Vancouver Giants goaltender Jared Rathjen earned his first ever WHL shutout with a 3–0 win over the Everett Silvertips on Friday night. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Roberto Luongo wasn’t the only goaltender to throw a goose egg on Friday night. Down the street, Jared Rathjen made 22 saves against the Everett Silvertips to earn the first shutout of his WHL career.
Thousands of stuffed animals were collected for local children’s charities when Trent Lofthouse opened the scoring at 9:04 of the second period. Rathjen (@JRathjen33) didn’t get teddy bears rained down upon him for his work, but he stifled four Everett power play opportunities and kept the league’s fourth leading scorer, left winger Joshua Winquist, off the board. It’s just the second time since October 20th that Winquist has failed to hit the score sheet.
More, including quotes from Rathjen, after the jump.
The Vancouver Giants picked up all four points available this weekend, earning home wins in back-to-back games at the Pacific Coliseum.
First-overall pick and overall wunderkind Tyler Benson tries to stuff a puck home past Tri-City Americans goaltender Eric Comrie. He didn’t score on the play, but he was a major factor in Tyler Morrison scoring his third of the season, and his Giants won the game 5-2. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Canuck faithful came out on Friday night to see draft pick Hunter Shinkaruk, the captain of the Medicine Hat Tigers. But it was Saturday’s WHL debut of Tyler Benson, the top pick in last summer’s Bantam draft, that garnered the most attention.
Benson didn’t factor in the scoring, but he took a regular shift on the third line and did not look out of place skating against players four years his senior.
More to come, including pictures of four players with some serious hockey pedigree, but right now I need some shuteye before crushing the UBC Fall Classic in the morning.
The Vancouver Giants came out swinging in the first period, then held on for a gritty 4-3 overtime win over Calgary Wednesday night. In the first period, Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger didn’t look much like the young man who stopped 38 of 39 shots to gift his team a 2-1 win over Kelowna on Tuesday night. He was beaten three times in the first period, including once on a spectacular dangle by rookie Alec Baer.
Forward Alec Baer scored a beauty midway through the first period en route to a 4-3 win for the Vancouver Giants on Wednesday. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
He wouldn’t allow another puck past him until 2:04 of overtime, however, when Tim Traber swept home a rebound to seal just the third win of the season for the Giants.
They say the first game home after a road trip is the hardest game to play. The Vancouver Giants put the spurs to that urban legend Friday night, spanking the Kamloops Blazers 5-1 at the Pacific Coliseum to end an eight-game losing streak. The majority of that stretch came during a brutal road trek that included six games in six cities in eight nights. Let’s not forget that in the Dub, all of those klicks are logged by bus — it was a two-day jaunt from Vancouver just to reach the first game in Brandon, Manitoba.
Vancouver Giants defenseman Brett Kulak delivered a dominant performance in a 5-1 win over the Kamloops Blazers, scoring once and adding two assists. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
The G-men had been outscored 36-15 since their last win on September 21. A game against the 4-7 Blazers was just what the doctor ordered, then, as the Giants desperately needed a win to put a little wind in their sails in the still-young season.
They came out gunning, jumping out to a 1-0 just 2:20 into the game. The Giants would score early in each period, and overall outshot the Blazers 38-24 in the win. Calgary Flames prospect Brett Kulak scored once and added two helpers to become the team’s top scorer this season. Kulak now has two goals and eight points in 11 games played.
With the Vancouver Canucks just days away from training camp, players have slowly trickled into town. As they do, they’re hitting the ice at UBC for informal team skates, like the one Pucked in the Head hit up for some photos last week.
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Jason Garrison lines up a hit — albeit at 25% — during an informal team skate at UBC’s Father Bauer Arena. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
There’s not much to report — Luongo had yet to hit YVR, and David Booth came in skating and left answering media questions about hunting. Other than that, all I have to say is hockey’s back.
To wit, after the jump I’ve got something a little more tangible from the Vancouver Giants pre-season game at Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby.
Portland Winterhawks captain Troy Rutkowski scored once and picked up four penalty minutes in a 4-1 win to open the Western Conference final against the Kamloops Blazers. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Entering the playoffs this season, many thought it a foregone conclusion that the Portland Winterhawks were a lock to represent the west in the Memorial Cup. They had racked up a ridiculous .812 winning percentage during the regular season and featured the top three scorers in the Western Hockey League. To make matters worse for opposing teams, their defense was led by World Junior Gold Medallist and possible #1 NHL Draft pick Seth Jones, and their crease was manned by Mac Carruth, who only put together the second-best collection of GAA and SV% stats of any goaltender in the WHL this season.
