dondo
03-16-2013, 01:41 PM
Beware the Ides of March
Rockets Blast Giants
Vancouver 2 Kelowna 6
Sadly a fitting end at home for what has been a tough season all-around. A true re-building year. Some good assets with which to build and some high picks to bolster future rosters with some growth still to come. The arena was packed to the rafters. Literally. Over 14,000 people were there to watch the Giants stand around and then chase, leave their goalie high and dry and sleepwalk through the first 40 minutes giving the large crowd little to cheer about. Riding a 5 game home win streak the Gs just did not show up. When they finally realized they were up against a much better skilled team it was far too late. Payton Lee had to make some of the stops he let past him, but the blame cannot be totally laid at his feet as the Rockets were given excellent chances, often coming out of nowhere. A missed check, a stumble, a lazy player caught flat-footed saw the Giants fishing yet another puck out of their net. A pretty poor outing for their final home game, but oddly apropos considering the kind of season they have had.
A former Giant goalie who was badly managed and not given the chance to get any better last season, Jackson Whistle, was excellent between the pipes for Kelowna. Part of me has to feel good for Whistle who got his revenge the best way possible, by playing well and putting together a very respectable season with 15 wins, 2 losses, one OT loss and 1 shut-out. The Giants can be very short-sighted where goalies are concerned - content to put in an average older goalie in place of allowing a young tender to learn the position. You would think that after watching other successful WHL squads develop their young goalies, by playing them consistently behind a veteran instead of sporadically (often versus teams to whom they already expect to take a loss), that they would realize what it took to bring a young goalie along right. This is most definitely one of Don Hay’s blind-spots, playing a mediocre veteran over a young up and comer. Unless a young goalie bricks up the net early and instantly they rarely get enough starts for them find the confidence to grow and learn. Practice is fine, but young goalies need to play and the Giants need to acknowledge this and be prepared to give Lee a great shot at being the regular starter not just a good one.
The Rockets opened the scoring early capitalizing on a soft play by the Giants. Travis McEvoy tied it up a couple of minutes later on the PP after the first unit crapped out. The second unit had better effort and were actually sending players to the net, instead of passing around the perimeter. Wes Vannieuwenhuizen and Carter Popoff got the helpers on the play. The third line for the Giants seemed to be the only ones really trying to score. The other lines had forays, but traffic in front of the net was non-existent so Whistle saw most of the shots coming his way. Just over a minute after the PP marker the Giants coughed up the puck and gave a Rocket player his first goal of the season scoring it unassisted. Another minute, another bad give-away, another unassisted tally made it 3-1 for the Rockets less than mid-way through the opening frame. In the opening minutes of the second period the Rockets cashed in a PP. 28 seconds later the Rockets potted another one. Less than four minutes saw another puck bulge the twine for the Rockets. I have to say that that unassisted tally was scored by a very classless player who made a leap into the glass after scoring the Rockets 6th goal and his personal 23rd of the season. Rather pathetic if you ask me. Carter Popoff scored a hard-working goal off of a scramble in front of Whistle mid-third period. Several Giants on the third line had chances to get the goal as they kept swiping at the loose puck, but it finally came loose to Popoff who buried over a sprawled Whistle. Whistle had to make a bunch of big stops during the onslaught. Travis McEvoy and Tristan Sieben got the well-deserved assists. The three OA players for the Giants were given the three stars, as is usually tradition for WHL teams as a nod to their departing veterans in their final home game of their WHL careers. I like this tradition. Had real stars been given out though Whistle would have been top of the list.
Team Notes: Arvin Atwal was scratched in this one and Jake Kohlhauser was given a chance to play. Kohlhauser was rocked hard against the boards late in the game and left with unknown injuries. Jackson Houck also left the game with unknown damage. Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, Jason Trott and Brendan Rouse are the departing OA players with one more road game to play in Kelowna on Saturday to close out the season. Trott and Rouse were 20 yr old players acquired at the trade-deadline and came in with great attitudes and solid effort when it would have been easy to just phone it in.
Fight Night: Blake Orban v. Dylan McKinley – more of a wrestling match as the players tied each other up early, a few punches and then a take down along the boards by Orban. With the score the way it was, I was hoping the Giants might drop the mitts more and although there were a few intense scrums there were no other fights.
Zebra Cage: Jason Cramer and Colin Watt. Colin Watt had some serious small-man issues it appeared to me and Cramer is mostly useless. The calls were neither consistent nor good and yet a few more dangerous plays were let go by the way-side. Massive scrums, in which players were arbitrarily plucked out for the sin bin and late hits with some retaliation, garnered a single call when two were warranted. The refs most definitely wanted to be noticed in this one. They were. They sucked.
