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Sput
03-24-2006, 10:52 AM
Underdog Cats start Giant hunt


by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor

It's been a long time since a first-vs.-fourth series had so many opposite angles.
On one hand, there can be nothing but respect for the 100 points the Vancouver Giants compiled this season from their record of 47-19-0-6.

The Giants finished third in goals scored with 252; they were equally adept in their own end, stingy in restricting opponents to 156 goals; and owned the league's dominant road record at 23-9-0-4.

In addition, Vancouver finished 24 points ahead of the Prince George Cougars, their intended first-round victim.

All those figures appear to declare the Giants the unfettered favourite in this series. Oddly enough, these Cats are willing to accept the underdog status for a matchup that starts tonight at Pacific Coliseum, with Game 2 set for Saturday.

"I think Vancouver is a great hockey team, great skill up front and on defence, and they get great goaltending when (Dustin) Slade keeps his head on straight," said winger Eric Hunter, who led the Cats in scoring with 40 goals and 72 points in 71 games.

"The big thing for us in having success against them is that we know they have a great hockey team and we can not only play with them, but beat them. We have to play like we have against good teams like them and Kelowna all year to have a chance in this series.

"Flat out, they are a more talented hockey team than we are, but we know hard work can beat talent if we stick to our systems and play smart."

But, hold the Blackberry. There's one little aspect that cannot be left on the roadside prior to a series that will prove as taxing on the motorcoaches as it will on the head coaches.

It's called a head-to-head record, and it points, six of eight times, in the direction of those under-Cats. Prince George won the season series by that wide margin, including the last five games.

Don't think both teams haven't addressed that fact.

"I guess if we're going to play a team in our division, it's nice to play the one we have the best record against," said rookie Cougars head coach Mike Vandekamp, who will find himself matched line-change for forechecking scheme against former NHL bench boss Don Hay, once voted the best coach in the history of the WHL.

"But they have a very good team. They're experienced, have a very experienced coach, a deep defence corps, and dynamic players up front. It will be an interesting challenge for us, and in reality the pressure is on them and not on us. I've been in their position before as a coach, having home-ice advantage. That's something we can use as an advantage, because we've played looser when we've been in that kind of role this season."

The Cougars carry plenty of confidence into the arena the Canucks once called home. Prince George won four of five games in the Giants' home rink. Vandekamp can't wait to see how his BCHL playoff success translates to major junior.

"We're excited about Game 1, and I am looking forward to the challenge I'll face," said Vandekamp.

"I coached about 100 playoff games at the Junior A level, but obviously this is going to be a new and exciting experience."

There is the issue of experience — and it does not favour Prince George. Besides the rookie coach, and an assistant in Stew Malgunas who has never been behind the bench in a WHL playoff game, the Cougars have but 82 games of post-season history to call on, and most of that (26 games) belongs to ex-Red Deer Rebels forward Jared Walker.

The Cougars have not qualified for the playoffs since 2003, and even then they bowed out meekly to the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Cougars finished last in the B.C. Division that season, and did the two following years, only making the post-season because they finished ahead of the last team in the-then four-team U.S. Division.

The Giants, on the other hand, boast a lineup full of players who knocked Kamloops out of the first round in last spring's tournament, then lost a tough series with the eventual champion Kelowna Rockets.

The Cougars need to be fast learners, absorbing the atmosphere and making instantaneous adjustments to the faster flow and added intensity of playoff hockey.

"The most important thing is that this is a major step for the Cougars organization, that we make the playoffs and get that experience," said Vandekamp.

"We have very little playoff experience, we have very little experience with success, and if we're going to get this boat going in the right direction, success will have to breed success. It's a step in the right direction."

Beaner
03-24-2006, 01:12 PM
Underdog Cats start Giant hunt

The Giants, on the other hand, boast a lineup full of players who knocked Kamloops out of the first round in last spring's tournament, then lost a tough series with the eventual champion Kelowna Rockets.



Small Correction;

The Giants were knocked out in the first round in 6 games by Kelowna last year.

The Giants beat Kamloops in the first round of the '04 playoffs.

Redwic
03-24-2006, 02:35 PM
Small Correction;

The Giants were knocked out in the first round in 6 games by Kelowna last year.

The Giants beat Kamloops in the first round of the '04 playoffs.


... the Giants were defeated in the Second Round by an expansion team (Everett), then fired their coach.
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I know that the Cougars went 6-2 against the Giants this season, although many will say that you can basically throw that stat out because these are the playoffs (and those people are probably correct). But you cannot deny that it will give Prince George a lot of confidence going into the series.
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Although I believe that Vancouver has too many weapons for Prince George to overcome in a seven-game series, I am still rooting for the Cougars. That way, if the Silvertips also win their First Round series, Everett would host Prince George in the Second Round... :clap:

GO COUGARS GO!!!

Section_Z
03-24-2006, 02:39 PM
Small Correction;

The Giants were knocked out in the first round in 6 games by Kelowna last year.

The Giants beat Kamloops in the first round of the '04 playoffs.

Perhaps someone needs to edit the Citizen Sports Editor.

Beaner
03-24-2006, 03:21 PM
Perhaps someone needs to edit the Citizen Sports Editor.


I had to check at first to see if it was written by Ron St. Clair. :laugh: