dondo
10-19-2013, 01:11 AM
I freely admit that I would never have predicted this final score. The boys held onto their lead throughout and shut down the Blazers, limiting quality chances. I hope the boys will use this as a turning point and not slip back too far come Wednesday.
Giants Stomp Blazers
Vancouver 5 Kamloops 1
Giants get their first home victory of the season, their second win over-all and snap an 8 game winless streak (other wise known as a losing streak). It wasn’t what I would call the prettiest of games, but the boys managed to keep the pressure on for the majority of the game and limit quality chances on their own net. Payton Lee was not required to make any heroic stops for the win. The boys were still sloppy with the puck and in a lot of cases forced to do things as individuals as the puck support disappeared frequently. On the plus side they consistently went to the net and while they might have been too guilty of that extra pass (esp on the PP), most of the squad beared down and fought for the biscuit.
Tim Traber opened the scoring at 2:20 of the opening frame. Picking up a rebound off of a Brett Kulak shot and finding twine. Joel Hamilton got the other helper. The Blazers ‘tender went down when his own player clipped him around the head in a fly-by accidental collision a bit later. Bolton Pouliot lay motionless face-down for some time, before being helped off the ice. Taran Kozun took his place just under 7 minutes into the game. Dalton Thrower added a PP marker 13 seconds into a man-advantage early in the second, drifting a puck toward the net and beating the goalie low. Cain Franson got the lone assist. Ty Ronning potted one in the opening minute of the third, taking a feed from behind the net by Carter Popoff, with Kulak getting the second assist. Kulak scored a goal of his own a little later, off of Popoff and Franson. Alec Baer scored a fifth straight goal for the G-Men mid-way through the third, off of some gritty puck battling by Travis McEvoy. Just over a minute later a suspect hit behind the Giants net lead to a scramble in front with the loose puck being potted by the Blazers, breaking Lee’s shutout bid. The Giants did what they could not do on the road, hang onto a lead and shut the door for a convincing win.
Team Notes: Tall yet thin 19 yr old Trent Lofthouse played his first game as a Giant after being acquired by the Gs from the Royals for an 8th round 2014 pick. Lofthouse was wearing #25 and seemed a bit tentative at times to me. I personally did not like how he avoided physical play, but for an 8th what do you expect? Travis McEvoy was back off the IR, but still not 100% according to Hay he kept his shifts short and effective. His assist came off of some good puck hunger. Sward and Atwal are still injured and while Scott Cooke just got his cast taken off he is still 2-3 weeks away from suiting up.
Rookie Watch: I saw a simpler game from Osipov that I liked, he had some nice pinches and took a few good shots. I really want to like Eder, but man is he soft. He got tapped from behind, which was a penalty, but then lay on the ice like he had just got his head lopped off. I know it’s early and he’s young, but I hope he gets at least the spirit of the North American game soon. Ty Ronning had some good shifts and nice goal from the slot. Alec Baer had a nice goal of his own from the slot.
Fight Night: Tim Traber v. Sam Grist – the two locked horns in the third, with Traber being dwarfed by the massive Grist. Grist got shots in early, but Traber battled back before Grist got the take-down. Blake Orban v. Tim Bozon - Bozon got the instigator with the fight being more of wrestling match than a toe to toe punchfest.
Zebra Cage: Pat Smith and Nick Swaine – I saw Swaine specifically let a lot of stuff go happening right in front of him – pretty obvious infractions to me. In general they let them play, but missed a bunch of pick plays and deliberate obstruction. It was just okay and not terribly consistent.
The Giants out shot the Blazers in all three periods ending up at 38-24. The Gs went 1 for 6 on the PP, but were given a very late 5 on 3 chance with time ticking down when the refs decided to “manage the game”, so the numbers are a bit skewed. The Blazers were held to 0 for 3. A much better outing, obviously, than their past several tilts but the Giants still have a lot of work to do. The Blazers were definitely guilty of breakdowns in their own end of the ice and were slow to loose pucks. I would like to say it was all Giants hunger, but it was a combination of a listless Blazers squad allowing easy access to loose pucks and the net. Very similar to the Giants when they decide to dial back the intensity. Tonight they didn’t dial it back, they kept the pressure on, brought numbers into the offensive zone and were rewarded for their efforts. I hope they remember this and that some of the players who did not give their all tonight begin to step up their games as well.
