The Vancouver Giants put the boots to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes with an impressive 10–0 Friday night win on home ice. Payton Lee’s first shutout of the season was lost next to the offensive explosion at the other end of the ice — the Giants dominated, holding a huge edge in puck possession and putting 40 shots on the poor bastards between the Hurricanes pipes.
More, including highlights, after the jump.
Day one of the 2014 Great Northwest Showcase saw the UBC Thunderbirds earn a dramatic come-from-behind win over the seven-time NCAA Division 1 champions from the U of North Datoka. The Team Formerly Known as the Fighting Sioux, which features a dozen NHL draft picks, including World Junior Gold Medalist Rocco Grimaldi, is the first NCAA varsity team to play in BC since 1999*.
The game offered up solid goaltending at both ends of the ice. Sophomore Zane Gothberg, a 2010 draft pick of the Boston Bruins, made 22 saves on 25 shots for UND, while keepers Matt Hewitt and Steven Stanford teamed up to make 26 saves for UBC.
More after the jump.
We at Pucked in the Head encourage you to play the Mötley Crüe’s Girls Girls Girls at full volume during this post. We would have recorded a hockey version, but Harrison Mooney was busy mixing his Christmas album.
Vancouver was awash in red lights Saturday as the Giants and Canucks collectively exploded for a dozen goals in a single night. These are teams that have moved in opposite directions in the standings of late. The Canucks had lost five straight, scoring just six goals in that span. The Giants, on the other hand, had picked up points in six consecutive games. (In fact, since a disastrous 1-9 start to the season, the Giants have gone 10–4–3.) Their 6–3 win over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds, coming on the strength of a four-goal second period, was their fourth home win in a row, and brought them to a .500 record for the first time in recent memory.
Jared Rathjen earned his third win of the season, stopping 24 of 27 shots; at the other end, Danny Mumaugh allowed five goals on 31 shots and was chased after forty minutes. Trace Elson scored his first career WHL goal, and completed the Gordie Howe hat trick with a first period fight and an assist in the third.
More after the break.
Brett Kulak, Brendan Rouse and Cain Franson each had a goal and an assist, while goaltender Payton Lee stopped 23 of 24 shots to collect his 10th win of the year. Carter Popoff had the other goal for the Giants. Left winger Alexander Delnov scored the lone goal for the Thunderbirds, taking advantage of a two-man advantage in the second period.
More (including highlights) after the jump.
I didn’t get a chance to post pictures from the final game of the Great Northwest Showcase, a 5-3 win for the Arizona State Sun Devils over the host SFU Clan. The Sun Devils found their legs between the previous day’s misadventures against the UBC Thunderbirds — and chatter by players during pre-game stretches suggested the Americans aren’t used to the aggressive forechecks thrown at them by the T-birds on Friday.
More after the jump.
Continue reading Great Northwest Showcase Finale – SFU Clan vs ASU Sun Devils
Okay, I already feel bad about the title. Sure, the visiting teams in the inaugural Great Northwest Showcase are American. And yes, there are national politics and cultural question marks that make them the Darths and Emperors of the world next to our farmboy-cum-Jedi status up here. But goldang it if each and every one of the team members and staff that I met this weekend weren’t incredibly nice, wonderfully passionate people who revolve their lives around the great game of hockey. (I’m lookin’ at you, Oklahoma University men’s hockey Assistant GM Chris Kelly… Not naming any names…)
But hey, the title is what the title is. In the immortal words of Billy Crystal, “It’s already out there.” And after day one of this exhibition tournament, which saw the Canadian teams trounce their American visitors by a combined score of 12-2, the empire really did strike back. They had to, just to make the plane ride back to the south bearable.
More after the jump.
Continue reading Great Northwest Showcase Day 2 – The Empire Strikes Back
Day one of the inaugural Great Northwest Showcase is in the books, and it was a good day for the boys eating home cooking. Both the UBC Thunderbirds and SFU Clansmen iced winning sides against American collegiate sides — UBC thumped the NCAA’s number-one ranked Arizona State Sun Devils 8-2, while SFU shut out the number-six Oklahoma Sooners 4-0.
More after the jump, including a photo gallery for your visual pleasure.
Continue reading Great Northwest Showcase Day 1: Home Cookin’
The Simon Fraser University Clansmen are hosting familiar crosstown rivals and distant strangers alike this weekend, as the Great Northwest Showcase goes down on December 28-29 at the Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby, BC.
Featured in the inaugural running of the GNS tournament are SFU, the UBC Thunderbirds, the Oklahoma Sooners and the Arizona State Sun Devils. Tickets are $15 ($10 for students and children). Check out the schedule here — and of course, there is a Facebook event page as well.
It’s a great opportunity to check out some quality hockey in a very intimate setting — the Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby screams small-town puck despite being in the middle of the Lower Mainland — and there are some interesting players to watch for as well.
More after the jump.
Continue reading Great Northwest Showcase: SFU Clan, UBC T-birds, ASU Sun Devils, OU Sooners
