dondo
12-07-2014, 01:30 AM
Kind of a mess of a game, but the fans had a good time. Freaked out Claude Noel a bit though :laugh:
Giants Blunt Blades
Vancouver 3 Saskatoon 2 OT/SO
It was an odd game and I think that Claude Noel had a great handle on the game. He was saying that last night he saw a disciplined team playing more of a system game with puck support and defensive responsibility; tonight was team wanting to score the teddy bear goal at all costs who played in their defensive zone like they wanted to be playing in the other zone. I was wondering was I was watching and that was pretty much bang-on. There was no lack of effort, but it was scrambly and disjointed. We had a ton of chances on net, but none of the really stellar variety. The Blades goalie was solid, but was never required to be excellent despite turning aside 38 of 40 in regulation time and OT. It was funny listening to Noel who seemed to me to be still a bit shell-shocked after his first Teddy Toss experience. He seemed confused and amused by the players taking pictures with bears and the whole drama around that first goal by the home team, flying bears and media scrums on the ice. Eventually he put his foot down and gathered his players to the bench on hopes of re-focusing them. The team got their chances on the net and worked in the offensive zone, but it felt like every man for himself to me as opposed to a unified team game.
The Giants came out with energy in the first and mostly dominated the opening frame, but could not solve Blades 1B Nik Amundrud. As many chances as they got the Giants still lacked a cohesive focus. The Blades finally broke the scoreless draw on the PP in the second scoring a less than stellar goal against Lee. Two Giants players went to the boards to challenge a puck carrier leaving the front of the net wide-open and the Blades capitalized. The goal sucked some energy out the building, but didn’t slow the boys down from at least trying. The Giants didn’t find the back of the net until 2:18 of the third when Jackson Houck found twine behind the Blades tender off of Carter Popoff and Arvin Atwal. The bears flew and flew – 5 minutes of flying bears of all varieties littered the ice. Always a spectacle to behold and a fun time was had by all in attendance. Saskatoon took another lead just past the mid-way mark of the period, off of some more unfocused coverage. Jakob Stukel scored his first goal this season to tie the game at 2s. Stukel slipped the puck five-hole coming from behind the assisted by Thomas Foster and Atwal. OT solved nothing and Houck scored the only goal of the shootout to give his team the victory. Lee was very steady on the shootout and made one great pad stop on the Blades first shooter.
Team Notes: The team won their very first game of the season to go to extra time. Noel is now 2-0 as the Giants head coach and seems to me to be bringing a gentle reality to the team.
Fight Night: Dakota Odgers v. Josh Uhrich – Dakota got in some shots early and finished off with a nice flurry before Uhrich cried uncle. A clear win for the Giants player.
Zebra Cage: Steve Papp and Trevor Shively – not a lot called, a ton missed. A trip called on the Giants in the third was a Blades player tripping over his own skates. Some marginal kneeing calls and missing a clear high stick on Benson along the boards and a Blades player corralling the puck with his hand in the slot. Yet another poor performance by the striped ones.
The Giants out shot the Blades 41-24. They went 0 for 2 on the PP and went 1 for 2 on the PK. The Gs special teams followed suit with the rest of their game, never looking formidable either defending or attacking. I see that Atwal got the first star and a couple of assists, but he also had a few too many turnovers for my liking. I felt both Baer and Bellerive were floating again, which is a shame as I was hoping for a Baer to Thrower teddy goal. That said I don’t think any Giants players had much focus tonight and despite some chances here and there they had a decided lack of consistency throughout the game. Noel commented that the game scared him and I agree – it was one of those games, which could have easily gotten out of hand but the boys managed to hold on. The Blades and their goalie played most of the game trying not to get scored upon and played a trappy game for the majority of the tilt from where I was sitting.
The Giants have a few days to regroup and get ready to take on a better Prince Albert Raiders team on Wednesday at the Coliseum. I have a good feeling about where these guys could go and Noel’s ability to get a handle on the team. It really felt like the teddy bear imperative was the real story of the game and the reason the boys lacked so much focus and continuity.
Three Stars
1. Arvin Atwal
2. Nik Amundrud
3. Jackson Houck
Dondo’s Hardhat: Not really a hard hat kind of night for the boys, but for the teddy goal and the shootout winner my nod goes to Jackson Houck. He was actually the hungriest around the net and he and his line-mates had the best chances on the night.
