It was the Giants teddy bear toss night, but it felt more like April Fools as mindless and downright biased officiating took centre stage tonight in a battle against two evenly matched and hard-working teams. Neither goalie were liabilities for either team and both played very solid games between the pipes. The real problem was the officiating. I was really hoping that tonight I could lay off the refs, but I can comfortably say that they were the reason for the loss and pretty much the worst tandem I have seen all season. Sounds like a bit of hyperbole I know but sadly it is true.

The Giants were assessed 13 penalties to the Silvertips 7. Both teams played the same style of hockey, both tripped and clutched and hit but in the officials eyes the Giants were doing it all about 50% more and that is simply ridiculous. The ‘Tips played their usual pick game where they constantly interfere after a face-off or when players are driving to the net, they applied more can opener moves than a tuna festival, and had their fair share of high sticks and pull-downs. This is not to say the G-Men were angels at all, but it is to say that the refs chose to call what they chose to call and it was lopsided to the extreme, unnecessarily and blatantly biased to the point that I wondering how much MacIssac and Kirk were paid prior to the puck drop.

For the third time in four games the game started with a fight. Garet Hunt and Brennan Sonne faced off and sized each other up after doffing their lids and shedding their gloves. Garet got the first and last punches in during the short battle and Sonne barely got a lick in before going down after receiving a few overhands and couple of uppercuts from the feisty fireplug wearing the Giants black jersey. 3 seconds in and the crowd of over 10,000 applauded in appreciation, if not a bit of bafflement in the process. The crowd themselves seemed louder and bit hungrier than usual and that was not simply because of the sheer number of fans in attendance, but more of a vibe of anticipation which rippled through the crowd. The teams skated to a scoreless tie after one with the Giants controlling most of the play and limiting the visitors to 4 shots, while getting 9 of their own on the Silvertip net. David Reekie was solid during the first as he thwarted a few nice opportunities from players like JD Watt and Milan Lucic who were both driving the net early on to only come away empty handed. The parade to the penalty box was even in the first as the refs seemed to be calling mostly what they saw although some of it was very minor, especially considering what they let go, but it would only get worse.

The insanity continued early in the second when the ‘Tips were given a 5 on 3 advantage off of one call that should have been a dive and another that was simply incidental contact which resulted in a player going down and a trip assessed. The Giants killed the penalty(s) and moved on. The Giants opened the scoring while killing yet another penalty and Timmy Kraus was brought down in the neutral zone by two ‘Tips players from behind and awarded a penalty shot. Kraus skated toward Reekie at speed and made a move before snapping the puck high on the Everett ‘tender. The Giants faithful launched a volley of plush toys onto the ice and a couple of the cuddly bears got hung up in the net which rings the backside of the arena on both ends. At my end we started yelling ‘don’t poke the bear’ as they tried to dislodge the stuffed passenger from the netting. Eventually they stopped poking the bear and let it be ( a wise decision) – at the other end of the arena a bright white plushy friend was stuck near the top of the end nose first into the netting – I’m happy to say he remained for the rest of the game as well, as they refrained from poking that bear. Anyway back to the game. The ‘Tips had a bit of foray late in the period where they pressed the Giants net and with milliseconds left had a goal waived off for running the goaltender. I have never seen the red and the green light go on at the same time (as I thought they cancelled each other out), but I did tonight. The goal was instantly waived off by the officials.

The teams began the third period much as they had played the rest of the game with a close checking style and keeping the other guy to the outside. Mid-third though the Giants were assessed four virtually consecutive penalties while exactly the same kind of play and infractions were being committed on the other side of the puck with no calls. The home squad weathered most of them but were finally beaten on the Silvertips 12th PP of the game. Jonathan Harty powered one through from the point with tons of traffic at the top of the crease. Tyson Sexsmith never even saw the shot.

In OT the Giants were picked and hauled down without any calls and the only penalty assessed was when it was too late to do anything about with 0.3 seconds left as Reekie lashed out at Watt who was playing the jackass skating repeatedly through Reekie’s crease instead of challenging the puck carrier standing behind the net and trying to get a goal. The player who sat in the box was also the first up in the shootout, and curiously enough Garet’s dance partner at the beginning of the game. Brennan Sonne scored the first shootout goal, which was matched by Tim Kraus. Guiterrez and Hamill both missed for the ‘Tips, and Lucic and Watt missed for the home squad. Newly acquired RW Carter Smith slipped one past Sexsmith and Kyle Lamb ripped one past Reekie only to ring it off the crossbar and out, giving the victory to the Everett squad.

The game was a good one and one could see how games between these two teams could be barnburners when it comes down to crunch time. The Giants out-played the ‘Tips for the majority of the game and their PK was stellar cutting off the lanes and keeping the much vaunted Everett PP to the outside. The G-Men were also very good at clearing the puck from in front of their net after the first stop and not allowing any rebound shots from close in. The Giants killed off 12 of 13 penalties, but went 0 for 6 on their opportunities. The shots were 27-22 in favour of the home team as nether team was allowed many second shots on the doorstep which can pad the shot stats on a given night. Despite the horrific officiating it was a decent game, with good chances both ways and those in attendance were entertained. On a side note I did not hear one cowbell from the amassed Everett faithful who turned out in droves wearing their road white and green, until Reekie was announced second star on the night. Thank you Silvertippers, thank you. By the by, the Tips fans sitting next to me even commented at how poor the officiating was in case you readers seem to think I am simply a homer filled with sour grapes – believe me if the Giants had won this game in the shootout the resulting recap would be virtually the same, except that I would be talking about how we dodged a bullet rather than got burned.

The two teams face off tomorrow ( Saturday) night in Everett where they continue their two-game home at home series. I expect the Giants will be a hungry team and frankly pissed off at how this night unfolded. The puck drops at 7:05 at the Everett Events Centre and should be a good one.

Three Stars
1 – Brett Festerling
2 – David Reekie
3 – Brendan Mikkelson