Rebels visit Giantland

[Tinner]

like a good neighbor, treat the Rebs good tonight and make sure you have a beer or 2 with our fans. You'll hear them just before the anthem starts. :)

[Kassian]

As long as you aren't winning for too long you guys should be all right. Otherwise you may run into some trouble. :thumb:

[Jovorock]

This would of been a good game to watch on SN, but I'll be at the Rocket and T-bird game.

[Kassian]

Giants played like ****. Rebels totally deserved this one. Congrats!

[Jovorock]

How were the Rebel fans, loud and full of beer?

[Beaner]

It was one of quietest games all around. In fact it was one quietest games I have ever heard in that arena ever. Didnt even hear them do their "Schwarz Sucks" chant during the anthem. The only time I really noticed them, was when RD scored.

There really wasn't a lot to cheer about during the game. Little to no hitting, neither team had any real sustained pressure. Both the teams it felt to me anyway, just went thru the motions last night. :dead:

It felt like I had just gone to a typical NHL game. :(

[Beaner]

from www.vancouvergiants.com

By Matt Barkoff

The Vancouver Giants struggled early and often on Wednesday, dropping a disappointing 3-0 home ice loss to the Red Deer Rebels. Neither team reached double digits in shots on goal in any period, but the Rebels plodded efficiently as the Giants, suffering from a team-wide flu bug, couldn't stay with the perennial Central Division powerhouse.

“It wasn't very good at all,” Giants' Head Coach Don Hay firmly stated. “Our guys didn't play with any fire, we didn't have any passion in our game and it was a real disappointing effort in front of our home crowd.”

7543 patrons watched as Mikko Kuukka got the Rebels on the board with a powerplay marker at 10:12 of the first period, potting the eventual game-winning goal early on. Team Canada checker/grinder Colin Fraser gave Red Deer some insurance at 2:09 of the middle frame, before Tanner Gillies scored his first Western Hockey League goal at 11:35 of the third period to ice the cake.

Vancouver netminder Marek Schwarz probably wants Gillies' goal back (a floating wrist shot from the top of his blocker-side faceoff circle), but couldn't be faulted on the other two. The Czech goaltender made 22 saves on 25 shots fired his way and kept the G-Men afloat even into the final 20 minutes. The Giants generated just 20 shots on Andrew Leslie, who never had to make a sparkling stop. Other than a few breakaways and odd-man rushes, the Rebels goalie was hardly tested.

“When you see a low battle level it shows that we are not ready to come and compete,” Hay, who saw troubling signs even in the first period, said. “We had trouble on the road going for a full 60 minutes and we just didn't have the energy and enthusiasm to really take charge of the game. Not that Red Deer played a great game, but they just played a very solid game and whenever you get 20 shots on goal in your home building you're not really working to get into the areas to score goals or even to compete for shots on goal.”

After skating evenly with all five Central Division clubs, as well as Spokane , despite a 1-3-1-1 record on their recent six-game road trip, the Giants were in each and every game in the last two weeks. Tight checking affairs of late are a pre-cursor to the upcoming playoffs for rookies and veterans alike.

One such player is Keith Voytechek, who anchored the third line on Wednesday. Well into his freshman WHL campaign, he doesn't resemble the fresh-faced forward who arrived in Vancouver for the Giants training camp. The Sherwood Park , AB native took six faceoffs versus Red Deer and went 3/3.

“Coach Hay showed some confidence in me during the last game in Spokane and I got to centre that line a little bit with (fellow rookie) Jason Reese,” Voytechek said. “I appreciated it. It was a big confidence boost and I'm ready to keep working hard to help the team a little bit.”

Voytechek, Reese and J.D. Watt, all first-year forwards, have each taken big strides since the start of the season.

“At this point everybody is becoming (an experienced) player,” Voytechek explained. “Everybody seemed a year up halfway through the year. It's playoff time and you're playing like you will next year. We're all getting ready for the playoffs.”

[Kassian]

The only thing you could cheer about was the Lamoureux and Watt fight. And even that wasn't the greatest. Very poor effort for the Giants.

The Rebels fans were sitting pretty close to me. So I heard them pretty well most of the game. For parts of the game they were much louder than Giants fans.