A great test versus a tough team. The Tips started their back-up goalie Carter Hart, who has pretty solid numbers. He allowed two hard-working goals against by the Giants in the first and Austin Lotz was between the pipes to start the second. Everett is a stifling team that really hamper team speed on the other side of the puck, what else would you expect from a Constantine coached squad? The Giants were given few chances, but their aggressive forecheck and positioning garnered them opportunities through the Tips tight play. The Gs allowed the Silvertips a bit of a surge early in the second, but bounced back and started to get some shots on net. The chances were not quite as good as their looks versus Hart. The Tips finally solved Cody Porter, who got the nod for the G-Men between the pipes, with a nice top corner far-side shot and not quite close enough checking. The goal came just past the mid-way mark of the third, but the Giants did not falter though. They improved their back-check and although the hockey got a little hairy when the Tips pulled their goalie, the Gs held the fort for the hard-won victory.
The Giants opened the scoring in the first. A soft shot found its way to the front of the net and rebound to the open side, where a seemingly surprised Tyler Benson tucked it in as he cut across the crease. Carter Popoff and Matt Bellerive played give-and-go before getting the puck to Benson. The Giants added some insurance in the last minute of the opening frame, when Popoff cut through the slot and fired back across his body to pick the short side on Hart. Lotz started the second period and the Silvertips pushed back getting a bunch of shots on net, but not too many of the dangerous variety. I don’t recall the Giants ever really scrambling, but early in the second they were not checking quite as close or pushing back as hard as they did in the first and sat back more than I like. The Giants bounced back in the latter half of the middle frame; restoring their former work ethic. No-one found twine in the second. At 12:49 of the third the Tips found the back of the net. Using Benson as a screen and possibly tipped off of his stick, the Silvertips player picked top corner far-side on Porter. I appreciated that there was no panic in the Giants game and that the boys continued to work hard. Momentum shifted slightly to the visitors, but the Gs managed to hold onto the lead and shut down the Silvertips snipers.
Team Notes: Kirichenko, Ronning, McKinstry and Houck sat this one out, mainly nagging injuries. Apparently Bobylev is still #32, just not for ugly sweater night – I suppose they ordered them early and since the numbers were printed on the hockey sweaters they didn’t have a #32. Too bad I liked him wearing #24, #32 is too nebulous for me. The Giants have achieved a 7 game winning streak for the first time since Jan/Feb 2009, where they had a 10 game streak. The franchise record for winning streaks is 11.
Fight Night: A fight! Dakota Odgers vs Remi Laurencelle – Laurencelle was out-matched in this one and took the brunt of the blows. Odgers got the win and the take-down.
Zebra Cage: Nick Swaine and Adam Griffiths – Everett is the least penalized team in the league, but considering the number of pick plays and deliberate interference infractions which went uncalled in this one I have to wonder why they are getting the benefit of the doubt. I also watched them knock their own net off without anyone around without a call and I’m not talking the time Lotz bumped his own net off, which did look like an accident. As for the quality of the other calls, they were lacking pretty badly. Soft hooks, bumps being called cross-checks and generally kind of missing the boat. They almost didn’t call a wicked slash to the back of the legs on Scherbak when Geertsen laid him out with a hard clean check and then went back at him after he was backhanded across the back of the legs. It was up to the ref at the other end of the rink to call that one. Great game. Suspect striped ones.
The Giants were out shot 25-21 in the game. Both teams were 0 for 3 on the PP. A nice hard-working game, the kind we (surprisingly) saw early in the season before their spirits were apparently crushed. Our top two lines of Popoff, Bellerive and Benson and Foster, Sward and Stukel both had good hard-working nights. Joel Hamilton had an almost great game, as he was creating some chances, but his vision of the ice and puck bobbles hurt him from finding the scoresheet. The defense were solid and checked close and well. Again we saw smart passes and puck support from the blue-liners. I don’t think any D-man cycling in the back of his zone had to make a D-to-D pass longer than ten feet. Geertsen continues to be a bit of a monster and after he took Scherbak to task for his retaliatory slash, no Silvertip wanted a piece of him.
I am enjoying Claude Noel’s interviews as he has a way off not letting anyone off the hook and calling them out, without assessing blame or looking for a scapegoat. When he names names it feels as if it is coming from a more conversational point of view, as if to say ‘oh yeah we need to fix that’, but lacks an accusatory edge. This is not a coach that will leave his players to hang out to dry and twist in the wind. I also enjoy how supportive of the team he is being and how he sees the kids as a good cohesive group that is willing to work and sacrifice for one another. Not something I ever would have guessed a month ago. I acknowledge that winning cures all and that a winning streak like this is pretty easy for a new coach to a new situation, but it feels as if the players are continuing to have their spirits lifted while instilling in themselves a hard work ethic. As my buddy sitting beside we said .. I love this forecheck and haven’t really see it since the heydays of Don Hay. I agree. I never understood sitting back in the neutral zone and waiting for opportunities. I would much rather see players apply pressure and force the issue and then hustle like hell on the backcheck. I also never understood how Hay was saying that we weren’t a good enough team to play that way for the past several seasons as forecheck is less about skill and more about work ethic and effort. Now a team with skill on the forecheck can make those opportunities cash in a lot more, but that doesn’t dismiss the need for that kind of work being needed all the time.
A 9 day break for the boys over the holidays and a break for me from writing recaps. Now to focus on the World Juniors. Enjoy your holiday break with friends and family folks. We’ll be back at ‘er on the 27th in Everett (that’ll be a tough one as Everett will be motivated) and back at the Coliseum on the 28th to take on the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Three Stars
1. Carter Popoff
2. Nikita Scherbak
3. Cody Porter
Dondo’s Hardhat: goes to Carter Popoff. In on both of the goals, Popoff was seriously buzzing out there tonight. It felt like I noticed him every time he jumped over the boards.
Giants 2- Silvertips 1
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- It seemed to me that every time I noticed a smart offensive play Popoff was on the ice and in the middle of it.
