Pre-Game Report: Giants vs. Rockets

The Vancouver Giants (32-27-7-4) will play their final home game of the regular season on Friday evening when they host the Kelowna Rockets (55-11-0-4) at the Pacific Coliseum in the first of a home-and-home set between the two clubs. Vancouver is 1-4-1-0 against Kelowna this year.

The G-Men now know their first round opponent as they'll head south of the border to take on the Portland Winterhawks in the opening round of the playoffs. The Vancouver club, which is coming off a 3-2 win over the third place Victoria Royals on Wednesday, would like to enter the post-season with some momentum and a good showing against the Rockets. The Giants scored two power play goals in the midweek win over Victoria, and the Vancouver man advantage currently sits in fifth in the WHL.

Kelowna also won on Wednesday, downing the Kamloops Blazers 4-1. The win clinched first place in the Western Conference and the overall WHL standings for the Rockets, meaning they'll have home-ice advantage throughout the post-season and will face the Tri-City Americans in the opening round. The Rockets boast the league's best penalty kill, allowing only 41 goals on 312 man advantages for their opponents this season.

Friday's game will also be Fan Appreciation Night at the Rink on Renfrew and will feature a number of giveaways and promotions including a chance to win a 2014 Honda CR-V EX.

Where: Pacific Coliseum

When: 7:30pm

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

Listen: TEAM 1410 and teamradio.ca (The Pre-Game Show starts at 7:00pm.)

Giants This Week: March 13, 2014

Lee Backstops Giants To Win Over Royals

Payton Lee made 41 saves as the Vancouver Giants came from behind to beat the Victoria Royals 3-2 at the Pacific Coliseum on Wednesday night. The G-Men got goals from Dalton Sward, Jackson Houck and Trent Lofthouse. As a result of the win, the season series between the two clubs finishes dead-even as both teams went 5-4-1.

The Royals controlled the first period of play, amping up the pressure in the Vancouver zone and out-shooting the Giants 21-4. However, Lee gave one of his best performances of the season and turned aside all of Victoria's scoring attempts to keep the game scoreless through one.

The G-Men nearly took the lead early in the second after a goal-mouth scramble in front of Royals goalie Coleman Vollrath, but the puck stayed out, and the Royals took a 1-0 lead on the counter attack when Steven Hodges was sprung in on net and beat Lee with a high shot that went off the post and into the net. Vancouver responded to tie the game later in the stanza after a great effort by Sward as he scored while lying on the ice right in front of the Victoria net, picking up his 18th of the season. Vancouver went on to take the lead on the power play before the end of the period when Houck tipped a Brett Kulak point shot into the goal from the top of the crease. The goal was Houck's team-leading 31st of the season.

Trent Lofthouse gave the Giants some insurance in the third when he scored a similar goal to Houck's, deflecting a Kulak point shot past Vollrath on the power play to make it 3-1. The Royals pulled to within one later in the frame when Austin Carroll struck on the man advantage, shovelling a rebound into the Vancouver net. Victoria pulled the goaltender in the late stages, looking for an equalizer, but the Giants held them at bay to pick up the victory.

Vancouver had a good night on the White Spot power play, going 2-for-3. The Royals were 1-for-5 on the man advantage. Victoria out shot Vancouver 43-23. The Kelowna Rockets also won on Wednesday night which means the Giants will face the Portland Winterhawks in the first round of the playoffs.

The Giants play next on Friday night when they host the Kelowna Rockets in their final home game of the regular season. It will also be Fan Appreciation Night at the Rink on Renfrew, and one fan will go home with a 2014 Honda CR-V EX. For tickets, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Payton Lee - Vancouver
2. Dalton Sward - Vancouver
3. Logan Nelson - Victoria

Pre-Game Report: Giants vs. Royals

The Vancouver Giants (31-27-7-4) will host the Victoria Royals (48-17-1-3) on Wednesday night at the Pacific Coliseum. The game will mark the tenth and final meeting of the regular season between the two BC Division rivals. The G-Men are 4-4-1-0 against the Royals this year.

The Vancouver squad is coming off two straight losses on their US road trip this past weekend. The G-Men lost to the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday before battling back to force overtime on Sunday against the Seattle Thunderbirds, thanks to two goals in a five-second span in the third period, but went on to lose in a shootout. The Giants know they will finish in seventh place in the Western Conference and will play either the Portland Winterhawks or the Kelowna Rockets in the opening round.

The Royals are locked into third place in the Western Conference and will head south of the border to start the post-season as they'll take on either the Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs or Everett Silvertips. Victoria has won six straight games as well as 13 of the last 14. The Royals are coming off a confidence boosting 3-2 victory over the league-leading Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday night. Despite their success, Brandon Magee is Victoria's only point-per-game player with 64 points in 62 games.

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.)

Giants Comeback Falls Short in Seattle

The Vancouver Giants scored two goals in a five-second span in the third period to come back from a 3-1 deficit and force overtime against the Seattle Thunderbirds at the ShoWare Centre. The G-Men went on to lose 4-3 in a shootout. Arvin Atwal, Mason Geertsen and Cain Franson scored for Vancouver.

