The Vancouver Giants were eager to get back into the winning swing of things after taking a 1-0 OT loss in Portland, on November 25th. Last night, four Giants played in the ADT Russia Challenge where Cody Franson garnered a goal and Spencer Machacek an assist in an 8-1 drubbing of the Russian Selects. JD Watt and Brendan Mikkelson also suited up for the WHL squad. Tonight also marked the return of Burnaby native Kenndal McArdle in his first game for the G-Men. McArdle was acquired yesterday in a trade with Moose Jaw which saw Jason Reese and an ’07 second round pick go the other way. McArdle brings a tenacious game, a snipers instincts and game-breaking ability which will help the Giants in their bid for the Memorial Cup.

The Giants started out a bit tentative and sluggish in the first making some poor plays in the neutral zone and getting hung up in their own end. They allowed themselves to be beat down low and did not bring their best skating game to fore in the opening stanza. Prince George out-shot the Giants 11-7 and tallied the first marker 12:55 into the first. Some good work along the boards allowed Nick Drazenovic to get an open shot which caromed off of Eric Hunter standing at the top of the crease. After such a lack-lustre period the Vancouver squad managed to salvage the score by tying it up with a mere 15 seconds left in the frame. Kenndal McArdle got his first point as a Giant by feeding the puck to Tim Kraus in the neutral zone but the work for the goal was pure Kraus. Kraus button-hooked just over the blue-line and looked to be in trouble, but he patiently waited for JD Watt to enter the zone and then softly dished the puck onto Watt’s stick. JD then cruised in off the RW and snapped a beauty five-hole on Cyr to tie the game going into the second.

Getting that goal allowed the Giants to regroup and reset themselves to play their style of hockey. The G-Men have out-scored their opponents 43-10 in the middle stanza this season and that stat is more telling for what they haven’t let in, than by what they have scored. The Vancouver group got back to playing their kind of hockey in the second by pressuring the Cougars in the neutral zone, slowing down their talented free-wheeling forwards and frustrating them in the process.

The Cougars battled back for a time though and capitalised on the PP, early in the second. The Cats had their best pressure of the period in a flurry which kept the puck deep in the Vancouver zone with Prince George players buzzing around the net. Tyson Sexsmith weathered the onslaught but in the end a loose puck was batted past him when he was sprawled on the ice after making a few solid stops. Jared Walker managed to get his stick on the loose puck and put his team back up by one. However, just 29 seconds later the Giants would tie the game back up and never look back. Tim Kraus wheeled in the Cougars zone and fed McArdle in the slot. McArdle found his line-mate coming off the boards and Kraus snapped the puck beating Cyr between the wickets for the second time tonight. The Cougars then got into penalty trouble as the Giants began to press the Cats’ zone, maintained the pressure and kept their feet moving as they cut to the net drawing a four consecutive second period penalties from the visitors.

Mario Bliznak made the most of one of the PPs, benefiting from the sharp play of Michal Repik. Jonathon Blum fed Repik at the point and Repik wheeled and held onto the puck as he searched for an open look. He found it and snapped the puck hard and high to the net and Bliznak managed to tip it past Real Cyr, giving the home team their first lead of the game. The Bliznak, Repik, Lucic line was buzzing all night, but Lucic did not really have his best night as he seemed a tad slow on his feet, and didn’t fight for the puck he way I usually expect him to do. The Giants went up by two with just .7 (yes, point 7) seconds left on the clock in the second. With 17 seconds left in the middle frame the G-Men came out of their zone. Kyle Lamb brought the puck into the Cougar zone and down the boards drifting the puck back to Mikkelson at the point. Mikkelson slipped one on net through traffic and James Wright pounced on the rebound for his first ever WHL goal. The Vancouver squad out shot the Cougars 19-4 in the second.

The Giants continued their stifling play in the third sitting back and stymieing the Cougar offense with tight checking and good positioning. They finished off the visiting Cats about six minutes into the final period. Michal Repik would be rewarded for his hard work all night long putting his team up by three and ostensibly salting away the victory. Jonathon Blum snapped a shot at Real Cyr who made the stop but did not control the rebound. Milan Lucic gathered the rebound and chipped one at the net which bounced off of Cyr and floated to the open side where Repik was ready to pounce, finding twine with a quick wrister. The game had some nice hits, but all in all it was not the kind of physical battle you would expect from these two teams. There were no fights and the refs pretty much allowed the teams room to play and may have missed a call or two but were fairly consistent throughout the evening.

The Giants out shot the Cougars 36-18, holding the Cats to just 7 shots in the latter two periods. The Cougars were 1 for 4 on the PP, while the Giants went 1 for 6 – two of those penalties that PG took were the much hated “delay of game penalty” for throwing the puck over the glass. Tonight was the first of three in three nights. The Giants travel down to Seattle tomorrow night (Sat. Dec. 2), where I expect that newly acquired ‘tender Blaine Neufeld will get the nod for the start and then finish up on Sunday (Dec. 3) in Kamloops to take on the steadily climbing Blazers who have been the only team to deal the Giants a loss at home this season. Both are evening games starting at 7pm local time.

Three Stars
1 – Tim Kraus
2 – Jonathon Blum
3 – Kenndal McArdle