G-Men Defeat Cougars 5-2

The Vancouver Giants got three goals in the second period en route to a 5-2 win over the Prince George Cougars at the Pacific Coliseum on Monday evening. The G-Men got goals from Joel Hamilton, Thomas Foster, Carter Popoff, Tim Traber and Jackson Houck while Jared Rathjen made 27 saves for his eighth win of the season.

Hamilton opened the scoring for Vancouver late in the opening frame on the power play when he beat Ty Edmonds in the Prince George net with a shot from the slot that snuck in on the stick side. The Cougars answered back to tie the game less than a minute later when Tyler Mrkonjic deflected a Raymond Grewal point shot past Rathjen to put the Cougars on the board.

The Giants took control of the game in the second period. Foster tallied his third of the year off the rush with a wrist shot from the right circle, and Popoff made it 3-1 just 12 seconds later when he scored on a backhander that beat Edmonds on the short side. Traber would add his name to the score sheet later in the stanza when he was sprung in all alone after a nice stretch pass from Brett Kulak and wired a hard shot past Edmonds. Zach Pochiro pulled the Cougars back to within two goals late in the period, scoring on the man advantage with just over a minute left in the frame.

The Prince George club pressured the Giants in the third period, heavily out shooting Vancouver in the first 10 minutes of the stanza, but the G-Men held strong, and Rathjen stopped all 12 shots he faced in the final 20 minutes while Houck added an empty netter.

Vancouver returns to action on Friday with the first of back-to-back meetings with the Kelowna Rockets at the Pacific Coliseum. The face-off is set for 7:30pm. For tickets, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Brett Kulak - Vancouver
2. Dalton Thrower - Vancouver
3. Thomas Foster - Vancouver

Pre-Game Report: Giants vs. Cougars

The Vancouver Giants will play their third game in as many nights on Monday when they host the Prince George Cougars at the Pacific Coliseum. The G-Men have won four of six meetings in the season series but lost their last game against PG 3-1 on December 15th.

The Giants bumped a two-game losing skid with a 4-3 win over the Kamloops Blazers on Sunday. Cain Franson had two goals in the win. The 20-year-old has posted 13 points in 10 games in the month of December. Monday's game marks only the third time this season that the Giants have played three games in as many days. Vancouver is 1-1-0-0 when playing for a third consecutive night. Dalton Thrower will return to the Giants' line-up on Monday after his two-game suspension.

The Cougars had the day off on Sunday after losing 5-2 to the Victoria Royals on Vancouver Island. The Prince George club sits five points behind the Tri-City Americans for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Forward Jordan Tkatch has been on fire for the Cougars of late. The 18-year-old Saskatchewan native is on an eight game point streak, tallying six goals and five assists over that span.

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.)

Franson Fires Giants Past Blazers

Cain Franson scored twice, including the game winner with less than two minutes remaining in the third period, as the Vancouver Giants beat the Kamloops Blazers 4-3 on Sunday night at Interior Savings Centre. Alec Baer and Blake Orban also had goals for Vancouver while Payton Lee made 20 saves for the victory.

The Giants got the first goal when Baer wired a hard wrister past Blazers goalie Taran Kozun from the slot, moments after Franson hit a goal post. Orban would add to the Vancouver lead on the power play when he found the top left corner with a shot from the right point. It looked like the G-Men would head to the intermission with a two-goal lead, but Sam Grist scored for Kamloops with less than a second remaining in the frame when his long shot bounced off Brett Kulak and past Lee.

The Blazers carried the momentum of their late period goal and came out flying in the second. Aspen Sterzer tied the game for Kamloops on the power play, knocking the puck into the back of the net after a nice centring feed from Tyson Ness. Sterzer would ripple the mesh again less than three minutes later when he tipped a Josh Connolly shot into the Vancouver goal to give Kamloops the lead, but the Giants responded quickly when Franson scored his first of the night, hammering a quick one-timer past Kozun after a nice pass from Jackson Houck behind the net.

Both teams had chances in the third, but the game remained tied until the late stages when Franson scored on a shot from the high slot with 1:41 remaining to lift the Giants to the win, ending Vancouver's two-game losing skid.

The Giants will play their third game in as many nights on Monday when they host the Prince George Cougars 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. Cain Franson - Vancouver

2. Tim Traber - Vancouver

3. Josh Connolly - Kamloops

Pre-Game Report: Giants at Blazers

The Vancouver Giants will head up the Coquihalla on Sunday for a visit to Kamloops to face the Blazers. The game will mark the fourth meeting in the season series between the teams. The G-Men are 3-0.