It was the Giants who struck first with an early power play goal to take the lead. Franson won an attacking zone face-off cleanly, and Atwal scored on a quick slap shot from the point. The T-Birds responded with a power play goal of their own before the end of the period when Shea Theodore hammered a hard slap shot past Payton Lee to send the teams to the dressing room tied at 1-1 after the first.

Alexander Delnov put Seattle ahead in the middle frame when he found the net on a backhander from the slot, sliding the puck into the Vancouver net through traffic. Jerret Smith put the Thunderbirds up by two goals when he rippled the mesh on a delayed penalty, sneaking in from the blue line to tip a Scott Eansor centring pass inside the post for his third goal of the season.

Lee made an important save early in the third period when he stopped Branden Troock on a breakaway after the Seattle forward was sprung in on net by a nice stretch pass from Theodore. The Vancouver comeback began just after the midway mark of the third period when Geertsen blew a hard slapper past Seattle net minder Danny Mumaugh on the power play to pull Vancouver to within one goal. Franson evened the score mere seconds later when he won the face-off forward and scored with a high wrist shot off the rush.

Both teams had opportunities in the overtime period, but neither side could find the net, and the T-Birds would outlast the G-Men in the shootout to take the extra point. The single-point that the Giants earned in the game means they will finish in seventh place in the Western Conference.

Vancouver was 2-for-3 on the power play while the T-Birds were 1-for-5. Seattle finished ahead on the shot clock 47-35.

The Vancouver club will now return home to host the Victoria Royals on Wednesday evening. Face-off is set for 7:00pm. For tickets, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Shea Theodore - Seattle
2. Payton Lee - Vancouver
3. Alexander Delnov - Seattle

Pre-Game Report: Giants at Thunderbirds

The Vancouver Giants (31-27-7-3) will wrap-up their short two-game US Division road-trip on Sunday when they face the Seattle Thunderbirds (39-22-2-4). Sunday's game will be the fourth and final meeting in the season series between the G-Men and T-Birds. Vancouver is 1-2-0-0 against Seattle.

The G-Men played in Portland on Saturday evening, falling 4-1 to the Winterhawks in a hard fought affair. Due to the loss, coupled with an Everett Silvertips victory over Seattle on Saturday, the Giants can now finish no higher than seventh in the Western Conference standings. The G-Men can lock themselves into the seventh spot by earning a single point in one of their final four games as Vancouver sits eight points ahead of the eighth place Tri-City Americans.

Including that Saturday night loss to Everett, the Thunderbirds enter Sunday's action on a three-game skid. The Seattle squad will likely face the Spokane Chiefs in the opening round of the playoffs, although who will have home ice advantage for the series remains to be determined. As of Sunday, the T-Birds sit in fourth in the West, two points ahead of fifth place Spokane and three points ahead of sixth place Everett. Sunday's game will be the first meeting between the Thunderbirds and Giants since November 22nd.

Where: ShoWare Center; Kent, WA

When: 5:00pm (The Pre-Game Show starts at 4:30pm.)

Listen: TEAM 1040 and teamradio.ca

Giants Fall 4-1 in Portland

Joel Hamilton scored the lone Vancouver goal as the Giants lost 4-1 to the Portland Winterhawks at the Moda Center on Saturday evening. Payton Lee made 30 saves in the losing cause for the G-Men as they finish the season series against the 'Hawks with a record of 0-3-0-1.

The Portland club got on the board early when Chase De Leo netted his 39th of the year just 3:33 into the opening frame. The Giants got into penalty trouble in the first period, giving the Winterhawks five power plays, but the Vancouver penalty killers were able to keep the puck out of the net as Payton Lee came up big, making a number of critical stops between the pipes. Later in the stanza, the Giants were given a power play of their own, and Hamilton tied the game by beating Winterhawks goalie Adin Hill with a shot from the point.

Lee was called into action again in the second period when Taylor Leier forced a turnover at the Portland blue line and skated in alone on a shorthanded breakaway, but the Vancouver net minder stuck right with him to make a calm and confident save. The Winterhawks wouldn’t be denied though as Brendan Leipsic scored off the rush on the backhand a few minutes later to restore the Portland lead.

Keegan Iverson gave the home team a two-goal lead in the third period when he tapped the puck past Lee from the top of the crease after a pretty backhand pass from Nic Petan to find him in front. The Giants thought they’d pulled back to within one goal later in the period when Ty Ronning appeared to score, but the goal was waved off because the referees felt Cain Franson had contacted the goaltender on the play. Oliver Bjorkstrand would add one more Portland goal in the late stages to complete the win.

The Giants penalty kill had a strong night, despite the loss, killing off all five Portland power plays. The G-Men, for their part, went 1-for-5 on the man advantage. The Winterhawks outshot the Giants 34-29.

The Vancouver squad will complete a two-game road-trip on Sunday against the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Showare Center. Catch the call on TEAM 1040 and teamradio.ca. The Pre-Game Show begins at 4:30pm, followed by the face-off at 5 o’clock.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Adin Hill - Portland
2. Brendan Leipsic - Portland
3. Taylor Leier - Portland