So it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that the Hawks picked up their sixth win in a row to open the Western Conference Final series, a 4-1 win over the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday. It seems they have corrected the feeling of overconfidence that saw them lose twice to the lowly Everett Silvertips, who by all rights shouldn’t have made the post-season at all. Next to the massive 117-point campaign of the Hawks, the Silvertips’ 57 points in 72 games was downright cute in comparison.
The Kelowna Rockets became just the second team in WHL history to win a playoff series after going down three games to none to the Seattle Thunderbirds. It was a dramatic series, with five of the seven games going to overtime, including the seventh and deciding game.
Defenseman Madison Bowey set up the dramatic game 7 overtime winner to complete an historic comeback for the Kelowna Rockets. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Tyson Baillie scored his third goal of the game at 5:10 of the first overtime period, on a back door pass from Madison Bowey that left him with 3/4 of the net to shoot at. It was Baillie’s seventh goal of the series, and erased the sour taste in the mouths of Kelowna fans after Seattle had tied the game with just seven seconds remaining in regulation.
The Kelowna Rockets are one of just three WHL teams to crack the 100-point barrier in the 2012-13 season, and finished second overall behind the powerhouse Portland Winterhawks. One reason for the team’s success has been their young #2 goaltender — and ex-Vancouver Giants backup — Jackson Whistle.
Who knew Roland Orzabal played goal? *ahem* Okay, it’s not the lead singer for Tears for Fears; it’s Jackson Whistle, the stellar backup goaltender for the Kelowna Rockets, prepping his gear before helping the Rockets to a 6-2 win over the Vancouver Giants on March 15, 2013. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
What a difference a year makes. In 2011-12, he played 21 games for the Vancouver Giants, and put up forgettable numbers (3.61 GAA, .873 save &) to earn exactly one win. This season, however, he played 21 games for his hometown Kelowna Rockets, and was positively stingy. He boasted a 1.96 goals against average, and stopped more than 93% of pucks directed at his net, good for 15 wins and just two losses in regulation time.
Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing some of my photos from the 2012-13 Vancouver Giants season that didn’t wind up attached to a story. Here’s the first, capturing a penalty shot on March 1 — 15-year-old Alec Baer was awarded a penalty shot with 2:27 remaining in the third period that could have won the game for the home team. He was stopped by Lethbridge Hurricanes goaltender Ty Rimmer, but the Giants went on to win in overtime. Read our original piece on Gordie Howe night here.
The Vancouver Giants used a couple of underage players at various times in the 2012-13 season. One of them, Alec Baer, was awarded this penalty shot against the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Gordie Howe night, March 1. He missed the attempt, but the Giants won the game 5-4 in overtime. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Alec Baer is largely regarded as one of the top high school-aged prospects out of Minnesota. As many American teens are not picked up in the bantam draft, it is not a big surprise that the Giants were able to sign him to a WHL Player Agreement (the junior equivalent to a free agent contract in the pro leagues). He was invited to the Giants rookie training camp at the beginning of the 2012-13 season, and left as the top scorer. He joined the Giants for six games late in the season, scoring once (March 8 vs the Victoria Royals) and adding an assist.
You don’t think two points in six games is anything to write home about? Well keep in mind this is a 15-year-old playing against 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds.
Baer was introduced to Hall of Famer, Stanley Cup Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Joe Sakic exactly one month before this picture was taken, by Giants part-owner and ambassador Pat Quinn. Quinn said, “Joe, this young man just may be the next you.”
That conversation is one of the main reasons Baer decided to sign with the Giants instead of taking any one of numerous standing offers to join NCAA college clubs south of the border.
Defensemen Mason Geertsen (#44) and Brett Kulak (#2) stand in front of goaltender Jared Rathjen during the final weekend of WHL action. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
For the first time since their inaugural season in 2001-02, the Vancouver Giants find themselves on the outside looking in. While it’s tough for these young men to swallow right now, the Giants and their fans have enjoyed a remarkable run the past 12 years. They earned five consecutive BC Division banners from 2005-06 to 2009-10, and had at least 75 points every season between 2003-04 and 2011-12, including two Memorial Cup appearances (and one win). Numerous Giants alumni now pepper NHL rosters, including Milan Lucic, Cody Franson, Gilbert Brule, Jonathan Blum and now Brendan Gallagher.
