Doug Christiansen – Coach’s Corner

Posted on Saturday, January 7th, 2012 at 12:01 am

Welcome Back to the Odyssey Arena!Tonight, we host the Dundee Stars. The Stars are under the leadership of new coach: Brent Hughes. Hughes has the task of getting his team back into the play-offs for the second consecutive year. It will not be easy but I know him very well and I expect him to be up for the challenge. I just hope he does not have success tonight.

Every time we play Dundee, I know who we have to focus on: Chris Whitley. Whitley does not take a back seat to any import goalie in our league. He is big, athletic and capable of winning a game all by himself. He is the key to their team. He is surrounded by big defenders who clear the net well. We defeated them in Dundee on January 2 by crashing the net and finding rebounds. We will need to do the same tonight.

Last season, we limped into the New Year. However, this team has learned the lesson from a year ago and we played very well in December staying at the top of the standings.  The primary key to our success has been our special teams. Our penalty kill and power play lead the league.  If we accomplish our goals, our special teams will be a huge reason behind that success.

I would like to acknowledge Tom Dignard for his recent performances. Dignard has been improving all year. I knew when I signed him that he had the ability to be a top level defender in our league. He is only in his second season as a professional but he is getting better every game. He is starting to be aggressive when he has the puck on his stick and he is doing a great job of opening lanes for himself and his teammates. He will continue to get better as the season goes on but his recent defensive performances have been great.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year, I think we all hope that 2012 will be a special time to be a Giants fan.

See you between the boards!

Doug