The Giants badly out shot the Rockets in the game 41-26 and although they had more shots I would say the chances were fairly even. The Giants really had little concerted effort until the third when it was clear to me the Rockets backed off. Whistle was pulled after the 6th goal and Jared Rathjen faced only 6 shots for the rest of the game. The Giants went 1 for 6 on the PP, while holding the Rockets to 1 for 5, but when you are letting in three separate quick, unassisted, tallies you know the opposition’s PP isn’t your biggest concern.
The Rockets goals came quick, seemingly out of nowhere and spread evenly through their line-up. Puck luck, that ephemeral commodity, was on the Rockets side in this game. Pucks would pop over Giants sticks and settle onto the Rocket’s twigs, but puck luck tends to follow the hardest working team and the Rockets earned their goals. The Giants consistently lost other puck battles and got caught separating themselves as individuals tried to get back into the game. Houck and Dalton Sward and Cain Franson all had their chances, but it was rarely team play.
The Giants lacked puck support for the majority of the game and never came into the zone in numbers until the latter half of the third. Their PP was played around the edges and it frustrated the crap out of me that no-one went and stood in front of the net. No-one. It’s clear they were being coached this way, but their PP system hasn’t worked all season gave up more SH’d markers than any other team in the league so why continue to do what clearly doesn’t work? It’s details like this that were consistently being missed throughout this game and this season.
It’s easy to say “they are young”, but much harder to reassess your own biases and change your way of thinking, upgrade your perception and find different ways to accomplish your goals as a coach and a franchise. Don’t get me wrong, this is a very young team who do have a lot to learn, but the team as a whole might do well adopting a bit of creativity and begin to think laterally instead of linearly. Pushing themselves outside the norm and expected and discover a better way to develop and motivate.
Next Up: The final game of the regular season, ending one of the first big rebuilds of the franchise and rough season to show for it. The Giants made it respectable toward the end though getting over 20 wins and winning five straight at home recently. The Giants head up the road to Kelowna to take on the Rockets in the Giants last game as they rest at the bottom of the league standings. I expect a bit more effort from the boys in Kelowna. Cain Franson will be looking to score his 30th of the season tonight.
Three Stars
1. Wes Vannieuwenhuizen
2. Jason Trott
3. Brendan Rouse
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to – Travis McEvoy – good effort every shift; greasy PP marker and a hard-working assist on Popoff’s marker. Honourable mention to Popoff and Tristan Sieben as part of that line the only ones with consistent puck hunger all night.
Rockets Blast Giants
Vancouver 2 Kelowna 6
Sadly a fitting end at home for what has been a tough season all-around. A true re-building year. Some good assets with which to build and some high picks to bolster future rosters with some growth still to come. The arena was packed to the rafters. Literally. Over 14,000 people were there to watch the Giants stand around and then chase, leave their goalie high and dry and sleepwalk through the first 40 minutes giving the large crowd little to cheer about. Riding a 5 game home win streak the Gs just did not show up. When they finally realized they were up against a much better skilled team it was far too late. Payton Lee had to make some of the stops he let past him, but the blame cannot be totally laid at his feet as the Rockets were given excellent chances, often coming out of nowhere. A missed check, a stumble, a lazy player caught flat-footed saw the Giants fishing yet another puck out of their net. A pretty poor outing for their final home game, but oddly apropos considering the kind of season they have had.
A former Giant goalie who was badly managed and not given the chance to get any better last season, Jackson Whistle, was excellent between the pipes for Kelowna. Part of me has to feel good for Whistle who got his revenge the best way possible, by playing well and putting together a very respectable season with 15 wins, 2 losses, one OT loss and 1 shut-out. The Giants can be very short-sighted where goalies are concerned - content to put in an average older goalie in place of allowing a young tender to learn the position. You would think that after watching other successful WHL squads develop their young goalies, by playing them consistently behind a veteran instead of sporadically (often versus teams to whom they already expect to take a loss), that they would realize what it took to bring a young goalie along right. This is most definitely one of Don Hay’s blind-spots, playing a mediocre veteran over a young up and comer. Unless a young goalie bricks up the net early and instantly they rarely get enough starts for them find the confidence to grow and learn. Practice is fine, but young goalies need to play and the Giants need to acknowledge this and be prepared to give Lee a great shot at being the regular starter not just a good one.
