dondo
11-10-2013, 01:59 AM
The Giants took advantage of a tired and sloppy Cougars squad.
Giants Crush Cats
Vancouver 5 Prince George 1
Not the prettiest hockey and the Cougars were pretty awful in their own end, but it was good for the Giants to rebound with a high scoring affair after being shut-out by Edmonton on Tuesday. The Giants did not come out in the first very well. Their first shift of the game was a mess, as they got caught scrambling in their own end. They were lucky not to have given up an early goal. After tying the opening frame the hometown boys stepped it up in the second scoring 3 unanswered tallies and chasing Ty Edmonds from the net after their third goal of the game. Edmonds was replaced by Brett Zarowny who gave up one before the end of the middle frame. The Giants continued to roll in the third, keeping on the pressure and adding another insurance marker for a convincing win.
Brett Kulak opened the scoring on the PP at 5:20 of the opening frame. Carter Popoff and Cain Franson had the helpers on the play. Late in the period and late in their PP chance the Giants got sloppy and the Cougars made them pay. A shot from the point was tipped in the slot, finding its way past Payton Lee. The Giants stepped it up in the second getting consistent pressure in the Cougars end of the ice. Early in the period Joel Hamilton and Thomas Foster had some pressure down low. A pass across the crease found Dmitry Osipov who picked the far side with a nice quick snapper from the face-off circle. It was the Russian defenseman’s first WHL goal and ended up being the game-winner. Jackson Houck had a tap-in a few minutes later as the puck went to the open side. Houck had the presence of mind to stop it with his skate, kick it up to his stick and deposit it into the open cage. Ty Ronning and Arvin Atwal were in on the goal. Kulak found twine again on the PP just past the mid-point of the period. Once again Popoff and Franson had the extra points. In the third Tim Traber found twine coming in off the wing on a bad angle. He squeaked a shot through Zarowny on the short side. The Giants held on for the win shutting the Cougars down the rest of the way.
Team Notes: Dalton Thrower is out day to day and did not play in this game, nor will he play on Monday in Everett. The hope is that he’ll suit up on the weekend as the Giants have back-to-back home games. Thrower was levelled with his head down behind his own net in the game versus Edmonton. Ast, Cooke and Trzonkowski were still out the line-up signing autographs for the fans between periods in the concourse of the Coliseum. The Giants have not lost to the Cougars yet this season and have been doing a good job beating teams below or near them in the standings. They currently sit 8th in the West.
Rookie Watch: Osipov scored a goal and was a +1. I liked the puck hunger Ronning had tonight. Eder was mostly invisible, unfortunately, but did stick up for a team-mate at one point. Atwal had an assist and was a +2. Baer had some good ice-time, but wasn’t able to capitalize.
Fight Night: There might have been a fight called, as gloves were dropped a couple of times, but only roughings were called.
Zebra Cage: Jeff Ingram and Sean Raphael. I think the zebra’s silk panties were a bit tight tonight and might have been chafing, because the first was littered with the softest most precious calls ever. The Cougars were undisciplined, but I felt a bunch of the calls on both sides were pretty soft.
The Giants out shot the Cougars 40-22. They went 2 for 8 with the man advantage, but squandered too many of those chances with over-passing and sloppy puck support. As Hay said in the post game show, they should have gone 4 for 8 tonight as they left great chances out there on the ice. The Cougars really were a mess tonight and despite the lop-sided score it could and should have been even more lop-sided had the Giants taken the shot carrying the puck to net instead of trying low percentage passes. The Giants allowed 1 goal on the PK, holding the Cougars to 1 for 5 by the end.
Dalton Sward had some chances and two semi-breakaways, but could not find the back of the net. Hay was saying that if his hands ever catch up with his feet watch-out. I still expect more from him and hope he can grow during the season. The kind of effort he put in tonight is a good start. I liked Osipov’s game tonight for the most part. He had a couple of defensive gaffes, but good recoveries and better puck hunger. Franson needs to shoot. He’s a sniper. Too many times he was working to the front of the net only to dish it off. I’d much rather see the shot and then driving the net. Houck was around the net, but I would have loved to see that every shift and a bit more intense. I liked Popoff’s game, puck hungry and not afraid to fore-check. Mason Geertsen played a smart shut-down game, making safer plays and working hard in his own end of the ice.
