dondo
11-22-2014, 02:44 AM
I just realized that Odger's name is Dakota not Dalton :o Boogaard'd -- it's a shame, because it made for a good thing to write. Ah well I'm leaving it as it is on the blog - my bad - where it says Dalton Odgers, insert Dakota :p ;)
Also: Man! was that bad hockey and combined with headache inducing young "fans" randomly screaming - it just got worse as the game progressed. I never leave games early and usually stay for the three stars, but I was sorely tempted to bail early on this one. I should have. Ugh.
Pats Ravage Giants
Vancouver 2 Regina 6
The Giants played one amazing, focused, intense half of a period. Yes, one half of a period – and I am being generous. They were up 2-0 early in the first and looked to be rolling. Tyler Benson scored a very nice goal cutting across the crease. Jackson Houck squeaked one through Daniel Wapple on a PP rush. The crowd was into it, the Giants had 10 shots to the Pats 0 and getting great chances and then the wheels came off. The Pats scored on their very first shot, bouncing a shot from behind the net off of Payton Lee for an awful goal. That woke them up and the Pats continued to gain momentum, eventually scoring late in the period to tie the game. The Giants had as usual a poor 2nd period, but then instead of bouncing back they were even worse in the third period. The home team coughed up two more in the second and then 2 more in the third, one of which came in the last minute of the final frame to really put the boots to the boys and their fans. It was a painful game to watch which was exacerbated by young fans behind screaming for no purpose and mindlessly chanting go Giants go in the most monotone yet high pitch 40 minute steady stream of blather. By the end of the game my head was pounding and the play on the ice was not helping.
Benson opened the scoring 1:57 into the game, off of Matt Bellerive. Houck drove down the centre of the ice and squeezed the puck between Wapple’s arm and body. Carter Popoff and Dmitry Osipov got the helpers. After that it was all Regina. Bad goal bounced off of Lee from behind the net on the Pats first shot of the game. The boys actually visibly sagged after that goal and the momentum just switched. Held off the shot sheet and score-sheet up until that point - the whole game flipped. Regina added one more to tie the game in the last couple of minutes of the opening frame. In the second the Giants were losing the puck battles and not reacting quickly enough. The Pats scored a PP marker mid-period. That goal chased Lee from the net, as it felt as if Troy G. Ward was sending a message more to his team than his goaltender. Cody Porter was solid in relief early on, but eventually the Pats were given too many chances. Porter was finally beat when the puck was turned over and a Pats forward blew past two Giants defenders who didn’t even have time to turn and chase before he was past and in on Porter.
In the third the Pats scored a goal while sitting on the goalie. The officials would argue that the Giants defender bumped the Regina player onto Porter, but the reality was that it was more of a slight nudge and the Pats players used the opportunity to sprawl on the goaltender. It should have been waived off, but then the officiating in this game, such as it was, is a whole other issue. Regina found the back of the net with 29 seconds left in the game and that really was an insult. It wasn’t a bad goal, just very disappointing.
Trade Ticker: The Giants acquired Dalton Thrower’s little brother Josh for Tyler Morrison and a 2nd round pick from Tri-City. I feel like we paid a bit too much for the Thrower name, but the kid is supposed to be a solid stay at home defender who is tough to play against. His numbers are poor, but he’s 18 and if he is even 75% as good as his brother, he will be a steal. I suspect closer to 50% as good, but we’ll see. The Gs also dealt a 5th round pick for Dalton Odgers, so we got a Dalton and a Thrower, but not a Dalton Thrower. Dalton is ex-NHLer Jeff Odgers boy. Odgers is also 18 and supposed to add grit and toughness to the line-up. Not exactly hulking at 5’11” 182, but he looks kind of fireplug-like and solid. I saw one good hard check from him in the game though. His numbers are invisible, so if he doesn’t bring that heavy McEvoy kind of game, then he won’t be worth the 5th. At least they are doing something.
