Royals Outlast Giants 3-2

Travis Brown scored on the power play with less than three minutes remaining in the third period to lift the Victoria Royals to a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Giants at the Pacific Coliseum on Monday afternoon. Dominik Volek and Cain Franson scored for the Giants in the loss.

The Royals started the game with some heavy pressure, generating a number of shots and scoring opportunities in the Vancouver end in the early going, but the G-Men weathered the storm, and Volek opened the scoring with his 19th of the season, hammering a hard slap shot past Victoria goaltender Coleman Vollrath from between the face-off circles. The Royals out shot the Giants 11-5 in the opening period, but Vancouver led 1-0 after one.

Logan Fisher found the net just 33 seconds into the second period to tie the game for the Royals when he deflected a Jordan Fransoo point shot past Jared Rathjen in the Vancouver goal. The G-Men would retake the lead just a few minutes later though as Franson scored on a nice re-direct, tipping a centring feed from Carter Popoff into the Royals' net for his 22nd of the year. Austin Carroll pulled the Royals back into a tie before the end of the stanza when he scored on a tip in front.

Both teams had good chances to take the lead in the third, but both goaltenders stood tall to keep the game tied. The best save of the game came when Vollrath robbed Brett Kulak on the door step with a remarkable left pad save to prevent the G-Men from taking the lead. Brown would score the winner late in the third period on a long shot from the point as Travis McEvoy looked on from the penalty box. The Vancouver club pressured late with the goaltender out but couldn't find an equalizer.

The Giants play next on Friday when they visit the Everett Silvertips. Vancouver currently sits one point ahead of the seventh place 'Tips, although Everett has two games in hand. Catch the action on TEAM 1040 and teamradio.ca on Friday night. The face-off is set for 7:30pm.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Coleman Vollrath - Victoria
2. Jared Rathjen - Vancouver
3. Brandon Magee - Victoria

Pre-Game Report: Giants vs. Royals

The Vancouver Giants (27-21-6-3) will host the Victoria Royals (37-16-1-3) on Monday afternoon in a Family Day matinee at the Rink on Renfrew. The game marks ninth meeting in the season series between the BC Division rivals. Both teams have a record of 4-3-1 against each other this season.

The G-Men will look to bump a two-game losing skid after losses to the Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings at the weekend. The Vancouver power play has struggled of late as the Giants have failed to score on their last 20 consecutive opportunities with the man advantage. The G-Men now sit just one point ahead of seventh place Everett after the Silvertips picked up a 3-2 win over the Spokane Chiefs on Sunday.

The Royals have won two straight entering Monday's game and are coming off a 6-4 win over the BC Division leading Kelowna Rockets on Saturday. Despite the win, the Royals still sit 12 points back of the Rockets. Victoria sits in third in the Western Conference, three points ahead of the Seattle Thunderbirds. Logan Nelson has been on a tear for the Victoria club, picking up points in his last six games and scoring six goals and four assists over that span.

Where: Pacific Coliseum

When: 2:00pm

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

Listen: TEAM 1410 and teamradio.ca (The Pre-Game Show starts at 1:30pm.)

Oil Kings Down Giants 5-1

Thomas Foster had the only Vancouver goal as the Giants lost their second in a row on Saturday night, dropping a 5-1 decision to the Edmonton Oil Kings at the Pacific Coliseum. The G-Men continued to struggle on the power play, going 0-for-7, while also firing a season low 16 shots on Edmonton goalie Tristan Jarry.

Cody Corbett nearly opened the scoring for the Oil Kings in the early going when he wired a hard shot off the post from the right circle. The Edmonton club nearly scored on the ensuing rebound as well with a number of players crowding the crease looking for the loose puck, but Payton Lee kept it out to keep the Oil Kings off the board. However, Curtis Lazar opened the scoring for Edmonton just a few minutes later with a hard shot off the rush. Foster tied the game later in the period with a shorthanded goal, and it looked like the Giants would escape the first period in a tie game, despite being heavily out shot, but Edgars Kulda scored a quick goal off a face-off on the power play with just three seconds remaining in the period to give the visitors the lead.

The Oil Kings held onto the 2-1 lead for most of the second period, but Dysin Mayo made it 3-1 in the final minute of the middle frame when he scored a highlight reel goal off the rush. After a give-and-go with Henrik Samuelsson, Mayo received a pass in the slot as he was falling to the ice but held onto the puck and scored, beating Lee top shelf from his knees.

Edmonton added two more goals in the third period. Brett Pollock scored a pretty end-to-end goal that saw him dance through the Vancouver defence and put the puck into the net from close range. Brandon Ralph added his name to the score sheet as well, completing a pretty passing play with Mads Eller to net his sixth goal of the season.

The Giants will wrap up their four-game home stand on Monday afternoon against the Victoria Royals. The puck drop is set for 2:00pm. For tickets, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Curtis Lazar - Edmonton
2. Griffin Reinhart - Edmonton
3. Thomas Foster - Vancouver

Wesley Signs with Giants

The Vancouver Giants announced the signing of 16-year-old forward Johnny Wesley on Friday, prior to the team's game against the Calgary Hitmen.

