mr.x
May 28th, 2007, 02:47 AM
Not exactly the Stanley Cup, but close enough.....congrats Giants!
http://l.yimg.com/www.flickr.com/images/spaceball.gif
Giants win Cup
Vancouver beats Medicine Hat Tigers 3-1 for first Memorial Cup title
By Ian Walker, Vancouver Sun
Published: Sunday, May 27, 2007
Every season since 1999, the Memorial Cup winner has been the team that had an automatic bye to the championship final.
So much for history.
Michal Repik's wraparound goal at 15:05 of the third period gave the Vancouver Giants the franchise's first CHL championship on Sunday afternoon. The Giants defeated the Medicine Hat Tigers 3-1 in front of 16,281 fans at the Pacific Coliseum.
Repik's goal lifted the sold-out crowd off their seats and chants of "We want the Cup" weren't far behind.
The Giants were looking to become the first team since the 1999 Ottawa 67's to win the final without the bye. Ottawa also happened to be the host team and they beat the Belleville Bulls, the team that knocked them out of their own playoffs, by a 4-2 decision in the semifinals the day before downing the Calgary Hitmen 7-6 in overtime for the banner.
The win also avenged the Giants' loss to the Tigers in the Western Hockey League championship just two weeks ago. Medicine Hat won the seventh and deciding game 4-3 in double overtime. Overall, it was the ninth meeting this month between the two teams with the Tigers holding a 5-4 edge, but coming out on the wrong end of the biggest game of them all.
Mario Blizak opened the scoring midway through the second period with his 9-iron chip shot over the shoulder of Tigers goalie Matt Keetley from the doorstep. The goal was Vancouver's first against the Tigers in more than 140 minutes, dating back to the second period of Game 7 of the WHL championship, which Medicine Hat won 4-3 in double overtime.
The lead didn't last long, however. Tigers centre Darren Helm evened the score at one with his power-play goal with less than four minutes left in the middle period and Wacey Rabbit in the box for hooking.
Giant Spencer Machacek scored with less than a minute left in the game into an empty net to round out the scoring.
Giants goalie Tyson Sexsmith finished with 14 saves. Tigers netminder Matt Keetley stopped 37 shots directed his way.
The Giants jumped out to the start they wanted by dominating the Tigers everywhere but on the scoreboard and getting the partisan crowd into things early with a strong physical presence. Vancouver hit everything that moved and was easily the more determined and hungrier squad through 20 minutes. The Giants repeatedly pinned the Tigers deep in the Medicine Hat zone for shifts at a time as Vancouver's 17-5 edge in shots clearly indicated.
Giants power forward Milan Lucic, who won the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the tournament MVP, was a one-man wrecking crew five minutes into the game. Lucic belted centre Matt Lowry with an open-ice hit in the Tigers' zone - knocking the Tigers winger's helmet off his head in the process - before drilling winger Jakub Rumpel along the side boards. Lucic followed up the pair of devastating hits by smashing Trevor Glass into the end boards. It was at that point when Tigers defenceman Jordan Bedfeld thought it best to step in and save his teammates from injury and further embarrassment. Lucic managed to land the majority of blows, but their fight was ruled a draw by the judges at ringside.
The Tigers and the host Giants both finished the round-robin portion of the tournament with a 2-1 record, but Medicine Hat defeated Vancouver 1-0 in the final round-robin contest to advance directly to Sunday's championship game. The Giants defeated the OHL champion Plymouth Whalers 8-1 in the semifinal on Friday to book their place in the Cup final.
The Giants skated out to a standing ovation from the record 16,281 in attendance while Premier Gordon Campbell was booed almost as loudly as the Tigers' Derek Dorsett during the opening introductions.
ICE CHIPS: The Giants went with an identical lineup to the one used in Vancouver's win over the Whalers, meaning Tim Kraus missed his second straight game with what team officials are describing as an "undisclosed injury." Kraus had been used sparingly throughout the tournament after a unproductive post-season ... It's the first time since 1989 that two WHL teams have appeared in the Memorial Cup championship game. Tim Tinsdale scored the overtime winner to lead the Swift current Broncos to a Memorial cup triumph over the host Saskatoon Blades in 1989.
iwalker@png.canwest.com
© Vancouver Sun 2007
15,000 seats filled at the Pacific Coliseum. Note the new state-of-the-art video scoreboard.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/508833527_5255afffec.jpg?v=0
http://l.yimg.com/www.flickr.com/images/spaceball.gif
Giants win Cup
Vancouver beats Medicine Hat Tigers 3-1 for first Memorial Cup title
By Ian Walker, Vancouver Sun
Published: Sunday, May 27, 2007
Every season since 1999, the Memorial Cup winner has been the team that had an automatic bye to the championship final.
