dondo
09-26-2013, 01:04 AM
Sure take the loss, but don't allow easy goals - the TBirds were handed tallies on a platter
T-Birds Bury Giants
Vancouver 0 Seattle 6
A pretty sad outing to be broadcast on Shaw.
The Giants were hoping to take the momentum they gained in Victoria back home and get their first home victory of the season, but they barely even showed up let alone competed. According to Hay they had a good week of practice, but their practice evidently did not translate to game worthy. It was actually a bad night for all of the home teams in dub tonight as all three road teams scored 6 goals with The Royals being the only team to avoid the blank, getting a single goal in their home tilt. Road Teams 18 - Home Teams 1, very odd. That said the Giants squandered most every opportunity and lacked any sort of compete at the Coliseum tonight. The bigger Seattle players were able to muscle most every Giant off of the puck as the home town kids did not use their speed to cancel out the size differential. Lots of individual efforts for naught as the G’s gifted a shut-out to a 17 yr old rookie goalie.
The Giants dodged a bullet early as Payton Lee dived across the net snagging a puck on the goal line, which resulted in a goal being called back upon review. The T-Birds managed to get one behind Lee by the end of the first period; a rocket short-side. The Giants looked ineffectual, but managing in the opening frame, but blew up badly in the second leaving loose pucks and players on the doorstep. Lee left a few juicy rebounds out front, but got no help on the back-check as his boys stood around and watched the Seattle players glide onto loose pucks and easily flip them past him. The G’s had a terrible time breaking out of their own zone as they did not seem to even understand the concept of puck support. They lacked hustle, lost most puck battles and allowed themselves to be meekly worked off of pucks they should have had. They never really made it tough for the Seattle ‘tender, who was good but not great and left a few juicy rebounds himself, but the difference was that the Thunderbirds were good at boxing out and clearing loose pucks from the front of their net painfully easily. The T-Birds scored four goals in the second, chasing Lee from the net on their fourth and scoring their fifth on Jared Rathjen off of the first shot with a juicy rebound to the open side. They added one more in the third, wheeling and firing a blind shot from the corner that slipped past Rathjen. Two awful goals allowed by the former Victoria Royal netminder when the team needed something to build upon. 17 yr old goaltender Danny Mumaugh garnered his first WHL shut-out.
Team Notes: Mason Geertson was in the concourse nursing a shoulder injury and signing autographs. Beside him was Dmitry Osipov signing autographs between periods as well. No word on whether Osipov was a healthy scratch, but considering the level of shoddy defensive work tonight he couldn’t have been any more of a liability and is bigger than a lot of our D-men especially against a big team like Seattle. Dalton Sward and Rob Trzonkowski left the game in the first with injuries. Scott Cooke, Luca Leone and Travis McEvoy (a player they really could have used tonight) continue to be day to day and more. The Giants are going to have a tough time icing enough forwards for Friday’s tilt versus the Tips. They might have to move a couple of D-men into forward slots. Players like Zalitach and Atwal come to mind.
Rookie Watch: Ty Ronning had some jump tonight, but like the other smaller forwards on the Giants had a tough time getting through the redwood traffic and lacked support from his line-mates. Andreas Eder is fast and skilled, but incredibly soft. He did more fly-bys on hits than a seagull attempting to steal Granville Island patron food. I need to see him use his size to better advantage and at the very least to box out and protect the puck, but he couldn’t even do that. Alec Baer, was another undersized player who could not find his way through traffic. Jake Kohlhauser was soft on the puck and did not use his size well either. He ended up a –2 on the night.
Fight Night: Branden Trook v Blake Orban – Orban grabbed a Seattle player from behind around the head and then was taken to task by Trook up against the boards. Orban took the worst of the fight. Orban was given 5 for fighting and 2 for roughing, while Trook got 2 for instigating and 5 for fighting.
Zebra Cage: Jeff Ingram and Fraser Lawrence, called a lot, but none of it seemed unreasonable and was mostly consistent. The linesmen however were pretty poor with questionable off-sides and very late whistles.
