Giants Game Report: Game 7 @ Kelowna
Giants fall in overtime to the Rockets to take 5 of 6 points from three-straight meetings.
Despite taking an early lead in the opening minute, the Giants fell 7-6 in overtime to the Kelowna Rockets in the third of three-streight against the BC Division rival. The G-Men showed grit, coming back from being down 3-1 to take a 5-3 lead halfway through the game; however, penalty-trouble opened the door for the Rockets, who tied it with less than a minute left, and beat Vikman with a squeaker to take the 2-points.
A similar theme emerged for the Giants, who’s depth contributed just 6 shots on goal and were virtually non-factors in the offense.
Forwards:
1st Line:
#42 Justin Sourdif (F, ‘02): Sourdif continued his strong start to the season, recording a primary and secondary assist, but just a single shot on goal in the losing effort. The first line controlled play all night, with all three skaters having a Corsi above 60%, but the unit was only able to chip in 1 goal on 8 combined shots. Sourdif continues to show chemistry with Adam Hall, setting him up halfway through the second period for his best scoring chance on the night, but he’ll need to register more individual offense, Sourdif was averaging 3.83 shot per game prior to last night.
Game Score: 1.9
#12 Adam Hall (F, ‘01): Snakebitten on the night, Hall had a few great chances to score and recorded 5 shots on goal along with a primary assist and drew a penalty. Going into last night Hall had 5 goals on 17 shots for a shooting percentage of 29.4%, well above both his career shooting percentage prior to this season of 8.5% and the league average for forwards of 12.6%, so some regression is to be expected in terms of his goal-scoring. Still, Hall was generating chances and was responsible defensively, so even if he doesn’t keep up his torrid pace, he’s still likely to approach 30-goals in my opinion.
Game Score: 1.8
#19 Payton Mount (F, ‘02): Mount recorded the lone goal for the top-line, coming courtesy of a solo effort where his first shot was blocked, but he potted the rebound. Mount looked more involved last night, especially on the powerplay. The 1st PP unit shifted from running through Lysell on the half-wall to Sourdif on the blueline, with the Giants looking to have one forward, either Mount or Lysell, drive the net with the puck as a decoy to collapse the PK, then pass back to Sourdif at the blueline who would bump it to the other flank, giving that forward time and space to drive the net and shoot. This gave Mount more of an active role on the unit, and could lead to some more scoring opportunities.
Game Score: 1.3
2nd Line:
#8 Ty Thorpe (F, ‘02): For only the second time this year, Thorpe posted a Corsi sub-50% in the loss to the Rockets, but despite that was solid, recording two shots and a primary assist. Thorpe got the Giants started, winning the draw and setting up Palmieri for a bit of a tap-in to open the scoring, but was held off the scoresheet for the rest of the night. One area that Thorpe struggled in, uncharacteristically, was on the draw, going 6/18 (33.3%) on the night, falling to 52.9% on the season.
Game Score: 0.8
#11 Fabian Lysell (F, ‘03): Lysell’s skating ability was on full display, and he’s starting to use it to his advantage. On a few occasions, he was able to force defencemen to back up and play bigger gaps in order to respect his speed, but Lysell can also pull the speed-break and delay, as he did to set up Hall who rang iron after receiving a pass from Lysell. Plays like that, are going to make him a really dangerous playmaker and set up a lot of trailers and activating defencemen *ahem Leslie* for some really dangerous chances.
One play Lysell made that stuck with me was, in the 2nd period he took a cross-check in the defensive zone and for a second I thought he was going to retaliate and take a penalty, but the puck came loose, he took it up ice and sprung Ostapchuk, who scored his first of the season. I loved that, he won’t make you pay with physicality, he‘ll just go up ice and score. In true Bruin fashion, don’t poke the bear.
Game Score: 1.2
#10 Zack Ostapchuk (F, ‘03): A nice play for a secondary assist on the first goal, and scoring one of his own on a breakaway, Ostapchuk played his best game of the season. He looked much more comfortable and confident with the puck, and almost sealed the game for the Giants, but wasn’t able to tip in a shot/pass from Lysell late in the third to give the Giants an insurance marker. Hopefully, this is a turning point for Ostapchuk and he builds off this to continue producing offensively.