Here's the release from the Giants:

The Vancouver Giants have signed forward Johnny Wesley to a Western Hockey League Standard Player Agreement.

The 16-year old White Rock native is currently playing for the Richmond Sockeyes of the Pacific Junior Hockey League. In 40 games with the Sockeyes so far this season, Wesley has 48 points (22 goals, 26 assists).

"We are excited that Johnny has decided to join our program,” said Giants’ Executive Vice President and General Manager Scott Bonner. “He is having a great season in Junior B with a strong program in Richmond, and we have had lots of luck with graduates from Junior B such as Milan Lucic, Cody Franson, Mitch Bartley, and Carter Popoff.”

Pre-Game Report: Giants vs. Oil Kings

The Vancouver Giants (27-20-6-3) will play their second game in as many nights when they host the Eastern Conference leading Edmonton Oil Kings (39-13-0-1) at the Pacific Coliseum on Saturday night. The game marks the second meeting of the season between the teams. The Oil Kings blanked the G-Men 3-0 back on November 5th.

The Vancouver club is coming off a 5-0 shutout loss at the hands of the Calgary Hitmen on Friday night. The loss marked just the fourth time the Giants have been held off the scoreboard this season. The Vancouver power play, which went 9-for-16 (56.25%) in its six previous games, was 0-for-9 on Friday night. The G-Men have a record of 5-3-0-0 against teams from the Central Division and are 5-7-1-1 when facing teams from the Eastern Conference.

The Oil Kings also played on Friday night, edging the Kelowna Rockets 3-2 in a shootout for their tenth win in a row and their 16th victory in their last 17 games. The Edmonton squad has outscored its opposition 49-20 over the course of the last 10 games. Saturday's game will mark the return of former Giants defenseman Blake Orban to Vancouver. Since being dealt to Edmonton prior to the trade deadline, the Calgary native has one goal and five assists in 15 games with the Oil Kings.

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.)

Driedger Blanks G-Men

Chris Driedger stopped all 44 shots he faced to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 5-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants at the Pacific Coliseum on Friday night. The Vancouver club went 0-for-9 on the power play in the loss.

Jared Rathjen started between the pipes for Vancouver and made a couple of big saves early, stopping Brady Brassart on a shot from the slot and robbing Adam Tambellini on the rebound as well. The Hitmen would eventually break through to open the scoring though when Brassart sent a long shot in on Rathjen from the right wing, and the puck got caught up in the Vancouver goalie's equipment before he inadvertently knocked it into his own goal. The G-Men had an opportunity to tie the game later in the period on a five-on-three power play that last 1:13, but they couldn't find the net.

The Giants took a number of costly penalties in the second period, and the Hitmen capitalized on the ensuing power plays to extend their lead. Jake Virtanen made it 2-0 at the 7:05 mark, wiring a hard snap shot past Rathjen from the top of the right circle before Tambellini gave the Hitmen a three goal lead, scoring from the same spot on another power play later in the stanza. After the third goal, Rathjen was pulled from the net in favour of Payton Lee.

The Calgary club gave the Giants four power plays in the third period, including another five-on-three, and the G-Men peppered Driedger with 24 shots in the final frame alone but couldn't ripple the mesh. Tambellini added another goal on a nice tic-tac-toe play on a man advantage while Chase Lang added his name to the score sheet with a goal from the high slot in the closing seconds of the game.

The Vancouver squad will get right back at it on Saturday night when they host the Edmonton Oil Kings at the Coliseum. The face-off is set for 7:00pm. For tickets, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Chris Driedger - Calgary
2. Adam Tambellini - Calgary
3. Jake Virtanen - Calgary

Pre-Game Report: Giants vs. Hitmen

The Vancouver Giants (27-19-6-3) will host the Calgary Hitmen (33-15-3-3) on Friday night at the Rink on Renfrew in the second and final meeting between the teams this season. Vancouver took the first game 4-3 in overtime back on October 23rd with Tim Traber netting the winning goal.

The G-Men have picked up at least a point in their last four games and are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Red Deer Rebels at the Coliseum on Tuesday night. Vancouver now holds a three point lead on the Everett Silvertips for sixth place in the Western Conference. Cain Franson, who scored the overtime winner on Tuesday, is on a four-game point streak in which he has put up four goals and one assist while Thomas Foster has posted two goals and two assists in his last three games.

The Hitmen picked up a split in a mid-week double header on Vancouver Island against the Victoria Royals. After losing the first meeting 7-2 on Tuesday night, the Calgary squad overcame a four-goal deficit in the second period on Wednesday to win 7-6 in overtime. The Hitmen sit in third in the Eastern Conference standings although they have the second most points, but the Brandon Wheat Kings occupy second place by virtue of the fact that they lead the East Division.

Where: Pacific Coliseum

When: 7:30pm

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

Listen: TEAM 1040 and teamradio.ca (The Pre-Game Round Table starts at 6:00pm.)