Pre-Game Report: Giants at Rebels

The Vancouver Giants (29-23-7-3) will continue their Alberta road trip on Friday night as they'll visit the Red Deer Rebels (28-29-1-3) in the second and final meeting between the two clubs this season. Vancouver took the first game 3-2 in overtime on February 4th.

Friday's game will mark the return to Red Deer for a couple of former Rebels. Giants forwards Joel Hamilton and Dominik Volek both played under Brent Sutter. Hamilton was acquired by Vancouver in May for a 3rd round pick while Volek was added just before the trade deadline in January. The G-Men will be looking for their third win in a row after victories over the Kamloops Blazers and Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The Rebels come into Friday's game looking to end a three-game losing slide. Since their last meeting with the Giants, the Rebels have struggled to pick up victories. The Red Deer club is 1-7-0-0 in the eight games since facing the G-Men at the start of the month. The Rebels are in a battle for a playoff spot as they currently sit in ninth in the Eastern Conference, but they are tied with the eighth place Prince Albert Raiders.

Where: Enmax Centrium; Red Deer, AB

When: 6:00pm

Listen: TEAM 1040 and teamradio.ca

Giants This Week: February 20, 2014

Click here to listen to this week's podcast.

Giants Open Trip With Win Over Hurricanes

The Vancouver Giants got five goals from five different players as they skated to a 5-2 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday night at the Enmax Centre. Travis McEvoy, Alec Baer, Carter Popoff, Cain Franson and Joel Hamilton all found the back of the net in the victory.

McEvoy opened the scoring for Vancouver just after the 11 minute mark of the first period when he found the rebound of a Dominik Volek shot in the crease and chipped the puck past Hurricanes goalie Teagan Sacher to give Vancouver the lead. The Giants made it 2-0 just 19 seconds later when Baer rippled the mesh after a nice cross-crease pass from Dalton Sward. Jared Rathjen came up big late in the period when he stopped Riley Sheen on a breakaway to keep the Giants ahead by two.

The second period was much closer than the first with both teams generating chances. The Hurricanes got on the board with less than five minutes left in the stanza when Carter Folk netted his third of the season on the power play to pull the Lethbridge club to within one goal. The G-Men got a man advantage of their own late in the frame when Tyler Bell was called for closing his hand on the puck, and Popoff capitalized, finding the back of the net on a shot from the left circle after a nice feed from Franson.

Vancouver went ahead by three early in the third when Franson tallied his 25th goal of the year with a nice shot, beating Sacher from the high slot. Hamilton added to the lead a few minutes later, completing a nice tic-tac-toe passing play that also involved Volek and Jackson Houck. The Hurricanes would put another one on the board in the late going when Giorgio Estephan scored on the power play.

Vancouver went 1-for-4 on the power play while the 'Canes were 2-for-5. The Giants outshot Lethbridge 48-29.

The G-Men will continue their road-trip on Friday night against the Red Deer Rebels. Tune-in to TEAM 1040 and teamradio.ca for the play-by-play at 6:00pm.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Cain Franson - Vancouver
2. Jackson Houck - Vancouver
3. Carter Folk - Lethbridge

Pre-Game Report: Giants at Hurricanes

The Vancouver Giants (28-23-7-3) will open a four-game road trip on Wednesday evening when they take on the Lethbridge Hurricanes (12-44-2-3) at the Enmax Centre in the second and final game in the season series between the teams. In their first meeting, the G-Men picked up their biggest victory of the season, blanking the 'Canes 10-0.

The Giants will be looking for their second consecutive win after they bumped a five-game losing streak with a 7-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers on Sunday at the Pacific Coliseum. Jackson Houck finished with a goal and two assists in the win to end a run of 10 consecutive games without a point. The win vaulted the G-Men past the Everett Silvertips and back into sixth place in the Western Conference after the Everett club had overtaken Vancouver with a overtime win against the Giants on Friday.

The Hurricanes are coming off their worst loss of the season after falling 12-0 to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Monday. The Lethbridge squad has lost three in a row and been outscored 24-3 in that stretch. Despite their poor form of late, the Hurricanes can move out of the WHL basement with a win on Wednesday as they would overtake the Kamloops Blazers who sit in last in the Western Conference but are level on points with the 'Canes.

Where: Enmax Centre; Lethbridge, AB

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

Listen: TEAM 1410 and teamradio.ca

Giants End Losing Skid; Defeat Blazers 7-2

Cain Franson scored twice as the Vancouver Giants ended a five-game losing skid with a 7-2 victory over the Kamloops Blazers at the Pacific Coliseum on Sunday. The G-Men also got goals from Tyler Morrison, Mason Geertsen, Jackson Houck, Joel Hamilton and Dominik Volek while Jared Rathjen made 19 saves in a winning effort between the pipes.