The boys left a few too many juicy rebounds in front of their net before clearing them out of harms way. I’m sure some of you reading this are going, “we won why are you picking at the guys?” I pick because we were playing a poor team, playing more poorly than they actually capable of. There were too many soft plays in our own end of the ice that better teams would have buried, so the boys have to be better at boxing out and clearing the front of the net. That said: the Giants work around their own net tonight was tenacious and they were quick to clear those loose pucks most of the time.
I also liked how the Giants stuck up for their team-mates tonight. This was a chippy game with lots of scrums after the whistle. The Gs did not back down from the physical stuff and although the Cougars are not a big team per se they know how to mix it up. There should have been a couple of fights in this game, but the linesmen frequently got in the way. Not a trend I want to see in the Dub.
The Giants take on the Silvertips in Everett in a holiday afternoon tilt on Monday. Thrower will not make the trip. The Tips have gotten better at shut down hockey these days, so the Giants are going to have to not let themselves get pushed around and really grind it out in the Tips end. The Vancouver boys really need to be responsible with the puck as well, as the Tips love to take advantage of turnovers. The puck drops at 2:05 PST at the Comcast Events Centre.
Three Stars
1. Brett Kulak
2. Jackson Houck
3. Dmitry Osipov
Dondo’s Doghouse: Eder was a +1, but I really need to see more from this player. It might be a matter of getting comfortable and some confidence, but he’s playing softer than he should be in this league.
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to Brett Kulak – two goals and a +2, but played a very complete game for all 200 feet. He did not take shifts off and gets better with each outing. After his sag last season and how he started this year, I did not expect him to rediscover his best game but he has and he seems to be enjoying his #1 role as the Giants top D-man.
Giants Crush Cats
Vancouver 5 Prince George 1
Not the prettiest hockey and the Cougars were pretty awful in their own end, but it was good for the Giants to rebound with a high scoring affair after being shut-out by Edmonton on Tuesday. The Giants did not come out in the first very well. Their first shift of the game was a mess, as they got caught scrambling in their own end. They were lucky not to have given up an early goal. After tying the opening frame the hometown boys stepped it up in the second scoring 3 unanswered tallies and chasing Ty Edmonds from the net after their third goal of the game. Edmonds was replaced by Brett Zarowny who gave up one before the end of the middle frame. The Giants continued to roll in the third, keeping on the pressure and adding another insurance marker for a convincing win.
Brett Kulak opened the scoring on the PP at 5:20 of the opening frame. Carter Popoff and Cain Franson had the helpers on the play. Late in the period and late in their PP chance the Giants got sloppy and the Cougars made them pay. A shot from the point was tipped in the slot, finding its way past Payton Lee. The Giants stepped it up in the second getting consistent pressure in the Cougars end of the ice. Early in the period Joel Hamilton and Thomas Foster had some pressure down low. A pass across the crease found Dmitry Osipov who picked the far side with a nice quick snapper from the face-off circle. It was the Russian defenseman’s first WHL goal and ended up being the game-winner. Jackson Houck had a tap-in a few minutes later as the puck went to the open side. Houck had the presence of mind to stop it with his skate, kick it up to his stick and deposit it into the open cage. Ty Ronning and Arvin Atwal were in on the goal. Kulak found twine again on the PP just past the mid-point of the period. Once again Popoff and Franson had the extra points. In the third Tim Traber found twine coming in off the wing on a bad angle. He squeaked a shot through Zarowny on the short side. The Giants held on for the win shutting the Cougars down the rest of the way.
