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Grounded Jets: Canucks Young Stars Edge Out 3-2 Victory
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J.D. Burke
Sep 18, 2016, 20:21 EDTUpdated:
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In the Canucks’ second leg of the Young Stars Tournament they hosted the high-flying Winnipeg Jets for an afternoon showdown at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
It was a clash of ideologies, as the Canucks emptied their defensive cupboard with a seven-man blue line to match with the Jets array of top-flight forwards. With Brock Boeser and Adam Gaudette ineligible to play and Dmitry Zhukenov nursing an injury, that was bound to be the case for Vancouver; similarly, the Jets don’t have their best defensive prospect Josh Morrissey to call on and help an otherwise paper-thin defence corps.
On the backs of their many (and I mean many) tournament invitees, the Canucks forecheck was active early and reaped instant rewards, with Danny Moynihan of the Shawinigan Cataractes put home the rebound on a Troy Stetcher shot. Cole Cassels (a player I focused on intensely for Friday’s recap) put in a similar goal in the dying seconds of the second period, scoring at 19:59 mark. Back on their heels, the Jets clawed their way back even with a fast and furious push in the third period. Though Winnipeg tied the game, a Tyler Coulter (another invitee) shot from in close was good to put the Canucks back on top, with what proved to be the game-winning goal.

Quick Hits

  • In spite of the fact that Winnipeg was able to knot things at two in the third, I thought Michael Garteig played a great game from start to finish. As one might expect, the Jets heavily outshot the Canucks in the third and Garteig made more than his fair share of great saves in the process — which of course undersells how well he played early, keeping the Canucks in front comfortably. In total Garteig had 28 saves on the night.
  • The invites continue to steal the show. Of the Canucks three goals, invitees contributed two — the first by Moynihan and Coulter’s in the third to seal the deal. And while they didn’t score, the Canucks’ third line of Marc-Olivier Roy, with Yan-Pavel LaPlante and Alexis D’Aoust on opposite flanks, were clearly their best line. They were dogged on the forecheck and produced more than their fair share of chances — though unfortunately it was usually LaPlante taking the shot. Speaking with Travis Green after the game, he was most impressed by their ability to come out with the puck in one-on-one battles. Can’t say I disagree.
  • So apparently Olli Juolevi is human. He didn’t have a bad game. Not by any stretch of the imagination. There were a couple of turnovers in his own zone, and he was caught flat footed on the Michael Spacek goal, caused primarily by a giveaway at the opposition blue line. Interestingly enough, Green had Juolevi out on the very next shift. The Canucks are nothing, if not confident in their fifth overall selection.
  • It’s a shame I didn’t have the time on Friday to include Troy Stetcher’s contributions on Friday. He was really damn good. Stetcher was great today too, though, so no harm no foul. He was a one-man breakout machine at even strength and did an excellent job quarterbacking the Canucks’ power play. Stetcher doesn’t have the hardest shot, but I admire his ability to get pucks through — that’s value added with the extra man.

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