Team Notes: Arvin Atwal will be out of the line-up for the foreseeable future with an injury and with Josh Thrower not able to make tonight’s game in time, the Giants dressed five D-men and loaded on some minutes to blue-liners not ready for that amount of time. Benson was back on the game roster and made an impact early. I found it odd how Ward didn’t play him very much, relying mainly on his top line of Houck, Popoff and Hamilton. Also odd was some number switching. Josh will wear his brother’s #47, so Bobylev was wearing #32. I wonder what happened there and if they asked him or just told him that he needed a different number. I would think that Josh would want a different number to define himself as someone other than his brother, but meh. We also had Brennan Menell wearing #21 and unless he was a huge Borje Salming fan, then dumping a very good defenseman #3 for #21 makes no sense to me. Atwal opting for #20 over the nice defenseman #6 he wore last year also makes no sense to me. Ryley McKinstry (still wearing #26 I believe) is still out of the line-up with an injury.
Fight Night: Dalton Sward v Luc Smith – Sward was given an extra roughing penalty for something that looked pretty mutual to me, but I didn’t see the whole thing. Sward had the jersey half pulled up on Smith and tried to find the target, but Smith kept swinging. The linesmen broke it up when Sward got the real upper-hand.
Zebra Cage: Sean Raphael – bad solo effort, missed a bunch and called some pretty cheesy ones. Sward had his stick broken with a slash and no call. Porter was sat upon as the loose puck was passed across the crease, no call. Osipov was given a kneeing call for what was more of an open ice hip check. Admittedly it did look a bit odd, but still the consistency and lack of awareness was disappointing.
The Giants were out shot 29-27. The boys opened the game with 10 unanswered shots and then got on the schnide. They managed a pathetic 4 shots in the second period and 8 shots in the third when there should have been a push back. Both teams went 1 for 4 with the man advantage.
That was some ugly hockey. It was interesting listening to Ward during the post-game show as he put a few things in perspective. Taking a good deal of the blame himself he also was saying that the he and the boys are really not capable of rebounding if they get into that slump mode and that they all need to find a way to climb out of those holes. He was also saying that for the Giants to break out their current doldrums they will need one of their goalies to steal a game, as Porter did in Seattle. I find it odd that the guys started out the season playing a puck possession game and really pressing in the offensive zone with a forecheck and now they seem happy to dump and sort of chase. I’m not sure if the boys need better work ethic or just need to re-examine how they approach the game, but being mired in last in the West means that they need some sort of shake-up.
I’m really not sure why the players could not reset and bring the same game they brought in the first 9 minutes. Were the Pats just that flat, or were the boys motivated early on and then lacked that same motivation as the game continued. Make no mistake, other than the first part of the first they played absolutely awful hockey. They had no break-out. They did not support the puck and lost all of the battles along the boards. We saw flashes from individuals, but not consistently and no momentum building shift by shift. We are not an elite team by any stretch, but we are better than that. Part of the issue was definitely some blue-liners playing more minutes than they usually would and not being ready to make that jump. Without Atwal and the Morrison trade the Giants D are less experienced and apt to make more positional errors and that was evident tonight. At times it was almost unwatchable and that should never happen. I have got to see teamwork and effort with players willing to pay the price. This was also game three in four nights and could have had an effect on a depleted line-up.
They have another kick at the can tomorrow night as the Cougars come to town. You never know what you are going to get with a Cougars game. The Giants have demolished them 9-1 and 6-1, but the teams have had 2-1 games and 6-1 games the other way. They are usually fairly entertaining though and they are developing a bit of hate on for each other so that bodes well for some intensity. The game will be the fourth in five nights. Josh Thrower will make his Giants debut. Benson will have cleared off some of the rust and maybe have more impact. Hopefully we’ll see more of Odger’s purported nasty side.
The puck drops at 7pm at the Coliseum on Saturday and I have no idea what we are going to get. Hopefully more than 9 minutes of good hockey.
Three Stars
1. Dryden Hunt
2. Tyler Benson (the best choice, but no Giant should have been a star)
3. Austin Wagner
Put them all in the doghouse, including the coaching staff. Let’s hope I don’t see that crappy of a game ever again. The Pats goalie was not that good, he was definitely beatable but the boys needed some effort, any effort. I’m too sad to be angry right now, so very disappointing.