The Giants were out shot 39-31, with the Giants getting more shots in garbage time than during the moments where they might have gained some momentum. They went 0 for 7 on the PP, while the T-Birds were 1 for 4. The Giants badly squandered their man-advantage opportunities and out and out wasted a short 5 on 3 chance by over-passing and getting way too cute with the puck. The boys suffered from over-complicating their game, making extra passes into traffic and failing to play the simple shot and crash game they should be adopting, especially versus a young netminder.
The Giants got caught at times trying to do too much individually. It might be a home ice effect needing to shine and be seen, but in the end it backfired. They lacked puck support, were not able to break out of their zone with momentum and were easily stripped of the biscuit.
I liked Tim Traber’s game early as he made a few nice moves with the puck and was one of the few finishing his checks. I felt he vanished a bit in the second, but came back well in the third. Carter Popoff carried a big minus tonight getting caught trying to make pretty plays and coughing up the puck. However, he and Anthony Ast were two of the few players actually going to the net with the puck. Cain Franson was simply invisible. Jackson Houck also carried big minuses and although he had some forays, he was far too sloppy. Dalton Sward was hitting in the first before leaving the ice with an unknown injury. I had hopes for Trzonkowski being an impact player in this tilt before seeing him skate off the ice with a limp.
I have to vent about something that has been bugging me. I think a third round pick for Joel Hamilton from Red Deer was a massive waste. He’s been a minus in every game so far and I can see why. He’s a cherry-picking kind of player who does not back-check. I see him as this year’s Greg Lamoureux, a player I despised and someone I was surprised to see stay on the team or be given the kinds of chances other far more worthy players deserved. Hamilton strikes me as a player that has skills, but isn’t willing to pay the price. Maybe he’ll change my mind, but watching him float through this game does not make me hopeful.
Our defense were soft and porous and spent far too much time waving their sticks at opposing players instead of boxing out, running them down and taking the body. I was pleased to see some smart safe plays up the boards, but then I’d see long cross-ice passes which were just begging to be picked off. This was especially apparent during PPs. I was also happy not to see the passive neutral zone trap, but I suspect that is more from not having the time to set it up than a real change in coaching strategy. We have all of these offensive defensemen who seem happier passing than actually taking a shot. On the PP, we have got to start putting pucks on net from the point, if they are blocking the slapper then a well-placed wrist shot can, at the very least, create havoc around the net.
Not too many positives tonight as the Giants left their goaltenders high and dry, did not hustle back on the back-check in numbers and were not maintaining puck possession whether it was along the boards or open ice. I thought the boys played soft going in for hits, turning their backs to the play far too frequently and consistently getting beat and out-manoeuvred by hungrier players. Not one of our skill players were able to look dangerous tonight and although Mumaugh had to make a few great stops, they were few and far between. I suspect that having a short bench due to injury took its toll in the third period.
The Giants have a day to give their heads a collective shake and figure out the kind of team they want to be and the kind of game they want to play before taking on the much improved Everett Silvertips on Friday. The Tips have Kevin Constantine back behind the bench, so expect stifling trap hockey and the need to battle through obstruction to get to the net. The puck drops at the Coliseum on Friday at 7:30pm.
Three Stars
1. Alexander Delnov
2. Connor Honey
3. Danny Mumaugh
Dondos Doghouse: It might be full to bursting tonight, but I have to say that Joel Hamilton’s game frustrated me the most. I did not see him back-checking and he frequently made dumb passes into traffic. If he was a 17 yr old I might be giving him more of a benefit of the doubt, but for a 19 yr old player to play that kind of game is unacceptable at this level. Maybe he has some offensive chops, but I have yet to see it and for now he’s a liability not an asset. Franson and Houck both have to do more, they are much better than they showed tonight.
Dondo’s Hardhat: I felt Tim Traber battled the hardest tonight. In the first he had some great offensive forays, he maintained puck possession better than most and actually looked dangerous at times. Honourable mention to Ty Ronning who really was too small for this particular game, but ended up being the only player who played the whole game who was not carrying a minus.
