Canucks Army Postgame: Thank You North Dakota
By Vanessa Jang
7 years agoThe University of North Dakota hockey gods were at Rogers Arena tonight. Fresh off a NCAA national championship, former teammates Troy Stecher and Drake “could have been a Canuck” Caggiula were on the score sheet tonight. Both had as big of an impact tonight as they did with their North Dakota team last year. The first home game of the season was a night to remember for the Canucks young guns and new players.
With 1 goal and 2 assists tonight, Richmond, BC native Troy Stecher carried the Canucks in their 5-3 win over Edmonton.
The Statistics
Troy Stecher: 1G, 2A
Alex Edler: 3A
Anton Rodin: 1G, 1A
Brendan Gaunce, Joe LaBate, Erik Gudbranson: 1G
Michael Carcone, James Sheppard: 1A
Game Summary
The first period was all North Dakota as both Troy Stecher and Drake Caggiula had 2 points. As if Jordan Subban had another reason to worry, Stecher is certainly making a name for himself each day that he spends in Vancouver.
The media has not been shy in saying Brendan Gaunce was a stand-out at training camp, and Willie Desjardins added another compliment by calling him the best player in their intersquad scrimmage. Scoring the Canucks’ 2-1 goal, what else does he have to do to solidify a spot on opening night? Emerson Etem may need to watch out because Gaunce has his eye on being the 4th line LW.
Putting the Canucks up 3-2 was 2011 4th-round pick Joe LaBate. He looks big on the ice, not surprising since he stands at 6’5 and 205 pounds. He had 20 points (10G, 10A) in 66 games for Utica last season.
Thatcher Demko made his much anticipated Canucks debut tonight, replacing Ryan Miller in the middle of the 2nd period. He took a penalty for playing the puck out of his parameters, but let’s forget that happened. Sporting a brand new mask, it has quite the resemblance to that of Cory Schneider’s from a few seasons ago.
On the Canucks’ fourth goal of the night, it was none other than Troy Stecher who set up fellow newcomer Anton Rodin. Alex Edler made a creative no-look, behind the back pass to set up that play.
Finally, Erik Gudbranson hammered the nail into the coffin as he put the Canucks up 5-3 on an empty netter.
Game Notes
– Alex Edler, Erik Gudbranson, and Derek Dorsett wore the ‘A’ tonight.
– The Gudbranson-Hutton pairing looked good tonight, especially since they were against Connor McDavid’s line. McDavid had zero points and was a -1 tonight.
– Despite having the lowest total TOI, free-agent signee Michael Carcone showed flashes of skill tonight. He threw a team-leading 8 hits and, at one point, blew past Jordan Eberle in the neutral zone.
– With 1 goal and 2 assists tonight, Troy Stecher is making life mighty difficult for Luca Sbisa.
– Markus Granlund led the forwards with 20:53 TOI.
– Olli Juolevi played 15:22 and had 1 shot on goal.
Player of the Game
Is this even a surprise?
Recent articles from Vanessa Jang