There were still a few Giants passengers just floating by in the game though, lacking the back-check hustle and waiting for the puck to come out instead of going back to provide some puck support. I hate to say that Jackson Houck was by far the worst offender. He played a soft, listless game and only skated when he felt he really had a need. His numbers were as bland as his game. This is one of the players I consider(ed) to be a leader on this team, but since being drafted it feels as if he’s too good for the WHL or something. To be effective he cannot float and he has been coasting in the games I have watched this season. Houck should be a Martinook or Machacek player using his size and skill to get to the front of the net and grind out hard-won pucks. Also Franson continues to be snake-bit in the goal column and although he made some very nice passing plays tonight, I felt overall his game too was still a few steps below his level last season. Kulak had one of the smartest games I have seen from him in recent memory and Hay in the post-game talk thought it was his best game in two years, back in his 17 yr old season. He got a solid and effective three points by working hard and making simple plays, while still bringing a dangerous game in the offensive zone. He was also skating better than I have seen in a while.
The Giants have a few days off before the Calgary Hitmen come to town. Hopefully the boys will have learned something from this game and bring it forward into the tilt on Wednesday. The puck drops at 7pm PDT at the Coliseum on the 23rd.
Three Stars
1. Brett Kulak
2. Alec Baer
3. Dalton Thrower (the WHL site has Lee, but Thrower was the star called at the arena)
Dondo’s Doghouse: Sadly I have to put Houck into the doghouse as I saw very little tonight to cheer about from him and caught him coasting a ton. I hope he works his way out soon.
Dondo’s Hardhat: Brett Kulak – best game I have seen from him in some time. Every time I looked up I saw him almost ahead of the forwards coming in on the rush and frequently he was carrying the puck in himself. He made smart and simple plays and reduced the soft flip passes from his game. There was effort and he was rewarded, with 1G 2A and a +3 on the night.
Giants Stomp Blazers
Vancouver 5 Kamloops 1
Giants get their first home victory of the season, their second win over-all and snap an 8 game winless streak (other wise known as a losing streak). It wasn’t what I would call the prettiest of games, but the boys managed to keep the pressure on for the majority of the game and limit quality chances on their own net. Payton Lee was not required to make any heroic stops for the win. The boys were still sloppy with the puck and in a lot of cases forced to do things as individuals as the puck support disappeared frequently. On the plus side they consistently went to the net and while they might have been too guilty of that extra pass (esp on the PP), most of the squad beared down and fought for the biscuit.
Tim Traber opened the scoring at 2:20 of the opening frame. Picking up a rebound off of a Brett Kulak shot and finding twine. Joel Hamilton got the other helper. The Blazers ‘tender went down when his own player clipped him around the head in a fly-by accidental collision a bit later. Bolton Pouliot lay motionless face-down for some time, before being helped off the ice. Taran Kozun took his place just under 7 minutes into the game. Dalton Thrower added a PP marker 13 seconds into a man-advantage early in the second, drifting a puck toward the net and beating the goalie low. Cain Franson got the lone assist. Ty Ronning potted one in the opening minute of the third, taking a feed from behind the net by Carter Popoff, with Kulak getting the second assist. Kulak scored a goal of his own a little later, off of Popoff and Franson. Alec Baer scored a fifth straight goal for the G-Men mid-way through the third, off of some gritty puck battling by Travis McEvoy. Just over a minute later a suspect hit behind the Giants net lead to a scramble in front with the loose puck being potted by the Blazers, breaking Lee’s shutout bid. The Giants did what they could not do on the road, hang onto a lead and shut the door for a convincing win.