Also: Man! was that bad hockey and combined with headache inducing young "fans" randomly screaming - it just got worse as the game progressed. I never leave games early and usually stay for the three stars, but I was sorely tempted to bail early on this one. I should have. Ugh.
Pats Ravage Giants
Vancouver 2 Regina 6
The Giants played one amazing, focused, intense half of a period. Yes, one half of a period – and I am being generous. They were up 2-0 early in the first and looked to be rolling. Tyler Benson scored a very nice goal cutting across the crease. Jackson Houck squeaked one through Daniel Wapple on a PP rush. The crowd was into it, the Giants had 10 shots to the Pats 0 and getting great chances and then the wheels came off. The Pats scored on their very first shot, bouncing a shot from behind the net off of Payton Lee for an awful goal. That woke them up and the Pats continued to gain momentum, eventually scoring late in the period to tie the game. The Giants had as usual a poor 2nd period, but then instead of bouncing back they were even worse in the third period. The home team coughed up two more in the second and then 2 more in the third, one of which came in the last minute of the final frame to really put the boots to the boys and their fans. It was a painful game to watch which was exacerbated by young fans behind screaming for no purpose and mindlessly chanting go Giants go in the most monotone yet high pitch 40 minute steady stream of blather. By the end of the game my head was pounding and the play on the ice was not helping.
Benson opened the scoring 1:57 into the game, off of Matt Bellerive. Houck drove down the centre of the ice and squeezed the puck between Wapple’s arm and body. Carter Popoff and Dmitry Osipov got the helpers. After that it was all Regina. Bad goal bounced off of Lee from behind the net on the Pats first shot of the game. The boys actually visibly sagged after that goal and the momentum just switched. Held off the shot sheet and score-sheet up until that point - the whole game flipped. Regina added one more to tie the game in the last couple of minutes of the opening frame. In the second the Giants were losing the puck battles and not reacting quickly enough. The Pats scored a PP marker mid-period. That goal chased Lee from the net, as it felt as if Troy G. Ward was sending a message more to his team than his goaltender. Cody Porter was solid in relief early on, but eventually the Pats were given too many chances. Porter was finally beat when the puck was turned over and a Pats forward blew past two Giants defenders who didn’t even have time to turn and chase before he was past and in on Porter.
In the third the Pats scored a goal while sitting on the goalie. The officials would argue that the Giants defender bumped the Regina player onto Porter, but the reality was that it was more of a slight nudge and the Pats players used the opportunity to sprawl on the goaltender. It should have been waived off, but then the officiating in this game, such as it was, is a whole other issue. Regina found the back of the net with 29 seconds left in the game and that really was an insult. It wasn’t a bad goal, just very disappointing.
Trade Ticker: The Giants acquired Dalton Thrower’s little brother Josh for Tyler Morrison and a 2nd round pick from Tri-City. I feel like we paid a bit too much for the Thrower name, but the kid is supposed to be a solid stay at home defender who is tough to play against. His numbers are poor, but he’s 18 and if he is even 75% as good as his brother, he will be a steal. I suspect closer to 50% as good, but we’ll see. The Gs also dealt a 5th round pick for Dalton Odgers, so we got a Dalton and a Thrower, but not a Dalton Thrower. Dalton is ex-NHLer Jeff Odgers boy. Odgers is also 18 and supposed to add grit and toughness to the line-up. Not exactly hulking at 5’11” 182, but he looks kind of fireplug-like and solid. I saw one good hard check from him in the game though. His numbers are invisible, so if he doesn’t bring that heavy McEvoy kind of game, then he won’t be worth the 5th. At least they are doing something.