Morrison found the net first to put Vancouver on the board in the opening frame when he beat Kamloops goalie Cole Kehler between the legs with a slap shot from the right point on the power play. Geertsen tallied his  third of the year on a rebound after the puck was shot off the post by Joel Hamilton and bounced back into the slot. Houck found the net as well with a power play goal, ending a 10 game goalless drought with a nice move to the forehand from close range to give the home team a three-goal lead after one period.

Franson made it 4-0 in the middle frame, picking up the pieces in front after a point shot from Geertsen and firing the puck past Kehler into the goal. Hamilton added to the lead when he picked up his third point of the evening, scoring on a wrister from the right wing face-off circle on a man advantage. Former Giant Matt Bellerive put the visitors on the board with just over five minutes to go in the stanza, netting his 12th of the season to pull the Blazers to within four goals.

The goals kept coming for the Vancouver club in the third. Volek picked up his 20th of the year on a pretty rush from his own blue line that eventually saw him fire a wrister just underneath the cross-bar. Franson rippled the mesh for his second of the evening and 24th of the season, knocking a centring feed from Hamilton into the Kamloops cage to make it 7-1. Bellerive found the net again for the Blazers, wiring a wrist shot past Rathjen from the high slot, but that was as close as the Kamloops squad would get.

Vancouver went 3-for-4 on the White Spot power play while the Blazers were 0-for-3. The Giants out shot the Blazers 51-21 in the hockey game.

The Giants will now head out on the road for four consecutive games starting on Wednesday in Lethbridge against the Hurricanes. Catch all the action 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. Cain Franson - Vancouver
2. Joel Hamilton - Vancouver
3. Jackson Houck - Vancouver

Pre-Game Report: Giants vs. Blazers

The Vancouver Giants (27-23-7-3) will wrap-up a three-in-three weekend when they host the Kamloops Blazers (12-42-2-3) on Sunday at the Rink on Renfrew. The game will mark the seventh of eight meetings between the teams this season. The G-Men are 6-0 against Kamloops.

Vancouver enters play on Sunday having lost the last five straight games after falling 7-4 to the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday night. The Giants will look to avoid losing six in a row for the first time since October when the Vancouver club dropped eight consecutive games. The G-Men will look to get some scoring from their big guns as Jackson Houck has gone the last nine games without a point while Brett Kulak has only one assist in his last five games.

The Blazers ended an 11 game losing streak with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Prince George Cougars on Saturday night. The Kamloops squad, who sits in last in the Western Conference, hasn't won back-to-back games since a three game winning streak in mid-December. Cole Ully leads the Blazers with 28 goals and 33 assists while Chase Souto is the only other Kamloops player to reach the 20-goal mark this season.

Where: Pacific Coliseum

When: 5:00pm

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

Listen: TEAM 1040 and teamradio.ca (The Pre-Game Show starts at 4:30pm.)

Winterhawks Blitz Giants 7-4

The Portland Winterhawks scored five goals in the second period en route to a 7-4 win over the Vancouver Giants at the Pacific Coliseum on Saturday night. Tim Traber had two goals for Vancouver while Trent Lofthouse and Ty Ronning found the net as well.

The Winterhawks generated a lot of early pressure and nearly opened the scoring on a great chance for Taylor Leier as he wired the puck off the post from the left circle. Vancouver was given a five-on-three power play late in the period, and Trent Lofthouse nearly found the net on a chance from the top of the crease but just missed wide of the right post. Portland's best opportunity came in the dying seconds of the frame when Derrick Pouliot was sprung on a breakaway, but Payton Lee made a big stop to keep the game scoreless through one.

The Portland club took control of the game in the middle frame, scoring five goals. Paul Bittner made it 1-0 on a redirect in front before Pouliot scored off the rush, Brendan Leipsic found the net by banking the puck off Arvin Atwal and in, Keoni Texeira beat Payton Lee glove side with a wrist shot, and Alex Schoenborn knocked the puck across the line from close range.

The Winterhawks took a six goal lead in the first minute of the third as Nic Petan added his name to the scoresheet. Lofthouse spoiled Corbin Boes' shutout bid, digging a puck across the goal line to put Vancouver on the board later in the stanza, but Dominic Turgeon tallied a shorthanded marker to make it 7-1. Ronning scored Vancouver's second of the night on a power play with a nice shot from the right circle, and Traber scored two goals in the late stages to complete the scoring for the Giants.

Vancouver returns to action against Kamloops at the Rink on Renfrew on Sunday. Face-off is set for 5:00pm. For tickets, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Nic Petan - Portland
2. Brendan Leipsic - Portland
3. Tim Traber - Vancouver