Giants Outlast Cougars in High Scoring Affair

Trade deadline acquisition Dominik Volek had a goal and an assist as the Vancouver Giants skated to a 6-5 win over the Prince George Cougars at the Pacific Coliseum on Friday night. Tim Traber, Joel Hamilton, Ty Ronning, Mason Geertsen and Jackson Houck also had goals in the victory. The win also marked Don Hay's 599th win as a head coach in the WHL.

Vancouver got on the board early as Traber scored 49 seconds into the game, knocking home the rebound of a Dalton Thrower shot to put Vancouver ahead. The Cougars would answer with two goals in an 18 second span later in the period to take the lead as Marc McNulty beat Vancouver goalie Jared Rathjen on a two-on-one before Tate Olsen found the net with a long shot through traffic. Hamilton quickly pulled the Giants back to level terms, hammering home a one-timer from in close, and Volek gave Vancouver the lead again with his first goal as a Giant, beating Prince George goalie Ty Edmonds cleanly with a wrist shot from just inside the Cougars' blue line. Ronning put the G-Men ahead by two when he netted his fourth of the year, and Edmonds was given the hook after conceding four goals on 13 shots. The Giants added one more before the intermission as Mason Geertsen beat net minder Adam Beukeboom with a drive from the point, and Vancouver led by three after 20 minutes.

The Cougars fought back in the second period and scored twice to pull to within one. First, Zach Pochiro found the net on a five-on-three power play after receiving a cross-ice pass from Troy Bourke, and Klarc Wilson tallied his 18th of the season after beating a number of Giants to a loose puck right off the face-off and tucking the puck past Rathjen.

Houck turned the momentum back in the Giants' favour early in the third, scoring his team leading 24th goal of the season less than a minute into the stanza. The game remained 6-4 for Vancouver until the late stages when Wilson netted his second of the evening after the Cougars had pulled the goalie, but they wouldn't find another as the G-Men closed out their 22nd victory of the season.

The season series between Vancouver and Prince George is now in the books with the Giants posting a record of 6-1-0-1 against the Cougars.

Vancouver returns to action on Sunday when the Portland Winterhawks visit the Rink on Renfrew. Don Hay will be going for his 600th WHL career head coaching win. The puck drop is set for 5:00pm. For tickets, call 604-4-GIANTS or visit vancouvergiants.com.

3 Stars:

1. Brett Kulak - Vancouver

2. Cain Franson - Vancouver

3. Zach Pochiro - Prince George