Tag Archives: Giants

Articles, Hockey

Vancouver Giants Teddy Bear YouTube Challenge

Anthony Ast is one of the Giants featured in the Teddy Bear Toss promo video, which the organization hopes will go viral before their December 14 game versus the Prince George Cougars. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Like a lot of organizations, the Vancouver Giants make important gestures to the charitable community throughout the year, and especially so at Christmas time. A great Xmas event is the Teddy Bear Toss, which takes place this year on December 14. Fans are invited to bring an unwrapped, new teddy bear (or other stuffed animal), and throw it onto the ice when the Giants score their first goal of the night. The toys are collected and donated to the Province Empty Stocking Fund for underprivileged children and the CKNW Orphans’ Fund — it’s a treat to be a part of, and an impressive display of generosity to see all those airborne bears.

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Articles, Hockey

Payton Lee shines in back-to-back losses

Vancouver has struggled this season, but 16-year-old Payton Lee has kept them close the last couple of games. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

For the second game in a row, Payton Lee was the best player in a Vancouver Giants uniform. And for the second game in a row, the 16-year-old goaltender from Cranbrook earned a big fat regulation loss for his efforts, as his teammates were unable to put together much of anything at the other end of the ice. Lee stopped 29 of 31 shots, but his Giants left Kamloops on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.

Continue reading Payton Lee shines in back-to-back losses →

2012-13 Season, Articles, Hockey, Podcast

Episode 48 – What Lockout?


Chris wears a shirt that is destined for ugly jersey greatness, offers to help cheer your opponents into oblivion, and makes an inappropriate comment about his ancestors. Jason is his usual smug, snickering self, but he scores a few points for adding some of Bruno Mars “Locked Out of Heaven” into the opening of the podcast.

  • Introduction
  • Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars
  • Sofa Surfer Girl by the Orchid Highway
  • Somebody Approved This: Grizzly Adams Halloween Jersey
  • We don’t really miss NHL hockey all that much
  • Taylor Hall on AHL hockey
  • Abbotsford Heat still don’t get attendance love
  • Jason strokes his own photo ego
  • Time for a Change by the Orchid Highway

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Articles, Hockey

Winterhawks shred Giants

The good news: the offensively-challenged Vancouver Giants scored five times against the stingiest defense in the WHL. The bad news: the Portland Winterhawks scored nine goals themselves, catapulting Vancouver into the league’s worst goals-against position and embarrassing the G-men in front of 7,318 fans who packed the Pacific Coliseum on Friday night.

Portland Winterhawks captain Troy Rutkowski got an assist, but somehow managed to notch a -3 on the night, as his team trounced the Vancouver Giants 9-5 in WHL action November 9. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Portland Winterhawks captain Troy Rutkowski got an assist, but somehow managed to notch a -3 on the night, as his team trounced the Vancouver Giants 9-5 in WHL action November 9. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

It’s not an altogether surprising result: the Winterhawks have lost just three games in regulation this year, and sit tied for second in the W with the Eastern Conference-leading Calgary Hitmen. They came into the game riding a nine-game win streak, where the Giants were considering a 3-3 split in their last six games a moral victory. On paper, then, Portland should win this game.

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Articles, Hockey

Vancouver anything but giant on the power play

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.

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Articles, Hockey

Giants snap the streak

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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.

Continue reading Giants snap the streak →

Articles, Hockey

Giants tame Tigers

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?).

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Articles, Hockey

Vancouver Giants record first win of the season

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.

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2012-13 Season, Articles, Hockey

Belfast Giants yet to lose a regulation league game

As many of you know, I vowed to follow the Belfast Giants this season as my personal snub of Gary Bettman and his travelling shit show  insistence upon another NHL lockout. Instead of writing substandard game recaps from afar, I’ve enlisted Giants seasons ticket holder Jim Doran to give us first hand reports from the capital of Northern Ireland. This is his second report for the 2012-13 season — the first can be read here.

by Jim Doran

Belfast Giants
This gorgeous aerial shot of Stephen Murphy’s crease in the Odyssey Arena was taken by Michael Cooper — visit his website and buy his stuff!

I should probably set the scene somewhat for anyone unfamiliar with the UK Elite Ice Hockey League. The EIHL is made up of ten teams; four from England (Coventry Blaze, Hull Stingrays, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers); four from Scotland (Braehead Clan, Dundee Stars, Edinburgh Capitals and Fife Flyers); the Cardiff Devils from Wales; and the Belfast Giants from Northern Ireland.

This season has seen the league spilt into two conferences for the first time. The four Scottish teams along with Hull comprise the Gardiner Conference, with the Giants joining the Steelers, Blaze, Panthers and Devils in the Erhardt Conference. The new format sees each club play teams in their own conference eight times during the season (four home / four away) and play the teams in the opposing conference four times (twice home / twice away). Continue reading Belfast Giants yet to lose a regulation league game →

2012-13 Season, Articles, Hockey

Victoria Royals 2012-13 home opener

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.