Tag Archives: Vancouver

Vancouver Giants woes continue, but the Xmas sweaters are awesome

Irish (and Aussie) eyes were smiling — and wearing glorious Christmas sweaters — at the Pacific Coliseum on Friday night despite the Vancouver Giants dropping a 3-1 decision to the Swift Current Broncos. From left to right are Brian, Breanna, Claire, Emilia and Donal. (In case you’re wondering, the boys are from Ireland and the gals are from Australia. No, we don’t know if that’s legal. Extra props to Donal for that serious ginger beard.) Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

The Vancouver Giants suffered their eighth loss in nine games on Friday night, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the visiting Swift Current Broncos. Despite some early chances for the home side, the Broncos were up 2-0 before the first period was half over.

Goal number one came on a bad bounce off of captain Wes Vannieuwenhuizen’s skate past Payton Lee. It was reminiscent of an early goal the Giants scored in Victoria just a few nights ago on the way to a 7-2 romp over the Royals.

Sadly for the 8,115 fans who stuffed the Pacific Coliseum on Friday, the Giants weren’t able to make it two in a row. In fact, the G-men’s only win since Remembrance Day came on the road, something that makes it hard to take full advantage of the NHL’s ridiculous, ongoing lockout. Thankfully, the crowd on Friday included not only the best-dressed fivesome in Pacific Coliseum history, which you see above, but also busloads of energetic students from a handful of schools across the Lower Mainland.

More after the jump.

Pucked in the Head is taking part in the 2013 Ride to Conquer Cancer. You can help us reach our fundraising goal by throwing a few bucks at our campaign, at http://www.conquercancer.ca/goto/jasonkurylo2013.

Continue reading Vancouver Giants woes continue, but the Xmas sweaters are awesome

Five Hole for Food – a hockey team worth following

Richard Loat (@mozy19 on the mighty Twitter) and the rest of the Five Hole for Food crew set to go bigger and better yet again in 2013. Photo ripped indelicately from the FHFF Facebook timeline.

In a year overshadowed by the greed and stupidity of hockey’s biggest players, let’s focus on the admirable work of less prominent, but far more important, hockey teams.

Like this one that generates thousands upon thousands of pounds of food for folks who need it most (not to mention at least that many smiles along the way!) Okay, okay, it sounds cheesy — mmmmmm, cheese — but in this case, it’s true. Five Hole for Food has quickly become one of Canada’s most inspirational charitable drives, and it encourages each and every one of us to get up off the couch and pick up a hockey stick to make the deal even sweeter.

Main website: http://www.fiveholeforfood.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FiveHoleForFood
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/fiveholeforfood

Vancouver Giants Teddy Bear YouTube Challenge

Anthony Ast is one of the Giants featured in the Teddy Bear Toss promo video, which the organization hopes will go viral before their December 14 game versus the Prince George Cougars. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Like a lot of organizations, the Vancouver Giants make important gestures to the charitable community throughout the year, and especially so at Christmas time. A great Xmas event is the Teddy Bear Toss, which takes place this year on December 14. Fans are invited to bring an unwrapped, new teddy bear (or other stuffed animal), and throw it onto the ice when the Giants score their first goal of the night. The toys are collected and donated to the Province Empty Stocking Fund for underprivileged children and the CKNW Orphans’ Fund — it’s a treat to be a part of, and an impressive display of generosity to see all those airborne bears.

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Payton Lee shines in back-to-back losses

Vancouver has struggled this season, but 16-year-old Payton Lee has kept them close the last couple of games. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

For the second game in a row, Payton Lee was the best player in a Vancouver Giants uniform. And for the second game in a row, the 16-year-old goaltender from Cranbrook earned a big fat regulation loss for his efforts, as his teammates were unable to put together much of anything at the other end of the ice. Lee stopped 29 of 31 shots, but his Giants left Kamloops on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.

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Winterhawks shred Giants

The good news: the offensively-challenged Vancouver Giants scored five times against the stingiest defense in the WHL. The bad news: the Portland Winterhawks scored nine goals themselves, catapulting Vancouver into the league’s worst goals-against position and embarrassing the G-men in front of 7,318 fans who packed the Pacific Coliseum on Friday night.

