Tag Archives: Canadian Hockey League

Articles, Hockey

Giants smash September with three wins

The Vancouver Giants opened the 2014-15 with a perfect September, taking a pair of wins off the rival Victoria Royals and beating the Portland Winterhawks for the first time in nine tries. Not since 2007 have the Giants gone three-and-oh to start the season — that year, in defense of their Memorial Cup win the previous spring, they won four straight off the hop, and won the BC Division by a country mile before dropping a disappointing second-round series to the Spokane Chiefs.

Rookie Tyler Benson has driven the Giants attack, using his size and speed to score twice in the first three games. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Rookie Tyler Benson has driven the Giants attack, using his size and speed to score twice in the first three games. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

New coach Troy G Ward, late of the Abbotsford Heat, has the G-men playing a smart, aggressive game. Like most junior teams, Vancouver had a couple of their top players — in this case, leading scorer Jackson Houck and top D-man Mason Geertsen — out of the lineup as they attended NHL training camps. Even so, the Giants have played without panic, coming from behind in all three games for the perfect record.

Rookie Tyler Benson, listed at an even six feet tall, is playing bigger and faster than last season, which saw him skate in seven WHL games as an underage player. He has already made an impact, scoring twice and pressuring opposition defensemen just about every time he’s stepped on the ice. His goal against the Portland Winterhawks was a thing of beauty, as he scampered past blueliner Layne Viveiros off a face-off in the Giants zone, skated the length of the ice alone, and coolly backhanded the puck past Adin Hill. As you watch Benson shred it up this season, keep in mind that this kid is just 16 years old.

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Articles, Hockey

Brendan Gallagher honoured; Giants shellacked

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There hasn’t been much to cheer for when it comes to NHL hockey this year, so it was a treat to see more than six thousand people make some noise for Brendan Gallagher at the Pacific Coliseum tonight. The Montreal Canadiens forward of course spent four seasons with the Vancouver Giants, and finished his junior career as the franchise’s leading scorer (with 136 goals) and point getter (280).

Brendan Gallagher is honoured prior to a WHL game between the Portland Winterhawks and his former team the Vancouver Giants. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Brendan Gallagher is honoured prior to a WHL game between the Portland Winterhawks and his former team the Vancouver Giants. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

He played for the G-Men from 2008-09 until the 2011-12 season, then spent a year in Hamilton of the AHL before being nominated for the Calder Trophy as the Rookie of the Year with the Montreal Canadiens last year. He is currently the Habs’ fourth-leading scorer, with 32 points in 58 games.

All this while being frickin’ wee. He’s listed at 5’9″ on the NHL website, but if this guy is five-nine, I’m Zdeno Chara. I just stood beside the guy, and I could clearly see the top of his head — and I’m barely 5’8″ my bad self.

More power to him.

Get the skinny on the game after the jump.

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Articles, Hockey

Missed it by that much

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The Vancouver Giants came within a hair of beating the Portland Winterhawks for the first time since February 2012, but settled for a single point in a 5–4 shootout loss on Sunday night. It was a hollow victory for the Giants, who led 4–3 late in the third period but gave up a shorthanded goal to take the game into extra time.

Taylor Leier nearly won the game in regulation for the Winterhawks when he hit the crossbar with under a minute left in the third period. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Taylor Leier nearly won the game for the Portland Winterhawks with under a minute left in regulation when he chipped a bouncing puck off the crossbar behind Payton Lee. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Vancouver held the edge in the first period, punishing a tired Winterhawks team playing their third game in three nights. After 20 minutes, the G-Men led 3–2 and looked in pretty good shape.

As the night wore on, however, Portland’s snipers seemed to gain their legs. Leading scorer Nicolas Petan started cutting in and out of traffic, giving nifty short passes to linemates and trailing defenders alike. The also dangerous Oliver Bjorkstrand dominated on the boards, making Vancouver goaltender look over his shoulder several times in the third period. And in the final ten minutes, Portland generated a seemingly endless string of breakaways and odd-man rushes.

 More, including pics and highlights, after the jump.

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Bring on the Hawks

The Vancouver Giants are #7 in the West. The Portland Winterhawks sit in second place. So fire up the what if cannon and get ready for a playoff preview as these two teams face off at the Coliseum at 5pm tonight. Surprisingly, tonight marks the first time these two teams have squared off this season. Vancouver will no doubt be champing at the bit for this one, as the Hawks decimated the Giants by a combined score of 24–11 over their four games last year.