So much for history.
Michal Repik's wraparound goal at 15:05 of the third period gave the Vancouver Giants the franchise's first CHL championship on Sunday afternoon. The Giants defeated the Medicine Hat Tigers 3-1 in front of 16,281 fans at the Pacific Coliseum.
Repik's goal lifted the sold-out crowd off their seats and chants of "We want the Cup" weren't far behind.
The Giants were looking to become the first team since the 1999 Ottawa 67's to win the final without the bye. Ottawa also happened to be the host team and they beat the Belleville Bulls, the team that knocked them out of their own playoffs, by a 4-2 decision in the semifinals the day before downing the Calgary Hitmen 7-6 in overtime for the banner.
The win also avenged the Giants' loss to the Tigers in the Western Hockey League championship just two weeks ago. Medicine Hat won the seventh and deciding game 4-3 in double overtime. Overall, it was the ninth meeting this month between the two teams with the Tigers holding a 5-4 edge, but coming out on the wrong end of the biggest game of them all.
Mario Blizak opened the scoring midway through the second period with his 9-iron chip shot over the shoulder of Tigers goalie Matt Keetley from the doorstep. The goal was Vancouver's first against the Tigers in more than 140 minutes, dating back to the second period of Game 7 of the WHL championship, which Medicine Hat won 4-3 in double overtime.
The lead didn't last long, however. Tigers centre Darren Helm evened the score at one with his power-play goal with less than four minutes left in the middle period and Wacey Rabbit in the box for hooking.
Giant Spencer Machacek scored with less than a minute left in the game into an empty net to round out the scoring.
Giants goalie Tyson Sexsmith finished with 14 saves. Tigers netminder Matt Keetley stopped 37 shots directed his way.
The Giants jumped out to the start they wanted by dominating the Tigers everywhere but on the scoreboard and getting the partisan crowd into things early with a strong physical presence. Vancouver hit everything that moved and was easily the more determined and hungrier squad through 20 minutes. The Giants repeatedly pinned the Tigers deep in the Medicine Hat zone for shifts at a time as Vancouver's 17-5 edge in shots clearly indicated.
Giants power forward Milan Lucic, who won the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the tournament MVP, was a one-man wrecking crew five minutes into the game. Lucic belted centre Matt Lowry with an open-ice hit in the Tigers' zone - knocking the Tigers winger's helmet off his head in the process - before drilling winger Jakub Rumpel along the side boards. Lucic followed up the pair of devastating hits by smashing Trevor Glass into the end boards. It was at that point when Tigers defenceman Jordan Bedfeld thought it best to step in and save his teammates from injury and further embarrassment. Lucic managed to land the majority of blows, but their fight was ruled a draw by the judges at ringside.
The Tigers and the host Giants both finished the round-robin portion of the tournament with a 2-1 record, but Medicine Hat defeated Vancouver 1-0 in the final round-robin contest to advance directly to Sunday's championship game. The Giants defeated the OHL champion Plymouth Whalers 8-1 in the semifinal on Friday to book their place in the Cup final.
The Giants skated out to a standing ovation from the record 16,281 in attendance while Premier Gordon Campbell was booed almost as loudly as the Tigers' Derek Dorsett during the opening introductions.
ICE CHIPS: The Giants went with an identical lineup to the one used in Vancouver's win over the Whalers, meaning Tim Kraus missed his second straight game with what team officials are describing as an "undisclosed injury." Kraus had been used sparingly throughout the tournament after a unproductive post-season ... It's the first time since 1989 that two WHL teams have appeared in the Memorial Cup championship game. Tim Tinsdale scored the overtime winner to lead the Swift current Broncos to a Memorial cup triumph over the host Saskatoon Blades in 1989.
iwalker@png.canwest.com
© Vancouver Sun 2007
15,000 seats filled at the Pacific Coliseum. Note the new state-of-the-art video scoreboard.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/508833527_5255afffec.jpg?v=0