The Vancouver Giants conceded three goals in the third period to fall to the Victoria Royals by a score of 4-2 on Friday evening at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Trace Elson and Cain Franson scored for Vancouver while Jared Rathjen made 22 saves in the loss.
Elson opened the scoring for Vancouver less than three minutes into the first when he deflected a Brett Kulak point shot past Patrik Polivka in the Victoria net to put the G-Men ahead. However, the Royals would equalize later in the period after Tim Traber was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct for a hit on Brandon Magee, and Magee came back to score on the ensuing power play. Rathjen came up big for the Giants late in the period when he stopped Magee on a breakaway to keep the game tied.
The Royals turned up the pressure in the first half of the second period and had a couple of opportunities to take the lead on the power play, but the Giants hung around and took the lead on a man advantage of their own when Kulak carried the puck down the left wing and feathered a pretty behind-the-back pass into the slot to Franson who buried his 12th goal of the year, extending his goal scoring streak to four games.
Prior to Friday's game, the Giants had not lost in regulation when leading after two periods, but the Royals would stage a comeback in the final frame. Ben Walker tied the game when he scored on a backhander, beating Rathjen on the blocker side. Taylor Crunk netted the eventual winner later in the period, and Magee would add an empty net goal in the final minute of the third to clinch the win for Victoria.
The two teams will get right back at it against each other on Saturday night in Victoria. Catch the play-by-play on TEAM 1040 and teamradio.ca. The Pre-Game Show begins at 6:30pm, followed by the opening face-off at 7 o'clock.
Game Summary
3 Stars:
1. Brandon Magee - Victoria
2. Brett Kulak - Vancouver
3. Taylor Crunk - Victoria
Friday, December 6, 2013
Pre-Game Report: Giants at Royals
The G-Men continued their point streak on Wednesday with a 3-2 win over the Kootenay Ice at the Rink on Renfrew. The Vancouver club has now picked up points in 11 consecutive games, and the Giants sit seven points clear of the ninth place Prince George Cougars in the Western Conference standings. Cain Franson rippled the mesh on Wednesday, extending his goal-scoring streak to three games.
Entering Friday's game, the Royals have won nine of their last 11 games and sit in fourth in the Western Conference, six points up on the Giants. Victoria has been getting strong goaltending of late as 19-year-old Patrik Polivka has won five of his last six starts while 18-year-old Coleman Vollrath boasts both the best goals-against average (1.88) and save percentage (.942) in the WHL. Logan Nelson leads the Royals in scoring with 12 goals and 19 assists in 31 games.
Entering Friday's game, the Royals have won nine of their last 11 games and sit in fourth in the Western Conference, six points up on the Giants. Victoria has been getting strong goaltending of late as 19-year-old Patrik Polivka has won five of his last six starts while 18-year-old Coleman Vollrath boasts both the best goals-against average (1.88) and save percentage (.942) in the WHL. Logan Nelson leads the Royals in scoring with 12 goals and 19 assists in 31 games.
Where: Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre; Victoria, BC
When: 7:00pm (The Pre-Game Show starts at 6:30pm.)
Listen: TEAM 1410 and teamradio.ca.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Giants Ice Kootenay 3-2
The first period ended scoreless and didn't have much flow as there were a lot of whistles in the opening 20 minutes. Carter Popoff had the best chance for Vancouver in the early going when he was stopped from point-blank range by Ice goalie Mackenzie Skapski. Rathjen, who started between the pipes for Vancouver for the second night in a row, made his biggest save of the frame in the final minute as he robbed Levi Cable on a partial break.
Franson put the Giants ahead at 7:27 of the second period when he beat Skapski with a short-side backhander at the left post. With the goal, Franson extended his goal scoring streak to three games. The Ice would equalize later in the stanza when Jon Martin netted his seventh of the season on the power play after Austin Vetterl found him in the slot with a pass from below the goal line. McEvoy gave Vancouver the lead again with 0.1 of a second left on the clock in the middle frame when he hammered a puck across the line from the top of the crease, and after a video review, it was ruled that the puck entered the net before the end of the period.
The Ice came out hard to start the third and had a few early opportunities. Sam Reinhart was sprung in on a shorthanded breakaway but mishandled the puck and fell into the net, knocking it off its moorings, and Jaedon Descheneau was stopped by Rathjen on a point blank chance at the edge of the crease. Kootenay eventually tied the game when Austin Vetterl beat Rathjen on the man advantage, but the Giants responded when Houck tipped a Kulak point shot into the Kootenay net on the power play, and it stood up as the winner as the G-Men closed out the victory.
The Giants will now face the Victoria Royals for three games in a row. The first tilt between the BC Division rivals goes Friday night on the island. Catch the action on TEAM 1410 and teamradio.ca at 7pm.
Game Summary
Highlights
3 Stars:
1. Cain Franson - Vancouver
2. Jared Rathjen - Vancouver
3. Jon Martin - Kootenay
Pre-Game Report: Giants vs. Ice
Vancouver is coming off a disappointing loss in Kelowna on Tuesday night. The Giants led 3-2 in the final minute of the third period but went on to lose 4-3 in overtime. Vancouver has now gone 5-0-5 in its last 10 games and sits in eighth in the Western Conference, four points back of the Tri-City Americans. Cain Franson had a good outing for the Giants in the losing cause on Tuesday, finishing the night with two goals.
The Ice have lost back-to-back games heading into Wednesday's contest. Kootenay was beaten 5-1 by the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday and 3-0 by the Victoria Royals on Tuesday. Sam Reinhart, who was one of four BC natives invited to Team Canada's World Junior selection camp, leads the Ice in scoring with 16 goals and 30 assists in 30 games. Former Kamloops Blazer Tim Bozon has posted 15 points in 17 games since being traded to Kootenay.