The Rockets opened the scoring early capitalizing on a soft play by the Giants. Travis McEvoy tied it up a couple of minutes later on the PP after the first unit crapped out. The second unit had better effort and were actually sending players to the net, instead of passing around the perimeter. Wes Vannieuwenhuizen and Carter Popoff got the helpers on the play. The third line for the Giants seemed to be the only ones really trying to score. The other lines had forays, but traffic in front of the net was non-existent so Whistle saw most of the shots coming his way. Just over a minute after the PP marker the Giants coughed up the puck and gave a Rocket player his first goal of the season scoring it unassisted. Another minute, another bad give-away, another unassisted tally made it 3-1 for the Rockets less than mid-way through the opening frame. In the opening minutes of the second period the Rockets cashed in a PP. 28 seconds later the Rockets potted another one. Less than four minutes saw another puck bulge the twine for the Rockets. I have to say that that unassisted tally was scored by a very classless player who made a leap into the glass after scoring the Rockets 6th goal and his personal 23rd of the season. Rather pathetic if you ask me. Carter Popoff scored a hard-working goal off of a scramble in front of Whistle mid-third period. Several Giants on the third line had chances to get the goal as they kept swiping at the loose puck, but it finally came loose to Popoff who buried over a sprawled Whistle. Whistle had to make a bunch of big stops during the onslaught. Travis McEvoy and Tristan Sieben got the well-deserved assists. The three OA players for the Giants were given the three stars, as is usually tradition for WHL teams as a nod to their departing veterans in their final home game of their WHL careers. I like this tradition. Had real stars been given out though Whistle would have been top of the list.
Team Notes: Arvin Atwal was scratched in this one and Jake Kohlhauser was given a chance to play. Kohlhauser was rocked hard against the boards late in the game and left with unknown injuries. Jackson Houck also left the game with unknown damage. Wes Vannieuwenhuizen, Jason Trott and Brendan Rouse are the departing OA players with one more road game to play in Kelowna on Saturday to close out the season. Trott and Rouse were 20 yr old players acquired at the trade-deadline and came in with great attitudes and solid effort when it would have been easy to just phone it in.
Fight Night: Blake Orban v. Dylan McKinley – more of a wrestling match as the players tied each other up early, a few punches and then a take down along the boards by Orban. With the score the way it was, I was hoping the Giants might drop the mitts more and although there were a few intense scrums there were no other fights.
Zebra Cage: Jason Cramer and Colin Watt. Colin Watt had some serious small-man issues it appeared to me and Cramer is mostly useless. The calls were neither consistent nor good and yet a few more dangerous plays were let go by the way-side. Massive scrums, in which players were arbitrarily plucked out for the sin bin and late hits with some retaliation, garnered a single call when two were warranted. The refs most definitely wanted to be noticed in this one. They were. They sucked.
The Giants badly out shot the Rockets in the game 41-26 and although they had more shots I would say the chances were fairly even. The Giants really had little concerted effort until the third when it was clear to me the Rockets backed off. Whistle was pulled after the 6th goal and Jared Rathjen faced only 6 shots for the rest of the game. The Giants went 1 for 6 on the PP, while holding the Rockets to 1 for 5, but when you are letting in three separate quick, unassisted, tallies you know the opposition’s PP isn’t your biggest concern.
The Rockets goals came quick, seemingly out of nowhere and spread evenly through their line-up. Puck luck, that ephemeral commodity, was on the Rockets side in this game. Pucks would pop over Giants sticks and settle onto the Rocket’s twigs, but puck luck tends to follow the hardest working team and the Rockets earned their goals. The Giants consistently lost other puck battles and got caught separating themselves as individuals tried to get back into the game. Houck and Dalton Sward and Cain Franson all had their chances, but it was rarely team play.
The Giants lacked puck support for the majority of the game and never came into the zone in numbers until the latter half of the third. Their PP was played around the edges and it frustrated the crap out of me that no-one went and stood in front of the net. No-one. It’s clear they were being coached this way, but their PP system hasn’t worked all season gave up more SH’d markers than any other team in the league so why continue to do what clearly doesn’t work? It’s details like this that were consistently being missed throughout this game and this season.
It’s easy to say “they are young”, but much harder to reassess your own biases and change your way of thinking, upgrade your perception and find different ways to accomplish your goals as a coach and a franchise. Don’t get me wrong, this is a very young team who do have a lot to learn, but the team as a whole might do well adopting a bit of creativity and begin to think laterally instead of linearly. Pushing themselves outside the norm and expected and discover a better way to develop and motivate.
Next Up: The final game of the regular season, ending one of the first big rebuilds of the franchise and rough season to show for it. The Giants made it respectable toward the end though getting over 20 wins and winning five straight at home recently. The Giants head up the road to Kelowna to take on the Rockets in the Giants last game as they rest at the bottom of the league standings. I expect a bit more effort from the boys in Kelowna. Cain Franson will be looking to score his 30th of the season tonight.
Three Stars
1. Wes Vannieuwenhuizen
2. Jason Trott
3. Brendan Rouse
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to – Travis McEvoy – good effort every shift; greasy PP marker and a hard-working assist on Popoff’s marker. Honourable mention to Popoff and Tristan Sieben as part of that line the only ones with consistent puck hunger all night.