Giants This Week: March 28, 2014

Giants Ousted by Portland

The Vancouver Giants' season came to an end on Wednesday night as they lost 6-1 to the Portland Winterhawks in Game 4 of their first round series. Carter Popoff had the Giants' lone goal. Payton Lee started the game and allowed three goals on 13 shots before being replaced by Jared Rathjen who stopped 29 of 32 pucks that were thrown at him.

The first period was much like the opening frame of Game 3. The Giants pressured, had chances, but couldn't capitalize. Vancouver nearly opened the scoring on a golden opportunity for Brett Kulak in close, but the Giants defenseman fired the puck over the goal, and Portland went ahead moments later when Brendan Leipsic netted his fifth goal of the series on a power play. It was then that the Winterhawks took over the game. Adam De Champlain made it 2-0 just 32 seconds after Leipsic's marker when a Paul Bittner shot bounced off him and past Lee, and Alex Schoenborn completed an impressive stretch of three goals in 56 seconds when he walked off the left boards, in alone on Lee, and beat him cleanly, ending the Vancouver goaltender's night.

Popoff gave Giants fans a glimmer of hope in the second period when he put Vancouver on the board, hammering a rebound past Winterhawks goalie Brendan Burke at the right post for the Giants' first power play goal of the series, but Oliver Bjorkstrand responded for Portland with a power play marker of his own before the end of the period to restore the three goal lead for the visitors.

The Winterhawks kept pushing to start the third period and put any hopes of a Giant comeback to rest early when Keegan Iverson hammered a hard slap shot past Rathjen from the top of the right circle just 2:50 into the period. Chase De Leo picked up his first of the post-season in the later stages of the period as the Winterhawks closed out the win, completed the sweep and became the second team in the WHL to advance to the second round. (The Edmonton Oil Kings moved on with a win over Prince Albert earlier in the evening.)

The end of the season marks the end of three junior hockey careers as 20-year-olds Cain Franson, Tim Traber and Dalton Thrower, who hadn't played since January due to injury, will not be back next season. Click on each player's name above to see their career WHL stats. They were honoured as the three stars in the building after the game. I said it on Twitter after the game, but I'll say it again. They're all fine young men who have great things ahead of them, and I wish them all the best.

The Winterhawks will now move onto the second round and wait to see who they'll face next. If all the teams that are currently leading in the other series go on to win, then Portland will go up against Victoria.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Dalton Thrower - Vancouver
2. Cain Franson - Vancouver
3. Tim Traber - Vancouver

Pre-Game Report: Game 4 - Giants vs. Winterhawks

The Vancouver Giants will look to stave off elimination when they host the Portland Winterhawks in Game 4 of their opening round series on Wednesday evening at the Pacific Coliseum. The G-Men trail the series 3-0 after dropping a 6-3 decision on Tuesday.

The Giants face a must win game on Wednesday after Tuesday's loss. The G-Men conceded two power play goals in the first period and trailed 4-0 at the midway mark of the second period before beating Portland net minder Brendan Burke three times in the second half of the game. Despite the loss, the Giants fired 28 shots on Burke's net after only managing a combined 31 shots in the opening two games south of the border.

Brendan Leipsic had another good game for the Winterhawks on Tuesday, leading the Portland squad with two goals and two assists. The 19-year-old Winnipeg native now has seven points in three playoff games, leaving him in third in WHL playoff scoring. The Portland power play has now scored four goals against the Giants in the last two games after only finding the net three times against Vancouver in the regular season series.

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 6:00pm.)

Winterhawks Double Giants 6-3; Take 3-0 Series Lead

Brendan Leipsic led the way for the visiting Portland Winterhawks, scoring two goals and two assists, as the Oregon club took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven first round series against the Vancouver Giants with a 6-3 win at the Pacific Coliseum on Tuesday night. Alec Baer, Joel Hamilton and Trent Lofthouse scored in the losing cause for the G-Men.

The game started well for the Giants as they generated some chances and out shot the Winterhawks in the early stages, but Derrick Pouliot opened the scoring on Portland's first power play of the night, beating Vancouver goalie Payton Lee on a point shot through traffic. Leipsic netted his first of the evening later in the frame, sending the 'Hawks to 2-for-2 on the man advantage when he hammered a quick one-timer in underneath the cross-bar from the right circle. Carter Popoff had a couple of strong chances around the net for Vancouver late in the period, but Winterhawks goalie Brendan Burke turned them all aside.

Portland came out strong in the second period, and Taylor Leier made it 3-0 just 1:21 into the middle frame when he forced a turnover at the Portland blue line and skated in on a breakaway, beating Lee on the stick side after a shifty head-fake. Leipsic put the visitors ahead by four at the seven minute mark, pouncing on a loose puck behind the Vancouver goal and tucking a backhanded wraparound inside the right post. The Giants got on the board with less than five minutes to go in the period when Jackson Houck sprung Alec Baer in on a breakaway, and the 16-year-old beat Burke between the legs for his first career playoff goal.

