The Giants didn’t come out as hard as I had hoped tonight, but for the most part they held their own in the game despite losing a close one. The Chiefs managed one late in the first, in the last minute of the period, to take the lead going into intermission. They padded that lead in the second period. Jamie Tucker was better turning away 24 shots in the loss, after allowing two against on 5 shots last night before being pulled. The Giants got one back with a two man-advantage, but that was as close as they would get - not being able to really step up their game enough in the third to push for the win. A disappointing loss, but one I can tolerate unlike last night’s fiasco.

The first was littered with coincidental penalties as the refs couldn’t really make up their mind who to send to the box. Levko Koper broke the goose-egg at 19:11 of the opening frame, when Lance Bouma bobbled the puck in the Chiefs zone and it was turned around with quick passes to spring Koper loose on a clean breakaway. He made no mistake ripping it past Tucker. The Chiefs padded their lead in the second just past the mid-way mark. Mitch Wahl scored his 5th of the season. The Giants got that one back when the Chiefs got themselves into a bit of penalty trouble. Brendan Gallagher scored for the second time in as many games on a 5 on 3 PP. Kevin Connauton and Neil Manning got the assists. The third was pretty evenly played with neither squad really trying to take it to the other. That was okay for the Chiefs, but the Giants needed to bring a lot more to the fore to drive for the tie and the win, but they didn’t and the Chiefs were able to hold onto their slim lead for the narrow victory. The zebras also took the night off in the third pocketing the whistles until the 20:00 mark.

The Giants went 1 for 4 on the PP, while the Chiefs were 0 for 1. Most of the penalties were doubled up in this one. The Chiefs out-shot the Giants by a slim margin, 26-25. Not the most emotional or energetic game, but despite all the recent lip-service to the contrary Beach continues to prove he is still a gutless, classless ass. Just wait Spokane, wait until he self-destructs late in the season when you need him most. It still makes me smile thinking about how Chris Bruton levelled him. Bam. Priceless. Just glad he’s not on my team, despite the production. Anyway, I’m getting distracted. James Reid was very good between the pipes for Spokane and has had some good games this season.

The Giants are bussing home tonight and need to be ready for a game tomorrow versus the Oil Kings at the Coliseum. It’ll be their third game in three days and fourth in five days, after a less than successful first real road trip. The team still needs to coalesce, get some chemistry and a bit more of an identity. They need their 20’s to play like 20’s and also need to find a bit more production from some of their young guys. They need a bit of a statement game and to regain their confidence. The puck drops for the ..ugh.. country themed game at 5pm PST. I am seriously considering not going, country music and a struggling team? Oh Lord.

Three Stars

1. Mitch Wahl
2. Levko Koper
3. Brendan Gallagher