Oliver Bjorkstrand has 60 points in 41 games thus far this season, second best on the Winterhawks and fifth in the WHL. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Oliver Bjorkstrand has 60 points in 41 games thus far this season, second best on the Winterhawks and fifth in the WHL. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

After splitting games in Victoria this weekend, the Winterhawks have just four wins in their last ten games — they were demoralized by back-to-back 7–2 losses to the Kelowna Rockets over the holidays. That said, in Nicolas Petan and Oliver Bjorkstrand, they’ve got two of the top five scorers in the WHL, and are daaaaaaangerous when they get the engine running. Despite the recent slide, they’re tops in the US division, and fifth overall in the WHL.

More after the jump.

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Giants outscore their problems

It was a rough night for the ol’ save percentage, but Jared Rathjen skated away with his 11th win of the season at the Pacific Coliseum. His Vancouver Giants scored early and scored often on Friday night, but they needed to hang on tight for their 6–5 win over the Prince George Cougars.

Jared Rathjen made 22 saves as the Vancouver Giants beat the Prince George Cougars 6–5 on 10 January 2014. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Jared Rathjen made 22 saves as the Vancouver Giants beat the Prince George Cougars 6–5 on 10 January 2014. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

It was the kind of game that drives both coaches nuts. Tim Traber opened the scoring for the home side 49 seconds into the game on a rebound in the blue paint, but then Rathjen let in two goals on the glove side just 18 seconds apart to give the lead to the Cougars. A buck seven later, the Giants had scored twice more, taking back the lead themselves. Less than eight minutes into the first period, it was 3–2 Giants. They would add another pair of goals to walk out of the first period with a 5–2 lead.

It’s a cakewalk at this point, right? Twenty minutes in against the ninth-place Cougars, up 18–8 in shots and 5–2 in goals, Vancouver should tip this bad boy out the door, no problem.

Yeah, uh… problem.

More, including game highlights, after the jump.

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Giants halt high-flying Rockets

The Vancouver Giants put a stop to the best team in the CHL on Friday night, beating the Kelowna Rockets 4–2 at the Pacific Coliseum. The Rockets entered the night on a remarkable 16-game win streak, which most recently included back-to-back 7–2 spankings of the powerhouse Portland Winterhawks — in Portland.

Forward Jackson Houck scored three times to help his team to a 4–2 win over the visiting Kelowna Rockets. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Forward Jackson Houck scored three times to help his team to a 4–2 win over the visiting Kelowna Rockets. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Jackson Houck and Jared Rathjen continued strong play for the Giants, the former netting a hat trick and the latter stopping 24 of 26 shots against the explosive Kelowna attack. Anthony Ast had the other goal for the Giants in his first game back out of the walking boot he wore last week to protect a bruised bone in his ankle. Cain Franson and defenseman Arvin Atwal each had two assists in the win.

Jackson Whistle, who played 21 games for the Giants in 2011–12, lost to his former team for the first time. Whistle won all four games against Vancouver last year, but allowed four goals on 26 shots to earn the L this night.

Houck now has a team-high 22 goals on the season, tying him for ninth among WHL goal scorers. Despite playing 31 fewer games thus far, he is just one shy of his total for last season, his career best for goals scored. He will look to tally number 23 against these same Rockets in Kelowna on Saturday in the second half of this back-to-back series.

Cole Linaker had an assist, but it wasn't enough to stretch the Kelowna Rockets win streak to 17 games. The Vancouver Giants gave Kelowna their first loss since November 20. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Cole Linaker had an assist, but it wasn’t enough to stretch the Kelowna Rockets win streak to 17 games. The Vancouver Giants gave Kelowna their first loss since November 20. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

See the WHL game summary here.

Articles, Hockey

Giants end 2013 on a winning note

At the beginning of the season, a lot of WHL players look at the calendar to see where the three-in-threes are. John Tortorella might wax poetic about his Canucks being a tired team after five games in nine nights, but when was the last time an NHLer hit the ice on three consecutive nights?

Thomas Foster scored once and added an assist as his Vancouver Giants beat the Prince George Cougars 5–2. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Thomas Foster scored once and added an assist as his Vancouver Giants beat the Prince George Cougars 5–2. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

The Vancouver Giants ended 2013 with a threefer, taking four of a possible six points despite travelling on the bus between each game. Sunday was the final game of the calendar year for the G-Men, and they made it count with a 5–2 win over the visiting Prince George Cougars. Jared Rathjen made 27 stops for his eighth win of the season, while both Carter Popoff and Thomas Foster had a goal and an assist at the other end of the rink.

It’s a game they should have won, but on that third night in a row, you never know which of the legs or the heart will show up. Sometimes you get both. Sometimes you get neither.