Team Notes: Arvin Atwal will be out of the line-up for the foreseeable future with an injury and with Josh Thrower not able to make tonight’s game in time, the Giants dressed five D-men and loaded on some minutes to blue-liners not ready for that amount of time. Benson was back on the game roster and made an impact early. I found it odd how Ward didn’t play him very much, relying mainly on his top line of Houck, Popoff and Hamilton. Also odd was some number switching. Josh will wear his brother’s #47, so Bobylev was wearing #32. I wonder what happened there and if they asked him or just told him that he needed a different number. I would think that Josh would want a different number to define himself as someone other than his brother, but meh. We also had Brennan Menell wearing #21 and unless he was a huge Borje Salming fan, then dumping a very good defenseman #3 for #21 makes no sense to me. Atwal opting for #20 over the nice defenseman #6 he wore last year also makes no sense to me. Ryley McKinstry (still wearing #26 I believe) is still out of the line-up with an injury.
Fight Night: Dalton Sward v Luc Smith – Sward was given an extra roughing penalty for something that looked pretty mutual to me, but I didn’t see the whole thing. Sward had the jersey half pulled up on Smith and tried to find the target, but Smith kept swinging. The linesmen broke it up when Sward got the real upper-hand.
Zebra Cage: Sean Raphael – bad solo effort, missed a bunch and called some pretty cheesy ones. Sward had his stick broken with a slash and no call. Porter was sat upon as the loose puck was passed across the crease, no call. Osipov was given a kneeing call for what was more of an open ice hip check. Admittedly it did look a bit odd, but still the consistency and lack of awareness was disappointing.
The Giants were out shot 29-27. The boys opened the game with 10 unanswered shots and then got on the schnide. They managed a pathetic 4 shots in the second period and 8 shots in the third when there should have been a push back. Both teams went 1 for 4 with the man advantage.
That was some ugly hockey. It was interesting listening to Ward during the post-game show as he put a few things in perspective. Taking a good deal of the blame himself he also was saying that the he and the boys are really not capable of rebounding if they get into that slump mode and that they all need to find a way to climb out of those holes. He was also saying that for the Giants to break out their current doldrums they will need one of their goalies to steal a game, as Porter did in Seattle. I find it odd that the guys started out the season playing a puck possession game and really pressing in the offensive zone with a forecheck and now they seem happy to dump and sort of chase. I’m not sure if the boys need better work ethic or just need to re-examine how they approach the game, but being mired in last in the West means that they need some sort of shake-up.
I’m really not sure why the players could not reset and bring the same game they brought in the first 9 minutes. Were the Pats just that flat, or were the boys motivated early on and then lacked that same motivation as the game continued. Make no mistake, other than the first part of the first they played absolutely awful hockey. They had no break-out. They did not support the puck and lost all of the battles along the boards. We saw flashes from individuals, but not consistently and no momentum building shift by shift. We are not an elite team by any stretch, but we are better than that. Part of the issue was definitely some blue-liners playing more minutes than they usually would and not being ready to make that jump. Without Atwal and the Morrison trade the Giants D are less experienced and apt to make more positional errors and that was evident tonight. At times it was almost unwatchable and that should never happen. I have got to see teamwork and effort with players willing to pay the price. This was also game three in four nights and could have had an effect on a depleted line-up.
They have another kick at the can tomorrow night as the Cougars come to town. You never know what you are going to get with a Cougars game. The Giants have demolished them 9-1 and 6-1, but the teams have had 2-1 games and 6-1 games the other way. They are usually fairly entertaining though and they are developing a bit of hate on for each other so that bodes well for some intensity. The game will be the fourth in five nights. Josh Thrower will make his Giants debut. Benson will have cleared off some of the rust and maybe have more impact. Hopefully we’ll see more of Odger’s purported nasty side.
The puck drops at 7pm at the Coliseum on Saturday and I have no idea what we are going to get. Hopefully more than 9 minutes of good hockey.
Three Stars
1. Dryden Hunt
2. Tyler Benson (the best choice, but no Giant should have been a star)
3. Austin Wagner
Put them all in the doghouse, including the coaching staff. Let’s hope I don’t see that crappy of a game ever again. The Pats goalie was not that good, he was definitely beatable but the boys needed some effort, any effort. I’m too sad to be angry right now, so very disappointing.