Game Score: 1.3
The Bottom 6:
#36 Justin Lies (F, ‘03): Lies didn’t do much that was noteworthy, just a single shot and no points in the loss. The third line at times was able to keep the puck in the Rockets’ end, but on the Rockets’ first goal, Pentecost worked the puck up the wall and Lies wasn’t there to receive it, so the Rockets kept possession and subsequently scored. Lies has the tools of a good player - he’s ranked as a C Prospect by NHL Central Scouting - but he’s not asserting himself and ‘making things happen’ when he’s on the ice.
Game Score: -0.4
#7 Ty Halaburda (F, ‘05): Halburda had a primary and secondary assist on the night and, while his line was out-shoot at even-strength, he continues to get better as the season goes on. His role on PP2 keeps him involved in the offense, but it was the strip and feed to Semeniuk on the Giants’ 6th goal that highlighted his growth as a player to me.
Game Score: 0.8
#14 Ethan Semeniuk (F, ‘05): Finished off a nice feed from Halaburda for his second of the season.
Game Score: 0.9
#15 Jaden Lipinski (F, ‘04):
Game Score: -0.1
#17 Kaden Kohle (F, ‘02):
Game Score: -0.5
#18 Colton Langkow(F, ‘04):
Game Score: -0.1
Defencemen:
#29 Tanner Brown (D, ‘02): Brown played a ton last night, especially in the first period when the D-pairs went into a blender, and he got his first goal of the season. Apart from that, it was a pretty non-descript night for Brown, who played most of the game with Horning as the defacto top-pair. I didn’t think they played poorly, but they didn’t play as well as I would have expected as a pairing. Brown also took a penalty late in the third, giving the Rockets the powerplay they scored on to tie the game and force overtime.
Game Score: 0.4
#47 Mazden Leslie (D, ‘05): While I haven’t gotten any pushback on Leslie - I think he’s a great player - I can see why he might be divisive for some. He got caught below the goal line in the offensive zone, with no forward covering for him, leading to a 3-on-1 for the Rockets and I can see how this could give coaches and fans a headache. He’s high-octane, or as I would put it, high-event, meaning a lot of things happen when he’s on the ice. But, with that said, the Giants come out on top more often than not with him out there, and that’s why I think he’s such a boost to the blueline. His ability to maintain possession, and facilitate transition into the nuetral and offensive zones is unmatched on the G-Men blueline.
Game Score: 0.8
#22 Connor Horning (D, ‘01): Horning had a goal and an assist on the night, playing mostly with Tanner Brown. While the offensive production was there, I don’t think it was his best 200-foot game of the season, he had a tough giveaway on the Rockets’ fifth goal in his own zone and struggled to clear the front of the net at times. The offense kind of makes up for that last night, but on the nights when he’s not producing playing like he did could be a problem.
Game Score: 1.4
#13 Damian Palmieri (D, ‘04): Palmieri started the night with Horning, but moved to a pair with Leslie around midway through the first period. The pair did well to tilt the ice at even-strength, and Palmieri picked up a goal, an assist, and a fight - the Gordie Howe hat-trick. On top of that, he had a great back-check in the second period, highlighting a strong all-around game.
Game Score: 2.3
#24 Brenden Pentecost (D, ‘03):
Game Score: -0.5
#21 Nico Camazzola (D, ‘03):
Game Score: -0.5
Goaltender:
#30 Jesper Vikman (G, ‘02): Allowing 7 goals on 40 shots (.825 Save %) just isn’t good enough and drops Vikman to a .893 save percentage through 6 games. Vikman made some nice saves, including a great save on a 2-on-1 in the first, but the Rockets were able to beat him from distance with shots through traffic. I don’t fault him on the 3rd goal, but Vikman has to has to make a save on the OT winner, which was a bad angle shot that went through him. I expect him to bounce back, but as the Giants’ schedule starts to get heavier they’ll need more from Vikman.
Game Score: -1.8