Where: Pacific Coliseum
When: 7:00pm
Tickets: Visit vancouvergiants.com or call 604-4-GIANTS
Listen: TEAM 1410 and teamradio.ca (The Pre-Game Show starts at 6:30pm.)
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
G-Men Fall in OT to Rockets
The Kelowna Rockets tied the game in the final minute of the third period, just seconds after the Vancouver Giants had taken the lead, and won 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday night at Prospera Place. Damon Severson had the winner for the Rockets while Vancouver got two goals from Cain Franson and one marker from Alec Baer. With the OT loss, the G-Men extended their point streak to 10 games.
Neither team was able to score in the first, but both sides had golden opportunities to take the lead. Kelowna's best chance came early in the game when Tyson Baillie was sprung in on a breakaway, but Jared Rathjen made a confident save to keep the game scoreless. Ty Ronning nearly put the Giants ahead in the late stages of the period when he hammered a puck off the cross-bar from the slot, but it stayed out.
Baillie put the Rockets ahead in the second when he beat Rathjen with a hard one-timer from the slot after a nice pass from below the goal line from Cole Linaker. However, the Giants tied the game less than two minutes later when Franson netted his first of the evening, scoring on a long shot off the right wing that found its way through Kelowna goalie Jordon Cooke. Franson would give Vancouver the lead later in the stanza when he wired a hard wrister into the top left corner from the bottom of the left circle, popping the water bottle off Cooke's net in the process.
Kelowna tied the game just before the 12 minute mark of the third period when Colton Heffley found a puck in traffic in front of the net and scored with a backhander that got past Rathjen on the blocker side. Following the equalizer, the Rockets pushed hard for a go-ahead goal, generating a number of good chances, but Rathjen was equal to the task. Vancouver took a late lead with 37 seconds remaining when Baer calmly walked into the slot after faking out a Kelowna defender and fired the puck past Cooke. The Rockets had another comeback in them though as they pulled the goalie, and after a scramble in front of the goal, Ryan Olsen shovelled a rebound past Rathjen with 17 seconds left on the clock to send the game to overtime.
Severson scored the winning goal 2:36 into overtime when he forced a turnover in the Vancouver zone and walked into the slot before beating Rathjen with a deke to the back hand to end the game.
The Vancouver club now has a quick turnaround as the Giants will be back at the Coliseum on Wednesday night to host Sam Reinhart and the Kootenay Ice. The face-off is set for 7:00pm. Call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com for ticket information.
Game Summary
3 Stars:
1. Jordon Cooke - Kelowna
2. Cain Franson - Vancouver
3. Tyson Baillie - Kelowna
Neither team was able to score in the first, but both sides had golden opportunities to take the lead. Kelowna's best chance came early in the game when Tyson Baillie was sprung in on a breakaway, but Jared Rathjen made a confident save to keep the game scoreless. Ty Ronning nearly put the Giants ahead in the late stages of the period when he hammered a puck off the cross-bar from the slot, but it stayed out.
Baillie put the Rockets ahead in the second when he beat Rathjen with a hard one-timer from the slot after a nice pass from below the goal line from Cole Linaker. However, the Giants tied the game less than two minutes later when Franson netted his first of the evening, scoring on a long shot off the right wing that found its way through Kelowna goalie Jordon Cooke. Franson would give Vancouver the lead later in the stanza when he wired a hard wrister into the top left corner from the bottom of the left circle, popping the water bottle off Cooke's net in the process.
Kelowna tied the game just before the 12 minute mark of the third period when Colton Heffley found a puck in traffic in front of the net and scored with a backhander that got past Rathjen on the blocker side. Following the equalizer, the Rockets pushed hard for a go-ahead goal, generating a number of good chances, but Rathjen was equal to the task. Vancouver took a late lead with 37 seconds remaining when Baer calmly walked into the slot after faking out a Kelowna defender and fired the puck past Cooke. The Rockets had another comeback in them though as they pulled the goalie, and after a scramble in front of the goal, Ryan Olsen shovelled a rebound past Rathjen with 17 seconds left on the clock to send the game to overtime.
Severson scored the winning goal 2:36 into overtime when he forced a turnover in the Vancouver zone and walked into the slot before beating Rathjen with a deke to the back hand to end the game.
The Vancouver club now has a quick turnaround as the Giants will be back at the Coliseum on Wednesday night to host Sam Reinhart and the Kootenay Ice. The face-off is set for 7:00pm. Call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com for ticket information.
Game Summary
3 Stars:
1. Jordon Cooke - Kelowna
2. Cain Franson - Vancouver
3. Tyson Baillie - Kelowna
Pre-Game Report: Giants at Rockets
The Giants have been on a roll of late, going 5-0-3-1 in their last nine games. The line of Tim Traber, Thomas Foster and Dalton Sward has been lighting the lamp with frequency as well. Both Sward and Foster are on three game point streaks while Traber has points in his last two games including the game winning goal in Saturday's victory over the Prince George Cougars. Vancouver is 8-1-0-1 against BC Division teams this season.
Kelowna sits in first in the BC Division heading into Tuesday's action. The Rockets are on a three game winning streak and have picked up victories in 12 of their last 13 games. Despite their winning record, defenceman Madison Bowey is the only point-per-game player on the Kelowna club with 24 points in 24 games. However, the Rockets have six players with over 20 points on the season. Blue liner Damon Severson was one of nine WHL players named to the roster for Team Canada's World Junior camp on Monday.
Where: Prospera Place; Kelowna, BC
When: 7:00pm (The Pre-Game Show starts at 6:30pm.)
Listen: TEAM 1410 and teamradio.ca.
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