Team Notes: Dalton Thrower is out day to day and did not play in this game, nor will he play on Monday in Everett. The hope is that he’ll suit up on the weekend as the Giants have back-to-back home games. Thrower was levelled with his head down behind his own net in the game versus Edmonton. Ast, Cooke and Trzonkowski were still out the line-up signing autographs for the fans between periods in the concourse of the Coliseum. The Giants have not lost to the Cougars yet this season and have been doing a good job beating teams below or near them in the standings. They currently sit 8th in the West.
Rookie Watch: Osipov scored a goal and was a +1. I liked the puck hunger Ronning had tonight. Eder was mostly invisible, unfortunately, but did stick up for a team-mate at one point. Atwal had an assist and was a +2. Baer had some good ice-time, but wasn’t able to capitalize.
Fight Night: There might have been a fight called, as gloves were dropped a couple of times, but only roughings were called.
Zebra Cage: Jeff Ingram and Sean Raphael. I think the zebra’s silk panties were a bit tight tonight and might have been chafing, because the first was littered with the softest most precious calls ever. The Cougars were undisciplined, but I felt a bunch of the calls on both sides were pretty soft.
The Giants out shot the Cougars 40-22. They went 2 for 8 with the man advantage, but squandered too many of those chances with over-passing and sloppy puck support. As Hay said in the post game show, they should have gone 4 for 8 tonight as they left great chances out there on the ice. The Cougars really were a mess tonight and despite the lop-sided score it could and should have been even more lop-sided had the Giants taken the shot carrying the puck to net instead of trying low percentage passes. The Giants allowed 1 goal on the PK, holding the Cougars to 1 for 5 by the end.
Dalton Sward had some chances and two semi-breakaways, but could not find the back of the net. Hay was saying that if his hands ever catch up with his feet watch-out. I still expect more from him and hope he can grow during the season. The kind of effort he put in tonight is a good start. I liked Osipov’s game tonight for the most part. He had a couple of defensive gaffes, but good recoveries and better puck hunger. Franson needs to shoot. He’s a sniper. Too many times he was working to the front of the net only to dish it off. I’d much rather see the shot and then driving the net. Houck was around the net, but I would have loved to see that every shift and a bit more intense. I liked Popoff’s game, puck hungry and not afraid to fore-check. Mason Geertsen played a smart shut-down game, making safer plays and working hard in his own end of the ice.
The boys left a few too many juicy rebounds in front of their net before clearing them out of harms way. I’m sure some of you reading this are going, “we won why are you picking at the guys?” I pick because we were playing a poor team, playing more poorly than they actually capable of. There were too many soft plays in our own end of the ice that better teams would have buried, so the boys have to be better at boxing out and clearing the front of the net. That said: the Giants work around their own net tonight was tenacious and they were quick to clear those loose pucks most of the time.
I also liked how the Giants stuck up for their team-mates tonight. This was a chippy game with lots of scrums after the whistle. The Gs did not back down from the physical stuff and although the Cougars are not a big team per se they know how to mix it up. There should have been a couple of fights in this game, but the linesmen frequently got in the way. Not a trend I want to see in the Dub.
The Giants take on the Silvertips in Everett in a holiday afternoon tilt on Monday. Thrower will not make the trip. The Tips have gotten better at shut down hockey these days, so the Giants are going to have to not let themselves get pushed around and really grind it out in the Tips end. The Vancouver boys really need to be responsible with the puck as well, as the Tips love to take advantage of turnovers. The puck drops at 2:05 PST at the Comcast Events Centre.
Three Stars
1. Brett Kulak
2. Jackson Houck
3. Dmitry Osipov
Dondo’s Doghouse: Eder was a +1, but I really need to see more from this player. It might be a matter of getting comfortable and some confidence, but he’s playing softer than he should be in this league.
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to Brett Kulak – two goals and a +2, but played a very complete game for all 200 feet. He did not take shifts off and gets better with each outing. After his sag last season and how he started this year, I did not expect him to rediscover his best game but he has and he seems to be enjoying his #1 role as the Giants top D-man.