Giants Blunt Blades
Vancouver 3 Saskatoon 2 OT/SO
It was an odd game and I think that Claude Noel had a great handle on the game. He was saying that last night he saw a disciplined team playing more of a system game with puck support and defensive responsibility; tonight was team wanting to score the teddy bear goal at all costs who played in their defensive zone like they wanted to be playing in the other zone. I was wondering was I was watching and that was pretty much bang-on. There was no lack of effort, but it was scrambly and disjointed. We had a ton of chances on net, but none of the really stellar variety. The Blades goalie was solid, but was never required to be excellent despite turning aside 38 of 40 in regulation time and OT. It was funny listening to Noel who seemed to me to be still a bit shell-shocked after his first Teddy Toss experience. He seemed confused and amused by the players taking pictures with bears and the whole drama around that first goal by the home team, flying bears and media scrums on the ice. Eventually he put his foot down and gathered his players to the bench on hopes of re-focusing them. The team got their chances on the net and worked in the offensive zone, but it felt like every man for himself to me as opposed to a unified team game.
The Giants came out with energy in the first and mostly dominated the opening frame, but could not solve Blades 1B Nik Amundrud. As many chances as they got the Giants still lacked a cohesive focus. The Blades finally broke the scoreless draw on the PP in the second scoring a less than stellar goal against Lee. Two Giants players went to the boards to challenge a puck carrier leaving the front of the net wide-open and the Blades capitalized. The goal sucked some energy out the building, but didn’t slow the boys down from at least trying. The Giants didn’t find the back of the net until 2:18 of the third when Jackson Houck found twine behind the Blades tender off of Carter Popoff and Arvin Atwal. The bears flew and flew – 5 minutes of flying bears of all varieties littered the ice. Always a spectacle to behold and a fun time was had by all in attendance. Saskatoon took another lead just past the mid-way mark of the period, off of some more unfocused coverage. Jakob Stukel scored his first goal this season to tie the game at 2s. Stukel slipped the puck five-hole coming from behind the assisted by Thomas Foster and Atwal. OT solved nothing and Houck scored the only goal of the shootout to give his team the victory. Lee was very steady on the shootout and made one great pad stop on the Blades first shooter.
Team Notes: The team won their very first game of the season to go to extra time. Noel is now 2-0 as the Giants head coach and seems to me to be bringing a gentle reality to the team.
Fight Night: Dakota Odgers v. Josh Uhrich – Dakota got in some shots early and finished off with a nice flurry before Uhrich cried uncle. A clear win for the Giants player.
Zebra Cage: Steve Papp and Trevor Shively – not a lot called, a ton missed. A trip called on the Giants in the third was a Blades player tripping over his own skates. Some marginal kneeing calls and missing a clear high stick on Benson along the boards and a Blades player corralling the puck with his hand in the slot. Yet another poor performance by the striped ones.
The Giants out shot the Blades 41-24. They went 0 for 2 on the PP and went 1 for 2 on the PK. The Gs special teams followed suit with the rest of their game, never looking formidable either defending or attacking. I see that Atwal got the first star and a couple of assists, but he also had a few too many turnovers for my liking. I felt both Baer and Bellerive were floating again, which is a shame as I was hoping for a Baer to Thrower teddy goal. That said I don’t think any Giants players had much focus tonight and despite some chances here and there they had a decided lack of consistency throughout the game. Noel commented that the game scared him and I agree – it was one of those games, which could have easily gotten out of hand but the boys managed to hold on. The Blades and their goalie played most of the game trying not to get scored upon and played a trappy game for the majority of the tilt from where I was sitting.
The Giants have a few days to regroup and get ready to take on a better Prince Albert Raiders team on Wednesday at the Coliseum. I have a good feeling about where these guys could go and Noel’s ability to get a handle on the team. It really felt like the teddy bear imperative was the real story of the game and the reason the boys lacked so much focus and continuity.
Three Stars
1. Arvin Atwal
2. Nik Amundrud
3. Jackson Houck
Dondo’s Hardhat: Not really a hard hat kind of night for the boys, but for the teddy goal and the shootout winner my nod goes to Jackson Houck. He was actually the hungriest around the net and he and his line-mates had the best chances on the night.