Vancouver Giants This Week: November 7, 2013

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Jarry Blanks Giants

Delta native Tristan Jarry stopped all 37 shots he faced to lead the Edmonton Oil Kings to a 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants at the Pacific Coliseum on Tuesday evening. Cody Corbett, Aaron Irving and Curtis Lazar had the Edmonton goals while Payton Lee made 24 saves between the pipes for Vancouver in a losing cause.

Corbett opened the scoring for the visitors in the first period when he scored off the rush after a nice give-and-go play with former Giant Riley Kieser. Irving extended the Edmonton lead in the latter stages of the stanza when he knocked the rebound of a Brandon Baddock shot past Lee from the high slot.

The Giants turned up the pressure in the second and had a couple of glorious opportunities to get on the board. Jackson Houck nearly scored off a scramble in the Oil Kings' crease but couldn't will the puck into the net. Travis McEvoy thought he had tied the game when Jarry dropped a long shot into his feet, and McEvoy chipped the loose puck into the net, but referee Steve Papp blew his whistle before the puck crossed the line. Vancouver had a flurry of chances around the Edmonton net in the final minute of the frame. Cain Franson batted a puck out of mid-air towards the net, but Jarry made a big save and the G-Men couldn't bury the rebound.

Giants captain Dalton Thrower was levelled behind the Vancouver net in the first minute of the third period when Edmonton's Mitch Moroz laid him out with a questionable hit. There was no penalty called on the play, and Thrower, who remained down on the ice after the high hit, stayed in the game. Edmonton added its third goal of the game with just over five minutes remaining when Lazar scored on a hard snap shot from the high slot.

Vancouver returns to action on Saturday night when the Prince George Cougars visit the Rink on Renfrew. For tickets, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

3 Stars:

1. Tristan Jarry - Edmonton

2. Riley Kieser - Edmonton

3. Payton Lee - Vancouver

Pre-Game Report: Giants vs. Oil Kings

The Vancouver Giants (7-10-1-1) will take on the Edmonton Oil Kings (9-7-0-1) at the Pacific Coliseum on Tuesday night in the first of three meetings between the teams this season. Edmonton went 2-0 against Vancouver last year, winning both games against the Giants by scores of 5-1 and 5-0.

The Giants are coming off a couple of well deserved days off after a stretch of eight games in 11 days. Vancouver won on the road in Kamloops on Saturday, edging the Blazers 4-3 in a shootout. Jackson Houck had an assist in the win, extending his point streak to seven games. The G-Men have an opportunity to vault themselves into eighth in the Western Conference on Tuesday as a win over the Oil Kings would move Vancouver ahead of the Prince George Cougars in the standings.

The Oil Kings have won four of their last five games and are coming off a Sunday night victory over the Calgary Hitmen. The Edmonton club is led by first round NHL picks Griffin Reinhart, Curtis Lazar and Henrik Samuelsson. The three have combined for 51 points thus far this year while Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Tristan Jarry has been strong between the pipes, posting a 2.37 goals-against average in 16 games played.

Where: Pacific Coliseum

When: 7:00pm

Tickets: Visit vancouvergiants.com or call 604-4-GIANTS

Listen: TEAM 1410 or teamradio.ca (The Pre-Game Show starts at 6:30pm.)

Giants Outlast Blazers in Shootout

Brett Kulak scored the winning goal in the fourth round of the shootout to lift the Vancouver Giants to a 4-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers at the Interior Savings Centre on Saturday night. With the win, the Giants have now won four of their last five games and completed a stretch of eight games in 11 days with a record of 5-3. The G-Men got goals from Blake Orban, Dalton Thrower and Thomas Foster.

The Giants opened the scoring 25 seconds into the game when Orban’s shot from the right point found the back of the net as Kamloops goalie Bolton Pouliot couldn’t track the puck through traffic. The Blazers tied the game just after the five minute mark when Collin Shirley, who was acquired from the Kootenay Ice last month, netted his first goal as a Blazer, deflecting a point shot between the legs of Payton Lee.

Vancouver retook the lead on a power play in the second period when Thrower’s slap shot from the point hit the crossbar, bounced off Pouliot’s back and trickled across the goal line.

The Giants held the lead until the latter half of the third period when Nick Chyzowski tallied his first WHL goal to tie the game for Kamloops. Vancouver bounced back to retake the lead just over a minute later when Foster buried a one-timer from the slot after a pretty pass from behind the net by Travis McEvoy. The Blazers wouldn’t be deterred though as Chyzowski went hard to the net and a rebound ricocheted off him and across the goal line to make it 3-3.

Kamloops out shot Vancouver 4-1 in the overtime period, but neither side scored the winner. Cain Franson and Kulak found the net in the shootout while Matt Needham had the lone goal for the Blazers in the skills contest.

