Giants Find First Place Form and Finish With Flourish

South Island Thunderbirds, December 12, 2009

The BCMML’s defending champion Vancouver North West Giants came to the Island on Saturday to face the South Island Thunderbirds for a two game set and, for the first time in four seasons, did not start this December weekend on top of the BCMML standings.  After putting on a power play clinic and displaying their customary efficiency in the third period on Saturday night, the Giants remedied that situation with a 6 – 2 victory and showed that they still belong at the head of the pack.

The Thunderbirds’ game plan could not have been to get into a special teams’ battle but both teams were given no less than eight power play opportunities.  It was the Giants’ clear superiority with the man advantage that determined the outcome as they outscored the T-Birds 4 – 1 on their respective power plays and scored a fifth goal just three seconds after another penalty expired.

The first period was the best of the three from an entertainment perspective.  The Giants tallied at 4:02 on their first power play as forward Alex Kerfoot took a pass from Reinhart at right hash marks, then circled into the slot and found Matt Bellerive open at the red line to the right of the net.  Bellerive tucked the puck just inside the right post before T-Bird goalie Nic Renyard could get back to cover and it was quickly 1 – 0.

The score remained that way until the 14^th minute when the Giants took two penalties on one play as, with an uncharacteristic lack of discipline, a cross-checking infraction against the Giants was followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct call, leaving them two men short for two minutes.  It took the Birds just 59 seconds to tie the game as South Island forward Dane Gibson played the puck back to affiliate defenceman Nolan de Jong, who found Garett Kemmler open at the left point.  Kemmler’s low slap shot got past a Mark Walton screen in front to beat Giant’s goalie Lyndon Stanwood just inside the right post.  The period finished 1 – 1 with the shots 13 – 10 in the Giants’ favor.

Vancouver took the lead back at 6:17 of the second period, again with the man advantage, on a booming Reinhart slap shot from just inside the blue line that found the top right corner of the net past a well screened Renyard.  The visitors extended their lead six minutes later just as a South Island penalty expired, Stephen Iacobellis winning a face-off in the Birds’ zone and pushing the puck to Connor Wilson who came off the side boards and took the puck to the net, jamming his own rebound under the tangle of legs and sticks.

That goal was immediately answered by South Island as Garett Kemmler made a great pass from his own blue line to Gibson streaking between the Giants’ defenders at the Vancouver blue line.  Gibson fought off a defender’s hooking attempt and pulled the puck to his backhand to slip the puck past Stanwood, bringing his team back within one.  The teams went to the second break with the score 3 – 2 in the Giants’ favour, though the Giants had flexed their dominance on the power play to outshoot the Birds 17 – 9 in that middle frame.

Ominously, the T-Birds started the third period again on the penalty kill and could ill afford to allow the Giants to extend their lead.  Unfortunately, Vancouver came out with guns blazing and converted that opportunity on their fourth shot on goal.  This marker came from Connor Rankin who went to the net hard and beat Renyard from about 12 feet.

Vancouver sustained that momentum and did a great job of limiting the Thunderbirds’ chances the rest of the way, ultimately outshooting the Birds 13 – 2 in that last 20 minutes.  They pretty much put the game away at 6:27 when the puck came out of a battle in the corner to high scoring Curtis Loik, who skated unimpeded to the front of the net and reached around Renyard with his backhand to make the score 5 – 2.  The Giants added one final power play goal with just under five minutes remaining as Kerfoot walked into the low slot and went “post and in” over Renyard’s blocker.

The win vaults the Giants into first place, tied with the resurgent Greater Vancouver Canadians with 32 points, one more than the idle Cariboo Cougars.  The Thunderbirds’ record falls to 5 – 17 – 1 and they remain in 10^th place.

The two teams hook up again for their final meeting of the regular season on Sunday morning at 11:00 AM at Fuller Lake Arena in Chemainus.  The action is again expected to be fast and furious so it might just be worth the drive.