Portland Winterhawks captain Troy Rutkowski got an assist, but somehow managed to notch a -3 on the night, as his team trounced the Vancouver Giants 9-5 in WHL action November 9. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Portland Winterhawks captain Troy Rutkowski got an assist, but somehow managed to notch a -3 on the night, as his team trounced the Vancouver Giants 9-5 in WHL action November 9. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

It’s not an altogether surprising result: the Winterhawks have lost just three games in regulation this year, and sit tied for second in the W with the Eastern Conference-leading Calgary Hitmen. They came into the game riding a nine-game win streak, where the Giants were considering a 3-3 split in their last six games a moral victory. On paper, then, Portland should win this game.

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Giants trade Musil to Edmonton

After more than three years in Vancouver, David Musil has celebrated his last goal in a Giants uniform. He was traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Hallowe’en day. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Hallowe’en brought tricks and treats to the Vancouver Giants this year. The treat: the G-men finally got some points on the road — a dramatic 4-3 shoot-out win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The two points came just days after beating the Victoria Royals for the first time in four tries this season.

The trick: the week also saw them move their top defenseman, David Musil, to the Edmonton Oil Kings for Mason Geertsen and a first-round pick in next year’s bantam draft. Musil has been one of the few consistent performers so far this year, collecting 8 points in 14 games and managing a respectable zero in the +/- department on a team that has far more players in the red than in the black.

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Vancouver anything but giant on the power play

Sixteen-year-old Payton Lee collected his first win of the season in a 4-1 win over the Victoria Royals on October 26. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

After 12 games, the Vancouver Giants are off to what you might call a rough start. At 3-9, the team sits in the cellar of the Western Hockey League standings, and has the league’s second-worst goals for total. Goaltending has troubled the G-men, certainly, with third-year player Liam Liston already doing his best Dan Cloutier impression to earn a spot on the bench behind a couple of 16-year-olds. But it’s another set of stats that is probably to blame for Vancouver’s slow start: special teams.

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Giants tame Tigers

Yeah, yeah, I know: my headline is weak. Fine. YOU write the next one.

by Jason Kurylo

When you watch the Vancouver Giants from afar — or any other junior hockey team, for that matter — it’s hard to remember that a lot of these players are still teenagers. They play a fast game, they skate relentlessly, and more often than not, WHL teams pound the bejesus out of each other out there. It’s only when you sit close to the glass and see the peach fuzz and acne up close that it hits home.

Third-year forward Marek Tvrdon (#17, right) is still looking for his first goal of the campaign, but don’t let the baby face fool you. This 19-year-old is 6’2″ and 217 pounds, and skates faster than an appropriate metaphor for quickness. He was good for 74 points in 60 games last year, and this night he collected two assists as his Giants shellacked the Medicine Hat Tigers 6-1. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head (yeah, I know it’s not perfect, but Tvrdon’s in focus — do you have any idea how hard it is to shoot action photos of hockey?).

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Victoria Royals 2012-13 home opener

At the Victoria Royals home opener Adrian Charlie met a real estate agent by the name of Mark Donnelly. One can only assume he doesn’t wear the cummerbund during open houses. Anyway, this Donnelly fella apparently sings anthems for a hockey team or two in his spare time. Photo courtesy of Adrian Charlie.

Well, I was wrong. After letting in 5 goals on 17 shots in Friday’s opening night loss at the Pacific Coliseum, Giants goaltender Liam Liston did not ride the bench in the next day’s rematch. He performed better, but got the same result: a loss to the Victoria Royals. Pucked in the Head’s new friend Adrian Charlie (@Adrian_Charlie on the Twitter) was in the building, and offers this game recap:

Victoria Royals 3, Vancouver Giants 2 – September 22, 2012

by Adrian Charlie

The Victoria Royals played host to the Vancouver Giants on Saturday in the team’s home opener. The Royals carried momentum going into their second game of the season after defeating those same Giants 6-4 the night before.

Vancouver Giants 2012-13 home opener

Vancouver Giants captain Wes Vannieuwenhuizen
Newly-christened Giants captain Wes Vannieuwenhuizen was a physical presence but hit the scoresheet with an unimpressive 0G/0A/-2 in the 2012-13 season opener. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Some things never change. Even with the NHL locked out, hockey fans in Vancouver are wondering just who will be the #1 goaltender for the home team.

No, not the Canucks — pretty much everyone agrees, for better or for worse, that Roberto Luongo’s days are numbered around here — I’m talking about the Giants. Newly-acquired third-year netminder Liam Liston didn’t inspire much confidence during the 2012-13 home opener Friday night, giving up five goals on 17 shots in a 6-4 loss to the Victoria Royals. Rookie Tyler Fuhr will almost certainly get the start in the second half of the back-to-back in the capital Saturday.

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