Tendeck returns in great form
David Tendeck was in mid-playoff form, even though he was making his post-season debut three games into the first round.
Tendeck, the Vancouver Giants’ No. 1 goalie who had sat out the opening two games of their series with the Victoria Royals with an upper-body injury, was sharp in his return to the net Tuesday night, making 35 saves in a 5-1 win before 4,683 fans at the Langley Events Centre.
Vancouver holds a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final. Game 4 is Thursday at the LEC.
The Giants are in the playoffs for the first time in four springs.
Tendeck thwarted Victoria’s Noah Gregor and Dante Hannoun on a 2-on-0 at 11:58 of the first period, neatly reading a pass and getting across for a glove stop on Hannoun with Vancouver leading 1-0.
Tendeck made a nifty right-pad save on Matt Phillips at 16:40 of the first and then held his ground on a Phillips breakaway 0:34 into the second period, helping force Phillips to miss wide on the forehand.
Victoria finally beat him with 7:52 left in the game, but that only made it 4-1.
Tendeck, who made the Western Conference second all-star team, had missed the final three regular-season games. He hadn’t played since going the distance in a 4-3 loss on the road against the Tri-City Americans on March 11.
Vancouver goals came from James Malm, Bowen Byram, Milos Roman, Tyler Benson and Owen Hardy. Noah Gregor scored for Victoria. Griffen Outhouse made 28 saves for the Royals.
Here’s what else we learned:
THE BIG HURTS
Victoria was minus No. 1 centre Tyler Soy (undisclosed) for a third straight game, and was also missing No. 2 pivot Tanner Kaspick (upper-body injury), who left Saturday’s game in the third period after getting hit by Justin Sourdif along the side boards in the Vancouver zone and didn’t return.
In Tuesday’s Victoria Times Colonist, reporter Cleve Dheensaw wrote that Kaspick “will not skate in Langley this week, and perhaps not for the rest of the series.” He also quoted Victoria general manager Cameron Hope as saying that Soy could return “at some point in the series.”
Soy, one of Victoria’s three overages, had 92 points, including 36 goals, in 66 regular-season games. Kaspick had put up 64 points, including 25 goals, in 60 regular-season games.
Soy and Kaspick came into this series with 81 WHL playoff games combined. The entire Vancouver roster had 76.
The Royals were also without veteran defenceman Scott Walford, as well as winger Dino Kambeitz, who left Friday’s game after a check to the head by Vancouver defenceman Darian Skeoch. Skeoch was serving the second game of his three-game suspension for the hit and winger Brayden Watts was also out. He left Saturday’s game in the second period after a check from Victoria defenceman Chaz Reddekopp. The teams won’t admit it, but it’s easy to suggest that Kambeitz and Watts likely have concussions.
Alex Kannok Leipert took Skeoch’s spot again after sitting out Game 1. Kannok Leipert has been bothered by a lower-body injury down the stretch. Tyler Ho came into the lineup for Watts, and Tyler Popowich moved up from the fourth line to the third line, taking Watts’ spot with Hardy and Jared Dmytriw.
THE LONG REPLAY
Vancouver coach Jason McKee was annoyed that the gameday staff at the Save- On-Foods Memorial Centre replayed Skeoch’s hit on Kambeitz several times on the big screen while Kambeitz was being attended to on the ice. The referees didn’t have their arms up to call a penalty initially, but opted to call one after meeting, and they did seem to be looking up to watch it on the giant scoreboard.
Sure enough, the game-day staff at the LEC showed various replays of a puck going into the net off Phillips’ skate at 13:52 of the first period. They even blew up the picture so you could see the skate more clearly.
It was called a goal on the ice originally, but then overturned.
We could have a video vendetta brewing.
MISERY COULD HAVE COMPANY
Vancouver defenceman Matt Barberis could be in trouble with the league office after he received a cross-checking major following a scuffle away from the play with Victoria forward Kaid Oliver at the second-period buzzer.
The league reviews all nonfighting major penalties. The cross-checking major came with an automatic game misconduct.