dondo
12-16-2013, 01:11 AM
Timing off and out-worked.
Cougars Chew Giants
Vancouver 1 Prince George 3 EN
One of those games where the Giants had a lot of effort, just unfocused and ineffective. Part of that came from the Cougars who were hungrier for the puck in the game while bringing intense pressure and preventing the Giants from making plays. Payton Lee was soft early, but much better as the game went along. The zebras didn’t help matters in this one as they overstepped their bounds and lacked consistency. The Giants lost Dalton Thrower to a major penalty early in the third (and a game so he could be looking at further suspension for something that did not appear to be vicious or an intent to injure). The G-Men killed that penalty allowing zero shots on goal for the entire five minutes short-handed. Losing Thrower for the game hampered the Giants ability to really push for the tying marker and it was not to be. Ty Edmonds was solid between the pipes, but the Giants never really forced him to make brilliant stops. Better effort really battling for those loose pucks might have turned the tide.
The Giants opened the scoring as Carter Popoff stripped the puck in the neutral zone, drove hard to the net and showed incredible patience to out-wait the Cougar net-minder deftly slipping across the crease and depositing the puck into the open cage. The goal came unassisted and was the only marker the Giants would put past Edmonds. The Cats scored two quick ones early in the second period. Neither goal came on the man or even two-man advantage. The Giants started a real push back peppering the Cougar net with 25 shots in the middle frame. Losing Thrower early in the third hurt the Gs, but it did not stop them from trying hard. The problem was that their timing was off, their passes off the mark and they were not quick enough to make plays before being mobbed by Cougar players. There were rebounds in front of Edmonds, but the Cougars did an excellent job of boxing out. Cats added an empty-netter with seconds left.
Team Notes: Dalton Sward was scratched, for what reason I am unsure as they could have used him in this game. Mason Geertsen served his third game of a three game suspension and should be ready to go after the holiday break. Major penalty and a game for Thrower; could carry additional suspensions.
Rookie Watch: Ronning was scratched. Baer had a few good shifts. Tyler Benson played his second game as a Giant. He was given a third star and although he was good driving to the net and played hard, it was not star worthy in my estimation. Osipov was decent, not very noticeable to me, which might be a good thing.
Fight Night: nada
Zebra Cage: Kevin Bennett and Mark Pearce – they were frustrating. I was surprised to see the PP chances even at the end of the game, because it felt poor and lop-sided. They let a ton go and then called cheesy crap. They should have turned in their orange stripes for red noses for this one as they were a couple of clowns. The linesmen had big trouble as well, figuring out when to waive off an icing, how to drop a puck and what off-side looks like. Really poor officiating across the board from my perspective.
The Giants out shot the Cougars 42-26. Neither team cashed in their PP chances as they both went 0 for 4. I’m not sure if Popoff left the ice in the third period as he seemed to be out there every time I looked up. Kulak was good and Orban had some very good shifts and a poor turnover which resulted in a goal. After a couple of great games versus the Silvertips this game was a let-down as it was more about how they got their chances and the fact they were mostly from the outside and not getting to loose pucks. Credit the Cougars for not wanting to lose this one and battling to make it so.
Christmas break for the boys and the coaches now until December 28th. The Rockets come to town for a tilt. Puck drops at 7pm PST.
Three Stars
1. Ty Edmonds
2. Brett Kulak
3. Tyler Benson
Dondo’s Doghouse: a couple of minuses for Trace Elson (peeks into doghouse)
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to – Carter Popoff only goal scorer, but effort all over the ice and although he suffered from some of the poor timing plaguing his team-mates, he had some solid chances.
Cougars Chew Giants
Vancouver 1 Prince George 3 EN
One of those games where the Giants had a lot of effort, just unfocused and ineffective. Part of that came from the Cougars who were hungrier for the puck in the game while bringing intense pressure and preventing the Giants from making plays. Payton Lee was soft early, but much better as the game went along. The zebras didn’t help matters in this one as they overstepped their bounds and lacked consistency. The Giants lost Dalton Thrower to a major penalty early in the third (and a game so he could be looking at further suspension for something that did not appear to be vicious or an intent to injure). The G-Men killed that penalty allowing zero shots on goal for the entire five minutes short-handed. Losing Thrower for the game hampered the Giants ability to really push for the tying marker and it was not to be. Ty Edmonds was solid between the pipes, but the Giants never really forced him to make brilliant stops. Better effort really battling for those loose pucks might have turned the tide.
The Giants opened the scoring as Carter Popoff stripped the puck in the neutral zone, drove hard to the net and showed incredible patience to out-wait the Cougar net-minder deftly slipping across the crease and depositing the puck into the open cage. The goal came unassisted and was the only marker the Giants would put past Edmonds. The Cats scored two quick ones early in the second period. Neither goal came on the man or even two-man advantage. The Giants started a real push back peppering the Cougar net with 25 shots in the middle frame. Losing Thrower early in the third hurt the Gs, but it did not stop them from trying hard. The problem was that their timing was off, their passes off the mark and they were not quick enough to make plays before being mobbed by Cougar players. There were rebounds in front of Edmonds, but the Cougars did an excellent job of boxing out. Cats added an empty-netter with seconds left.
Team Notes: Dalton Sward was scratched, for what reason I am unsure as they could have used him in this game. Mason Geertsen served his third game of a three game suspension and should be ready to go after the holiday break. Major penalty and a game for Thrower; could carry additional suspensions.
Rookie Watch: Ronning was scratched. Baer had a few good shifts. Tyler Benson played his second game as a Giant. He was given a third star and although he was good driving to the net and played hard, it was not star worthy in my estimation. Osipov was decent, not very noticeable to me, which might be a good thing.
Fight Night: nada
Zebra Cage: Kevin Bennett and Mark Pearce – they were frustrating. I was surprised to see the PP chances even at the end of the game, because it felt poor and lop-sided. They let a ton go and then called cheesy crap. They should have turned in their orange stripes for red noses for this one as they were a couple of clowns. The linesmen had big trouble as well, figuring out when to waive off an icing, how to drop a puck and what off-side looks like. Really poor officiating across the board from my perspective.
The Giants out shot the Cougars 42-26. Neither team cashed in their PP chances as they both went 0 for 4. I’m not sure if Popoff left the ice in the third period as he seemed to be out there every time I looked up. Kulak was good and Orban had some very good shifts and a poor turnover which resulted in a goal. After a couple of great games versus the Silvertips this game was a let-down as it was more about how they got their chances and the fact they were mostly from the outside and not getting to loose pucks. Credit the Cougars for not wanting to lose this one and battling to make it so.
Christmas break for the boys and the coaches now until December 28th. The Rockets come to town for a tilt. Puck drops at 7pm PST.
Three Stars
1. Ty Edmonds
2. Brett Kulak
3. Tyler Benson
Dondo’s Doghouse: a couple of minuses for Trace Elson (peeks into doghouse)
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to – Carter Popoff only goal scorer, but effort all over the ice and although he suffered from some of the poor timing plaguing his team-mates, he had some solid chances.