With the win, the Giants go into 2014 at five games over .500 and sit seventh place in the Western Conference. Their 45 points are one more than they had all last year, when they finished in the league basement. Making it all the more remarkable is the fact that the Giants started this year with a dismal 1–9 stretch to start the season. Since then, they’ve played solid two-way hockey, and gone 18–5–7.

More after the break.

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Articles, Hockey

Edmonds stands tall against the Giants

The Vancouver Giants received a lump of coal in their Christmas stockings Sunday night, as their seven-game home win streak was snapped by the Prince George Cougars. It was just the third regulation loss in 19 games for the Giants, who remain in seventh place in the Western Conference going into the Christmas break.

Carter Popoff opened the scoring for the Vancouver Giants, but the Giants dropped a 3–1 decision to the Prince George Cougars going into the Christmas break. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Carter Popoff (@carter_popoff) opened the scoring for the Vancouver Giants, but the Giants dropped a 3–1 decision to the Prince George Cougars going into the Christmas break. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Carter Popoff scored his tenth of the year at 17:02 of the first period, a beauty of an individual effort. Popoff poke checked Zach Pochiro at the Cougar blueline, then held the puck on a 2-on-0 break and made a slick deke around a sprawling Ty Edmonds to open the scoring.

However, Vancouver gave up two in quick succession to start the second. Pochiro and Jordan Tkatch scored goals for the Cougars just 25 seconds apart for a lead they would never relinquish. Other than that brief lapse in the second period, the Giants dominated play, pouring 42 shots on Edmonds — including 25 in the second period alone — but couldn’t manufacture the tying goal  in front of 6,324 fans. Klarc Wilson added an insurance goal with one second remaining into an empty net. Edmonds, who picked up his 11th win on the season, was the unanimous choice for first star honours ahead of Vancouver skaters Brett Kulak and Tyler Benson.

Giants goaltender Payton Lee stopped 23 of 25 shots in the loss. It was the third game in three nights for both teams, who each went 0-for-4 on the power play, including a five-minute major in the third period to Giants captain Dalton Thrower for a high open-ice elbow.

Prince George goaltender Ty Edmonds stopped 41 of 42 Vancouver Giants shots en route to a 3-1 win at the Pacific Coliseum. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Prince George goaltender Ty Edmonds stopped 41 of 42 Vancouver Giants shots en route to a 3-1 win at the Pacific Coliseum. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

View highlights of the game here.

The next Vancouver Giants game is December 28 vs the Kelowna Rockets.

Articles, Hockey

Rathjen earns first WHL shutout; Giants win 7th straight home game

Vancouver Giants goaltender Jared Rathjen stopped 34 of 37 shots en route to a 5-3 win over the mighty Kamloops Blazers. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Vancouver Giants goaltender Jared Rathjen earned his first ever WHL shutout with a 3–0 win over the Everett Silvertips on Friday night. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Roberto Luongo wasn’t the only goaltender to throw a goose egg on Friday night. Down the street, Jared Rathjen made 22 saves against the Everett Silvertips to earn the first shutout of his WHL career.

Thousands of stuffed animals were collected for local children’s charities when Trent Lofthouse opened the scoring at 9:04 of the second period. Rathjen (@JRathjen33) didn’t get teddy bears rained down upon him for his work, but he stifled four Everett power play opportunities and kept the league’s fourth leading scorer, left winger Joshua Winquist, off the board. It’s just the second time since October 20th that Winquist has failed to hit the score sheet.

More, including quotes from Rathjen, after the jump.

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Giants deliver perfect weekend at the Coliseum

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The Vancouver Giants picked up all four points available this weekend, earning home wins in back-to-back games at the Pacific Coliseum.

First-overall pick and overall wunderkind Tyler Benson tries to stuff a puck home past Tri-City Americans goaltender Eric Comrie. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
First-overall pick and overall wunderkind Tyler Benson tries to stuff a puck home past Tri-City Americans goaltender Eric Comrie. He didn’t score on the play, but he was a major factor in Tyler Morrison scoring his third of the season, and his Giants won the game 5-2. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Canuck faithful came out on Friday night to see draft pick Hunter Shinkaruk, the captain of the Medicine Hat Tigers. But it was Saturday’s WHL debut of Tyler Benson, the top pick in last summer’s Bantam draft, that garnered the most attention.

Benson didn’t factor in the scoring, but he took a regular shift on the third line and did not look out of place skating against players four years his senior.

More to come, including pictures of four players with some serious hockey pedigree, but right now I need some shuteye before crushing the UBC Fall Classic in the morning.

Check out the WHL game summary here.

Hit up the game highlights here.