight was solid and intense. Franson was all over the ice and unlucky not to have gotten more than just the one goal. I could go on as once the second period started there were few passengers. Still not sure how a team can, to a man, piss around for one period and then find their groove. It’s one of things about live sports and hockey especially and that thing called momentum that keeps me intensely interested.
Up Next: The Lethbridge Hurricanes come to town for Gordie Howe’s 85th birthday celebration game. Hopefully the Giants will fare better in their Gordie hockey sweaters in this one better than they did last Friday.
Three Stars
1. Jared Rathjen
2. Chase Souto
3. Brendan Rouse
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to Arvin Atwal. What can I say, I have a soft spot for players willing to stick up for their teammates and who play an intense game and that was Atwal.
Giants Quench Blazers
Vancouver 5 Kamloops 3
The only Giant to show up in the first period was (thankfully) their goalie, who had to turn away 18 shots allowing only one to get by him waiting for the rest of his team to shed their bus legs. The Giants were sloppy as hell in the first period and had a hard time getting the puck out of their end, bringing their offense on-line and moving toward the other end of the ice. I’m not sure if there was a communal bucket of smelling salts in the dressing room in-between periods, but the boys came out a completely different team in the second. They were winning puck battles and face-offs and took those dumb side to side passes out of their game and started to put it up the ice. Kamloops took their foot off of the gas as the Giants put pedal to metal. In the third the Giants continued to play hard, but the Blazers woke up a bit and some PP chances and goals made it close, but credit the Vancouver boys for not giving in and getting some insurance on a PP of their own. Other than the first it is the kind of game the Giants have to play versus the Blazers, tough but not stupid.
Kamloops opened the scoring early in the first on the PP. Jared Rathjen weathered an onslaught for the remainder of the first holding his team in the hunt. The Giants woke up and found twine in the second. Some good hard work from Dalton Sward coming from behind the net got the boys on the board. Thomas Foster had the lone assist on the play. Cain Franson used a wrap-around move just over five minutes later, giving the Giants their first lead of the game. Carter Popoff and Taylor Vickerman got the helpers. Kamloops tied it up early in the third, but some good individual work by Brendan Rouse with an unassisted tally got the point back. Travis McEvoy added some insurance going to the net, with Carter Popoff and Blake Orban getting the assists on the play. The Blazers closed the gap on the PP a short time later. Rouse scored his second late in the game when the Giants got a PP of their own. Brett Kulak and Franson got the helpers on the play. The Giants have had a tough time holding onto leads and winning in the third this year, so this was a good game for them and many individuals brought their ‘A’ game once they woke up.
Team Notes: Wes Vannieuwenhuizen was back in the line-up after serving his suspension. Jackson Houck was scratched with a lower body injury and Reid Zalitach left the game after twisting his leg and going down awkwardly. They are afraid that Zalitach might have a knee-cap injury and be out for the remainder of the season, which would be sad as he has been playing his best hockey as of late and getting into a groove. Tyler Morrison moved up to forward in this one, but bounced back and forth when Zalitach went down and Atwal was in the box for an extended period of time.
Fight Night: Only one but it’s the kind of fight you like to see. Arvin Atwal v. Chase Souto. Souto lays a very questionable hit on Foster and Atwal takes him to task. Souto gets in most of the shots, but Atwal hung in there sticking up for his teammate. Souto should have got a major and game imo, for leaving his feet and intending to injure, but good for Atwal.
Zebra Cage: Mike Campbell and Jason Cramer balanced calls, but fairly gutless imo. I would like to have seen them take some dangerous plays to task more and stop rewarding cheap shots.
The Giants were badly out shot in the first period, but managed to claw back that stat and edge out the Blazers 38-37 by out-shooting the home team 30-18 in the final two frames. The Giants went 1 for 4 on the PP, but allowed the Blazers to pot 2 for 4. The PK wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t the best part of their game with a bit of bad luck thrown in. Other than the first period, the Giants played a solid game especially in their own end of the ice while still keeping some good pressure going in the Blazers end. They stopped pissing around with the puck and engaged a North-South game with an emphasis on going to the net. This is the kind of game they really should have been playing all season and taking it to the net creates chances and is exciting to watch for the fans.
Some really nice individual efforts in this one and with Houck out of the line-up it allowed a few guys to climb the depth chart and get a chance to play a line or two above their normal position. Thomas Foster showed some nice work and gave us a peek into the kind of player he should become and if he gets some good effective pounds on him in the off-season he could be a power-forward candidate. Taylor Vickerman also seems to be finding his game, got some good chances today and a good assist. It’s nice to see the young guys getting confidence, especially when they are given better ice time. Atwal was effective on the back-end. Orban was very good in his own end and had some good work in this game. McEvoy found twine going to the net and created some chances for himself. Sward continued to play his complete game, but again we see the kind of drive to the net we need to see all the time. Sward is getting to be a very good two-way forward and is dependable at both ends, but offensively he should be much better and I am hoping to see him potting in the 20 goal range next season if he really embraces his best game. Rouse seems to be feeling the final games getting close and is making the most of them in his last season in the Dub. His game tonight was solid and intense. Franson was all over the ice and unlucky not to have gotten more than just the one goal. I could go on as once the second period started there were few passengers. Still not sure how a team can, to a man, piss around for one period and then find their groove. It’s one of things about live sports and hockey especially and that thing called momentum that keeps me intensely interested.
Up Next: The Lethbridge Hurricanes come to town for Gordie Howe’s 85th birthday celebration game. Hopefully the Giants will fare better in their Gordie hockey sweaters in this one better than they did last Friday.
Three Stars
1. Jared Rathjen
2. Chase Souto
3. Brendan Rouse
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to Arvin Atwal. What can I say, I have a soft spot for players willing to stick up for their teammates and who play an intense game and that was Atwal.