Vancouver is coming off a 4-2 loss to the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday night at the Pacific Coliseum. The G-Men outscored the Rockets 2-0 at even strength but conceded three power play goals and one shorthanded goal. Saturday's game marked the second straight loss for Vancouver. The Giants haven't lost three games in a row since their East Division road trip in early October. Carter Popoff, who leads the team in points with 42, is currently on a four-game point streak.

The Blazers were idle on Saturday but enter Sunday's action on a three-game losing skid. Most recently, Kamloops lost to Kelowna by a score of 7-1 on Friday night. With nine wins on the season, the Blazers sit in last in the Western Conference, 19 points behind the seventh place Giants. Cole Ully leads the Kamloops team in scoring with 15 goals and 23 assists in 38 games.

Where: Interior Savings Centre; Kamloops, BC

When: 6:00pm (The Pre-Game Show starts at 5:30pm.)

Listen: TEAM 1410 and teamradio.ca.

Rockets Double Giants at Coliseum

In their first game back after the holidays, the Vancouver Giants lost 4-2 to the WHL leading Kelowna Rockets at the Pacific Coliseum on Saturday night. Anthony Ast and Jackson Houck scored for the G-Men in the loss while the the Rockets picked up their 14th consecutive victory.

The first period was a hard fought one with both teams generating opportunities, but neither side found the net. Justin Kirkland had Kelowna's best chance when he missed a tap-in at the left post on a shorthanded three-on-one while Luca Leone came close to breaking the deadlock for the Giants when he was stopped from close range by Rockets net minder Jordon Cooke.

Ast gave the Giants the lead 41 seconds into the second period when he found a rebound at the left post and shovelled the puck past Cooke for his fourth of the season. The Rockets responded on the power play just after the five minute mark as Colton Heffley knocked a loose puck between the legs of Jared Rathjen to tie the game. Cooke was called into action later in the stanza when the Giants went to the man advantage, making a pair of big stops on Houck and Carter Popoff to keep the game tied. The Rockets went ahead on a power play goal off the stick of Tyson Baillie late in the frame, and Tyrell Goulbourne would have given the Kelowna club a 3-1 lead before the intermission if not for a fantastic glove save from Rathjen to take away a goal and send the Giants to the dressing room down by one.

Cole Linaker would extend the lead for the Rockets early in the third, scoring while the Kelowna club was down a man. Houck pulled the G-Men to within one again when he rippled the mesh after a pretty move off an odd-man rush, but Madison Bowey restored the Rockets' two-goal lead with a long slap shot from the point on the power play. There was a skirmish later in the stanza after Shaun Dosanjh laid an open ice hit on Kris Schmidli of the Rockets. Dosanjh was given five and a game for a head check. The Giants killed off the ensuing five-minute power play but couldn't stage a comeback.

The Giants will get right back at it on Sunday evening when they visit the Kamloops Blazers. Catch the call on TEAM 1410 and teamradio.ca. The Pre-Game Show begins at 5:30pm, followed by the opening face-off at 6 o'clock.

Game Summary

3 Stars:

1. Tyson Baillie - Kelowna

2. Anthony Ast - Vancouver

3. Justin Kirkland - Kelowna

Pre-Game Report: Giants vs. Rockets

The Vancouver Giants will return from the Christmas break to host the Kelowna Rockets on Saturday night at the Pacific Coliseum. It's the second of eight meetings between the two BC Division rivals this season. The Rockets took the first game 4-3 in overtime in the Okanagan back on December 3rd.

The G-Men lost their last game before the holiday break, falling 3-1 to the Prince George Cougars at the Rink on Renfrew. However, Vancouver has been playing great hockey of late. The Giants have picked up points in 15 of their last 17 games and are 5-2-1-0 in the month of December. The Vancouver club will be without the services of captain Dalton Thrower as he sits out the first game of a two-game suspension.

The Rockets are coming off a big 7-1 Friday night win over Kamloops at home. The victory marked Kelowna's 13th win in a row as the Rockets haven't lost since November 20th including a sweep of their six-game East Division road trip before the Christmas break. Goaltender Jordon Cooke has been a big part of Kelowna's success. The 20-year-old is third in the WHL in both goals-against average (2.21) and save percentage (.924).

Where: Pacific Coliseum

When: 7:00pm

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

Listen: TEAM 1040 and teamradio.ca (The Pre-Game Show starts at 6:30pm.)

Elson Leaves Giants

Trace Elson will not be back with the Giants when they return to action on Saturday as the 19-year-old forward has elected to remain at home in Alberta.

Here's the release from the Giants:

The Vancouver Giants announced today that 19-year old Trace Elson has elected to stay home after the Christmas break.

The St. Albert native was added to the Giants' active roster in November and had 2 goals and 1 assist in 15 games with Vancouver.

"Trace decided he was more comfortable in Alberta," said Giants' Executive Vice President and General Manager Scott Bonner. "He and his agent let me know he would not be returning on Christmas Day."