Oliver Bjorkstrand restored the four-goal lead for Portland in the third period when he buried a loose puck in the slot area, but Hamilton pulled Vancouver back to within three when he knocked home a one-timer from in close while the Giants were killing a penalty. Lofthouse tallied a one-timed goal of his own minutes later to make it 5-3, but Paul Bittner would find the net late for Portland to end all hopes of a Vancouver comeback.

Vancouver was 0-for-3 on the man advantage, but two of their power plays were shortened by the fact that they took penalties while they were up a man. The Winterhawks were 2-for-5 on their power play. Portland out shot Vancouver 34-28.

Game 4 goes on Wednesday night at the Pacific Coliseum at 7:00pm. For tickets, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Brendan Leipsic - Portland
2. Taylor Leier - Portland
3. Brett Kulak - Vancouver

Pre-Game Report: Game 3 - Giants vs. Winterhawks

The Vancouver Giants will look to battle back in their first round series against the Portland Winterhawks when the two teams face-off in Game 3 at the Pacific Coliseum on Tuesday night. The G-Men dropped the opening two games in Portland and trail 2-0 in the best-of-seven set.

Vancouver struggled mightily in a 3-0 loss in Game 2 on Saturday. The Giants mustered only 15 shots on goal and had a tough time gaining any traction in the offensive zone. Discipline was also an issue for the G-Men as they gave the Winterhawks nine power plays in the game, and Portland capitalized on two of them. Payton Lee was once again a bright spot for the Giants, turning aside 40 of 43 shots. The Cranbrook native has a .920 save percentage through the opening two games of the series.

The Winterhawks put forth an impressive effort in Game 2. Portland controlled the hockey game for long stretches at a time in the attacking zone, but the 'Hawks were also much stingier in their own end of the ice. While the Giants only mustered a combined 31 shots over the two games, the quality of Vancouver's chances in Game 1 were far greater than in Game 2, and Brendan Burke had very little work to do in earning his first playoff shutout.

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 6:00pm.)

Winterhawks Blank Giants 3-0 in Game 2

The Portland Winterhawks took a 2-0 series lead on the Vancouver Giants with a 3-0 shutout victory at the Moda Center on Saturday night. Brendan Burke made 15 saves for the goose-egg while Portland got goals from Nic Petan, Alex Schoenborn and Taylor Leier. Payton Lee stopped 40 of 43 shots in the loss for the G-Men.

The game was closely contested in the early minutes of the first period. Both teams battled hard and had opportunities, but the opening goal didn’t come until the latter half of the stanza when Petan struck on a power play for the Winterhawks, scoring the eventual winning goal on a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle after a nice feed from Oliver Bjorkstrand out of the left corner.

The ‘Hawks continued to ramp up the pressure in the second period and extended the lead with two goals in a 1:40 span. Schoenborn netted his first of the post season, knocking a rebound between the legs of Lee from the top of the crease, and Leier capitalized on a man advantage when he was sprung in on a breakaway after a pretty stretch pass from Derrick Pouliot, and he made no mistake, beating Lee stick side to put the home team ahead by three.

The Portland squad took the life out of the game in the third and frustrated the Giants into taking a number of penalties. Vancouver generated a couple of chances in the late going but never really tested Burke in the Winterhawk net.

Discipline was once again an issue for the Giants as Portland went 2-for-9 on the power play while Vancouver was 0-for-4. The Winterhawks had a heavy shot advantage for the second night in a row, finishing ahead 43-15.

The series will now shift to Vancouver for Game 3 on Tuesday and Game 4 on Wednesday at the Pacific Coliseum. For tickets, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

Game Summary

3 Stars:
1. Taylor Leier - Portland
2. Brendan Burke - Portland
3. Nic Petan - Portland

Pre-Game Report: Game 2 - Giants at Winterhawks

The Vancouver Giants will look to even their best-of-seven opening round series with the Portland Winterhawks on Saturday night when the two teams face-off in Game 2 at the Moda Center. The Winterhawks won the opener 4-3 on Friday night.

The Giants battled hard in the Game 1 loss and nearly forced overtime, despite the fact they were heavily out shot over 60 minutes. The Vancouver club was perfect on the penalty kill, holding the Winterhawks off the scoreboard on their five man advantages, but the G-Men will look to be more disciplined on Saturday. Payton Lee was the story of the night for Vancouver, stopping 41 of 45 shots in his first WHL playoff start.

The Winterhawks had two-goal nights from both Brendan Leipsic and Oliver Bjorkstrand on Friday and controlled the game for large portions, pinning the Giants in their own zone for minutes at a time. The Portland club will look to try and capitalize on more of their opportunities on Saturday as a number of their offensive chances went by the wayside in Game 1. Brendan Burke was solid between the pipes for Portland, despite allowing an awkward goal from Brett Kulak in the third period.

Where: Moda Center; Portland, OR

When: 7:00pm (The Pre-Game Show starts at 6:00pm.)

Listen: TEAM 1040 and teamradio.ca