The G-Men will be back at the Coliseum on Tuesday evening to face the Edmonton Oil Kings. For ticketing information, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Nick Chyzowski - Kamloops
2. Aspen Sterzer - Kamloops
3. Collin Shirley - Kamloops

Pre-Game Report: Giants at Blazers

The Vancouver Giants (6-10-1-1) will play their third game in the season series with the Kamloops Blazers (5-10-1-0) on Saturday night at the Interior Savings Centre. The G-Men are 2-0 against Kamloops this season as they defeated the Blazers 5-1 on October 18th and 4-1 on October 27th.

Vancouver lost a high scoring affair on home ice Friday night, falling 6-4 to the Spokane Chiefs. Jackson Houck extended his goal scoring streak to four games in the loss. Saturday's match-up will mark the eighth game in 11 nights for the Vancouver club. The G-Men have done well within the BC Division, going 5-1 thus far. Vancouver's only divisional loss came back on the opening night of the regular season against Victoria.

The Blazers last played on Wednesday when they edged Spokane 5-4 on home ice. Aspen Sterzer, who scored just six seconds into Kamloops' last meeting with Vancouver, had two goals in the victory over the Chiefs. Cole Ully also chipped in with three points. The Blazers sit three points back of the Giants in last place in the Western Conference heading into Saturday's game, but Kamloops holds two games in hand on Vancouver.

Where: Interior Savings Centre; Kamloops, BC

When: 7:00pm (The Pre-Game Show starts at 6:30pm.)

Listen: TEAM 1410 and teamradio.ca.

Helewka Scores Four as Chiefs Defeat Giants

Adam Helewka scored four goals to lead the Spokane Chiefs to a 6-4 win over the Vancouver Giants at the Pacific Coliseum on Friday night. Jackson Houck, Travis McEvoy, Brett Kulak and Cain Franson had the Vancouver goals in a losing cause.

Giants goalie Jared Rathjen was forced to make a couple of big saves early in the game for Vancouver on a 5-on-3 penalty kill after Mason Geertsen and Travis McEvoy took minor penalties on the same play, but he was equal to the task, keeping the game scoreless. The Chiefs found the opening goal later in the frame when Dominic Zwerger pounced on a loose puck in the slot and wired it off the left post and into the net. Houck would equalize for the Giants before the end of the period when he deflected a Geertsen point shot past Chiefs goalie Eric Williams to extend his goal scoring streak to four games.

Spokane retook the lead at 7:13 of the middle frame when Mike Aviani tapped the puck across the goal line at the right post for his 15th of the season. He nearly scored again a few moments later when Rathjen turned the puck over in his own zone, giving Aviani a shorthanded break, but the Vancouver net minder recovered to make a nice left pad save. The Chiefs made it 3-1 in the latter half of the period when Helewka scored with a wrist shot from the slot.

Helewka netted his second of the evening early in the third with a shot from the high slot through traffic to give Spokane a three goal lead, but McEvoy made it a two-goal game once again when he knocked a Kulak centring feed past Williams off the rush. Kulak found the back of the net himself on the power play with 6:49 to go when his long slapper eluded Williams before Rathjen was called into action once again shortly after Kulak's goal when he stopped Adam Hascic on a breakaway. Helewka struck again on the power play to make it 5-3 and then scored his fourth of the night 30 seconds later to give the Chiefs the needed insurance. Franson picked up his fifth of the year with exactly a minute remaining, hammering a one-timer past Williams from the right circle, but it was too little, too late for Vancouver.

The Giants will head out on the road to face the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday evening. Hear the action on TEAM 1410 and teamradio.ca. The Pre-Game Show gets underway at 6:30pm, followed by the opening face-off at 7:00pm.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Mitch Holmberg - Spokane
2. Adam Helewka - Spokane
3. Mike Aviani - Spokane

Pre-Game Report: Giants vs. Chiefs

The Vancouver Giants (6-9-1-1) will host the Spokane Chiefs (11-5-0-0) on Friday night at the Pacific Coliseum in the first of two meetings between the teams this season. Last year, the two clubs split the season series, each winning on home ice.

The G-Men enter Friday's action on a roll after back-to-back wins in Prince George preceded by a win over the Blazers in Kamloops last weekend. Dalton Thrower had the OT winner on Wednesday against the Cougars while Jackson Houck found the back of the net for a third consecutive game to give him seven goals on the season. Jared Rathjen made 34 saves in goal for Vancouver to pick up his first victory of the year.

The big story for the Chiefs this season has been the offensive production of Mitch Holmberg who leads the WHL in points with 38 in 16 games. The Sherwood Park, Alberta native is on pace to put up 81 goals and 90 assists. Entering Friday's action, the Chiefs sit in sixth in the Western Conference but have lost their last two straight after falling to Portland on Saturday before dropping a 5-4 decision in Kamloops on Wednesday night.

Where: Pacific Coliseum

When: 7:30pm (The Pre-Game Show starts at 7:00pm.)

Tickets: Visit vancouvergiants.com or call 604-4-GIANTS

Listen: TEAM 1410 or teamradio.ca.