T-Birds Bury Giants
Vancouver 0 Seattle 6
A pretty sad outing to be broadcast on Shaw.
The Giants were hoping to take the momentum they gained in Victoria back home and get their first home victory of the season, but they barely even showed up let alone competed. According to Hay they had a good week of practice, but their practice evidently did not translate to game worthy. It was actually a bad night for all of the home teams in dub tonight as all three road teams scored 6 goals with The Royals being the only team to avoid the blank, getting a single goal in their home tilt. Road Teams 18 - Home Teams 1, very odd. That said the Giants squandered most every opportunity and lacked any sort of compete at the Coliseum tonight. The bigger Seattle players were able to muscle most every Giant off of the puck as the home town kids did not use their speed to cancel out the size differential. Lots of individual efforts for naught as the G’s gifted a shut-out to a 17 yr old rookie goalie.
The Giants dodged a bullet early as Payton Lee dived across the net snagging a puck on the goal line, which resulted in a goal being called back upon review. The T-Birds managed to get one behind Lee by the end of the first period; a rocket short-side. The Giants looked ineffectual, but managing in the opening frame, but blew up badly in the second leaving loose pucks and players on the doorstep. Lee left a few juicy rebounds out front, but got no help on the back-check as his boys stood around and watched the Seattle players glide onto loose pucks and easily flip them past him. The G’s had a terrible time breaking out of their own zone as they did not seem to even understand the concept of puck support. They lacked hustle, lost most puck battles and allowed themselves to be meekly worked off of pucks they should have had. They never really made it tough for the Seattle ‘tender, who was good but not great and left a few juicy rebounds himself, but the difference was that the Thunderbirds were good at boxing out and clearing loose pucks from the front of their net painfully easily. The T-Birds scored four goals in the second, chasing Lee from the net on their fourth and scoring their fifth on Jared Rathjen off of the first shot with a juicy rebound to the open side. They added one more in the third, wheeling and firing a blind shot from the corner that slipped past Rathjen. Two awful goals allowed by the former Victoria Royal netminder when the team needed something to build upon. 17 yr old goaltender Danny Mumaugh garnered his first WHL shut-out.
Team Notes: Mason Geertson was in the concourse nursing a shoulder injury and signing autographs. Beside him was Dmitry Osipov signing autographs between periods as well. No word on whether Osipov was a healthy scratch, but considering the level of shoddy defensive work tonight he couldn’t have been any more of a liability and is bigger than a lot of our D-men especially against a big team like Seattle. Dalton Sward and Rob Trzonkowski left the game in the first with injuries. Scott Cooke, Luca Leone and Travis McEvoy (a player they really could have used tonight) continue to be day to day and more. The Giants are going to have a tough time icing enough forwards for Friday’s tilt versus the Tips. They might have to move a couple of D-men into forward slots. Players like Zalitach and Atwal come to mind.
Rookie Watch: Ty Ronning had some jump tonight, but like the other smaller forwards on the Giants had a tough time getting through the redwood traffic and lacked support from his line-mates. Andreas Eder is fast and skilled, but incredibly soft. He did more fly-bys on hits than a seagull attempting to steal Granville Island patron food. I need to see him use his size to better advantage and at the very least to box out and protect the puck, but he couldn’t even do that. Alec Baer, was another undersized player who could not find his way through traffic. Jake Kohlhauser was soft on the puck and did not use his size well either. He ended up a –2 on the night.
Fight Night: Branden Trook v Blake Orban – Orban grabbed a Seattle player from behind around the head and then was taken to task by Trook up against the boards. Orban took the worst of the fight. Orban was given 5 for fighting and 2 for roughing, while Trook got 2 for instigating and 5 for fighting.
Zebra Cage: Jeff Ingram and Fraser Lawrence, called a lot, but none of it seemed unreasonable and was mostly consistent. The linesmen however were pretty poor with questionable off-sides and very late whistles.
The Giants were out shot 39-31, with the Giants getting more shots in garbage time than during the moments where they might have gained some momentum. They went 0 for 7 on the PP, while the T-Birds were 1 for 4. The Giants badly squandered their man-advantage opportunities and out and out wasted a short 5 on 3 chance by over-passing and getting way too cute with the puck. The boys suffered from over-complicating their game, making extra passes into traffic and failing to play the simple shot and crash game they should be adopting, especially versus a young netminder.
The Giants got caught at times trying to do too much individually. It might be a home ice effect needing to shine and be seen, but in the end it backfired. They lacked puck support, were not able to break out of their zone with momentum and were easily stripped of the biscuit.
I liked Tim Traber’s game early as he made a few nice moves with the puck and was one of the few finishing his checks. I felt he vanished a bit in the second, but came back well in the third. Carter Popoff carried a big minus tonight getting caught trying to make pretty plays and coughing up the puck. However, he and Anthony Ast were two of the few players actually going to the net with the puck. Cain Franson was simply invisible. Jackson Houck also carried big minuses and although he had some forays, he was far too sloppy. Dalton Sward was hitting in the first before leaving the ice with an unknown injury. I had hopes for Trzonkowski being an impact player in this tilt before seeing him skate off the ice with a limp.
I have to vent about something that has been bugging me. I think a third round pick for Joel Hamilton from Red Deer was a massive waste. He’s been a minus in every game so far and I can see why. He’s a cherry-picking kind of player who does not back-check. I see him as this year’s Greg Lamoureux, a player I despised and someone I was surprised to see stay on the team or be given the kinds of chances other far more worthy players deserved. Hamilton strikes me as a player that has skills, but isn’t willing to pay the price. Maybe he’ll change my mind, but watching him float through this game does not make me hopeful.
Our defense were soft and porous and spent far too much time waving their sticks at opposing players instead of boxing out, running them down and taking the body. I was pleased to see some smart safe plays up the boards, but then I’d see long cross-ice passes which were just begging to be picked off. This was especially apparent during PPs. I was also happy not to see the passive neutral zone trap, but I suspect that is more from not having the time to set it up than a real change in coaching strategy. We have all of these offensive defensemen who seem happier passing than actually taking a shot. On the PP, we have got to start putting pucks on net from the point, if they are blocking the slapper then a well-placed wrist shot can, at the very least, create havoc around the net.
Not too many positives tonight as the Giants left their goaltenders high and dry, did not hustle back on the back-check in numbers and were not maintaining puck possession whether it was along the boards or open ice. I thought the boys played soft going in for hits, turning their backs to the play far too frequently and consistently getting beat and out-manoeuvred by hungrier players. Not one of our skill players were able to look dangerous tonight and although Mumaugh had to make a few great stops, they were few and far between. I suspect that having a short bench due to injury took its toll in the third period.
The Giants have a day to give their heads a collective shake and figure out the kind of team they want to be and the kind of game they want to play before taking on the much improved Everett Silvertips on Friday. The Tips have Kevin Constantine back behind the bench, so expect stifling trap hockey and the need to battle through obstruction to get to the net. The puck drops at the Coliseum on Friday at 7:30pm.
Three Stars
1. Alexander Delnov
2. Connor Honey
3. Danny Mumaugh
Dondos Doghouse: It might be full to bursting tonight, but I have to say that Joel Hamilton’s game frustrated me the most. I did not see him back-checking and he frequently made dumb passes into traffic. If he was a 17 yr old I might be giving him more of a benefit of the doubt, but for a 19 yr old player to play that kind of game is unacceptable at this level. Maybe he has some offensive chops, but I have yet to see it and for now he’s a liability not an asset. Franson and Houck both have to do more, they are much better than they showed tonight.
Dondo’s Hardhat: I felt Tim Traber battled the hardest tonight. In the first he had some great offensive forays, he maintained puck possession better than most and actually looked dangerous at times. Honourable mention to Ty Ronning who really was too small for this particular game, but ended up being the only player who played the whole game who was not carrying a minus.