Team Notes: Tall yet thin 19 yr old Trent Lofthouse played his first game as a Giant after being acquired by the Gs from the Royals for an 8th round 2014 pick. Lofthouse was wearing #25 and seemed a bit tentative at times to me. I personally did not like how he avoided physical play, but for an 8th what do you expect? Travis McEvoy was back off the IR, but still not 100% according to Hay he kept his shifts short and effective. His assist came off of some good puck hunger. Sward and Atwal are still injured and while Scott Cooke just got his cast taken off he is still 2-3 weeks away from suiting up.
Rookie Watch: I saw a simpler game from Osipov that I liked, he had some nice pinches and took a few good shots. I really want to like Eder, but man is he soft. He got tapped from behind, which was a penalty, but then lay on the ice like he had just got his head lopped off. I know it’s early and he’s young, but I hope he gets at least the spirit of the North American game soon. Ty Ronning had some good shifts and nice goal from the slot. Alec Baer had a nice goal of his own from the slot.
Fight Night: Tim Traber v. Sam Grist – the two locked horns in the third, with Traber being dwarfed by the massive Grist. Grist got shots in early, but Traber battled back before Grist got the take-down. Blake Orban v. Tim Bozon - Bozon got the instigator with the fight being more of wrestling match than a toe to toe punchfest.
Zebra Cage: Pat Smith and Nick Swaine – I saw Swaine specifically let a lot of stuff go happening right in front of him – pretty obvious infractions to me. In general they let them play, but missed a bunch of pick plays and deliberate obstruction. It was just okay and not terribly consistent.
The Giants out shot the Blazers in all three periods ending up at 38-24. The Gs went 1 for 6 on the PP, but were given a very late 5 on 3 chance with time ticking down when the refs decided to “manage the game”, so the numbers are a bit skewed. The Blazers were held to 0 for 3. A much better outing, obviously, than their past several tilts but the Giants still have a lot of work to do. The Blazers were definitely guilty of breakdowns in their own end of the ice and were slow to loose pucks. I would like to say it was all Giants hunger, but it was a combination of a listless Blazers squad allowing easy access to loose pucks and the net. Very similar to the Giants when they decide to dial back the intensity. Tonight they didn’t dial it back, they kept the pressure on, brought numbers into the offensive zone and were rewarded for their efforts. I hope they remember this and that some of the players who did not give their all tonight begin to step up their games as well.
There were still a few Giants passengers just floating by in the game though, lacking the back-check hustle and waiting for the puck to come out instead of going back to provide some puck support. I hate to say that Jackson Houck was by far the worst offender. He played a soft, listless game and only skated when he felt he really had a need. His numbers were as bland as his game. This is one of the players I consider(ed) to be a leader on this team, but since being drafted it feels as if he’s too good for the WHL or something. To be effective he cannot float and he has been coasting in the games I have watched this season. Houck should be a Martinook or Machacek player using his size and skill to get to the front of the net and grind out hard-won pucks. Also Franson continues to be snake-bit in the goal column and although he made some very nice passing plays tonight, I felt overall his game too was still a few steps below his level last season. Kulak had one of the smartest games I have seen from him in recent memory and Hay in the post-game talk thought it was his best game in two years, back in his 17 yr old season. He got a solid and effective three points by working hard and making simple plays, while still bringing a dangerous game in the offensive zone. He was also skating better than I have seen in a while.
The Giants have a few days off before the Calgary Hitmen come to town. Hopefully the boys will have learned something from this game and bring it forward into the tilt on Wednesday. The puck drops at 7pm PDT at the Coliseum on the 23rd.
Three Stars
1. Brett Kulak
2. Alec Baer
3. Dalton Thrower (the WHL site has Lee, but Thrower was the star called at the arena)
Dondo’s Doghouse: Sadly I have to put Houck into the doghouse as I saw very little tonight to cheer about from him and caught him coasting a ton. I hope he works his way out soon.
Dondo’s Hardhat: Brett Kulak – best game I have seen from him in some time. Every time I looked up I saw him almost ahead of the forwards coming in on the rush and frequently he was carrying the puck in himself. He made smart and simple plays and reduced the soft flip passes from his game. There was effort and he was rewarded, with 1G 2A and a +3 on the night.