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.
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.
Third-year forward Marek Tvrdon finally scored his first goal of the season the other night. With that monkey off his back, he relaxed his way to a four-point night, including a hat trick, to lead the Giants to a 4-1 win over the visiting Victoria Royals. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Coming into Friday night’s hockey game, a lot of people were talking about #17 on the Victoria Royals roster. And deservedly so. With 18 points in 14 games, Alex Gogolev is one of the top scorers in the WHL. His fluid skating style and flashy puckhandling make him a threat every time he steps on the ice.
But it was the Vancouver Giants #17 who stole the show this night. Marek Tvrdon quadrupled his goal total for the season, notching a hat trick and adding an assist to help the Giants to just their third win of the season.
Captain Wes Vannieuwenhuizen and the Vancouver Giants offer just one alternative to the No Hockey League. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
With loads of people complaining about “NO HOCKEY”, Chris and I decided to talk about the options that abound for puck-crazed fans to scratch the itch left by Gary Bettman and his immovable shitshow. Along the way we tackle the disaster that replacement players would present, and Chris makes several points that I have no answer for. History in the making!
Give us a listen, won’tcha?
• Opening theme by the Orchid Highway
• Is second honeymoon like second breakfast?
• Are replacement players on the NHL horizon?
• Calling out supposed “hockey fans”
• Closing theme by the Orchid Highway
• Thanks for listening
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?).
Tyler Fuhr took over the third period against the woeful Everett Silvertips when Liam Liston allowed four goals on just 13 shots. Photo shamelessly stolen from The Province newspaper online.
The Vancouver Giants got their first two points of the season Sunday, a 3-2 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs, thanks in large part to rookie netminder Tyler Fuhr.He allowed two goals on 15 shots — both inside-out dekes on the PK that he can hardly be faulted for — but stopped every puck he should have. Tonight, Fuhr even made a save or two he probably shouldn’t have, including a dramatic pad stop with seconds left to preserve the win. That’s something the Giants haven’t seen early this season, as Liam Liston has posted a disappointing .774 save percentage in his three starts thus far.
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.
