PDA

View Full Version : Cougars Blanked



scamperdog
03-25-2006, 07:56 AM
Back


Saturday, March 25, 2006


Cougars blanked in opener www.princegeorgecitizen.com


by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Giants may have the first chalk mark, but they know they came perilously close Friday to becoming a chalk outline.
Despite a 3-0 victory, the Giants were reminded early and often why the Prince George Cougars were their nemesis in the regular season. Really, if not for a horrible giveaway by Cougars defenceman Ty Wishart with the ice still wet to start the second period, and if not for missed scoring chances at the other end, it could very well be the Cats who are up 1-0 in this first-round playoff series.

Alas, moral victories are rarely tangible ones, and Prince George needs to decide to stop making soft passes from the back end, while making something, anything, out of scoring chances to avoid going down 2-0 in the best-of-seven affair, which continues tonight.

Games 3 and 4 go Tuesday and Wednesday in Prince George.

"If there were any doubts that we could be in this series, from fans, media or others, I think they're erased," said Cougars head coach Mike Vandekamp.

"We probably needed that message ourselves. We're the underdog, and the underdog needs to prove it can compete. We're a young team playoff-wise, without much experience.

"We made a couple of mistakes. Obviously the turnover by Ty led to the first goal, and that first goal was going to be so important in this game. It would have been nice for us to get that first one."

The Cougars, it has been well-chronicled, won six of eight meetings between the two teams in the regular season, including the last five. That streak is broken, and Vancouver goaltender Dustin Slade posted his first shutout against the Cats this year — he had 11 against the other clubs — with 19 saves.

But Slade didn't have to stop anything like the chance Wishart, the Cougars defenceman, handed to Cody Franson in the second period. A mere flick of a pass (or clearing attempt) was easily picked off and turned to paydirt by Franson.

"It's once in a blue moon for me," said Franson.

"I got lucky on a shot, and (Kyle) Lamb made a great pass to me for the other one. I'll take what I can get."

Franson had two goals, the first playoff markers of his career. Yet again, a Giants defenceman tossed big points at the Cats — Paul Albers had 11 points in eight games against Prince George in the regular season.

"We knew it would be a tight game," said Franson, who had 15 goals in the regular season but is usually overshadowed by Mark Fistric and Albers in pre-game scouting reports.

"We didn't get the start we wanted, we came out and let them dictate the speed and flow of the game. But we came out on top, and that's what matters."

The Cougars had to be happy after the first period, clamming the fans with a stifling defensive display that kept Gilbert Brule and Co. to three shots on net.

"We didn't play our best game, but our first period was reasonable," said Cougars captain Myles Zimmer, indicating that nothing short of perfection is expected for his team to beat the first-place Giants.

"Our second period... it seemed like that got us at points throughout the season, and it did tonight. Those are mistakes we can't make. We had lapses, they capitalized. And you have to score a goal to win a hockey game."

Yes, you have to score.

A goal against, two posts behind Cougars goaltender Scott Bowles, two of those close plays the direct result of soft, soft, soft plays by the Cougars defence — a group that has done such a good job despite well-chronicled injury problems. Shot-blocking was a real strength of the Cats on Friday; crisp passing was not.

The game wasn't without its fair share of close calls. A Wishart point shot touched something before nailing the right iron behind Slade. The Cougars put a puck behind Slade in the third, but Colin Patterson clearly batted it down with either his glove or a high stick.

Nick Drazenovic had his stick break with a clear shot from in close, and Eric Hunter skated around Albers with ease in the second on a shorthanded try before Slade got a piece with his blocker. And Vancouver's Spencer Machacek hit the side of the net with five minutes left in the third period, missing a wide open cage.

Franson's second goal game with 2:11 to play, and Brule closed it with an empty-netter.

"We weren't really good in the faceoff circle, and we have to be better there to create opportunities," was Vandekamp's assessment of the offensive struggles. "You can't be chasing it. We have to pick that up, pick up our power play. We didn't lose tonight playing our best game, and that's a good sign, because we know we can be better."

It didn't take long for ex-Cougars winger Brett Parker to switch to the other side. Used as a centre on Vancouver's third line, he dropped Evan Fuller of Prince George with a big hit at the Cougars blueline in the first period, then mixed it up with Fuller and Drazenovic at the next whistle.

In the second, Fuller spilled a good amount of Parker's blood in a one-sided scrap. Parker, as always, was willing, but he didn't get a punch away against the larger Fuller. The game's other fight, featuring Zimmer and Vancouver's J.D. Watt, was a doozy in the third period.

"Fuller got me good, maybe he had something on his hand," Parker joked.


.

Beaner
03-25-2006, 12:22 PM
Thanks for the article Scamperdog.

I agree with most of it, but neither team brought their "A" game last night. I expect a much better game tonight out of both sides.

Teams are really getting the hate on for each other, it could get ugly before its over.

Knuckles Muldoon
03-25-2006, 01:21 PM
by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Giants may have the first chalk mark, but they know they came perilously close Friday to becoming a chalk outline.
Hmm, pretty dramatic stuff. :spineyes:
Although the Coogs played a good road period in the first, the Giants were never in trouble of losing this game as long as the Coogs didn't find the back of the net. I think Mr. Swanson has read too many whodunit novels.

KBF
03-25-2006, 02:34 PM
I agree, Cougars played ok in the 1st but come on, the Giants weren't ever in danger in losing and all Swanson and Cougar fans have is the season series between teh 2 clubs and thats quickly drifting away. Cougars can't and won't match the Giants, they are an average club and are far behind the Giants in pretty much every way thinkable. Its over in 4.

dondo
03-25-2006, 05:27 PM
wow and I thought i wore Giant coloured glasses at times... actually being there last night I watched ref Matt Kirk with his hands in his pockets while the Giants wore Cougar back-packs a good deal of the evening.

Lord knows the Giants didn't play their best game by a long shot, and the Cougars did make some brilliant defensive plays, but to deny that clutch and grab was the method of evening is somewhat laughable.

However had Hunter scored on that pseudo-breakaway it very well could have been a better game and a different sort of tilt. A very boring game all in all and stifling hockey.

I'm looking to see the Giants re-discovering their PP tonight and playing better hockey than I watched last night.