With Game 5 back to Vancouver Island with the series tied 2-2, The Vancouver Giants will battle the Victoria Royals again Saturday night at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena in Victoria. Here is a DUBNetwork preview and some items to look out for.
Momentum shifts– If you are a fan of either club, buckle up and as the cliché goes, don’t get too high or too low emotionally. The series has shown wild momentum shifts, from each period to each game. It is testament as to how well matched these teams are and leads to an exciting game on the ice. Each team has alternated wins over the first for games, so if that pattern continues, it is the Giants turn for Game 5.
Sleeping Giant– After scoring 61 regular season goals, Ty Ronning has been held scoreless in the first four games of the series. While he remained very dangerous and has contributed five assists, he is due for a breakout game. Ronning is a difference maker, as noted in the series preview, and if he has saved his best for last, Vancouver would definitely welcome their sniper heating up.
One and done– To say Tyler Soy’s return to the lineup in Game 4 had an impact would be an understatement. Soy tallied a hat-trick in Game 4 and helped spark his fellow linemates Matthew Phillips and Dante Hannoun to also breakout offensively. That was the good. The bad was that Soy left in the third after wrestling with Tyler Benson, possibly re-aggravating an upper body injury that forced his to miss the first three games of the series. The Royals have said that Soy will miss the rest of the series, a tough break for the 20-year-old.
Next man up– With Soy and likely Tanner Kaspick out of the series, Victoria will look to Jeff de Wit, Lane Zablocki and Igor Grishakov to continue to fill in offensively. Head Coach Dan Price has referred to the team as “having a next man up mentality” and that will continue to be tested as the series goes deep.
(credit: @Fedyck_Fotos)
David Tendeck– Tendeck was another player who returned from injury and looked phenomenal in Game 3, back-stopping his team to a 5-1 victory. However, Game 4 was a different story and while the young netminder did not play horribly, it will be interesting to see how he responds to the 7-3 defeat.
Giants return– Vancouver will have the return of a couple of veteran defencemen for Game 5. Darian Skeoch has completed his three game suspension for a hit to the head in Game 1 on Victoria’s Dino Kambeitz and should be a physical force in front of Tendeck. Giants powerplay quarterback Matt Barberis has also served a single game suspension, for a cross-check on Kaid Oliver in Game 3.
Team Discipline– Both teams have been guilty of some undisciplined play so far in the series, often costing themselves. Both coaches have acknowledged the struggle for the players to play with emotion but to not go too far. Vancouver coach Jason McKee said after Game 3, “It’s that time of year where emotions are high.You can’t back down, you have to tow the line but not cross it and a couple times we crossed it and got penalized.”
Man Advantage– Poor discipline is really only an issue if you can make a team pay for it. The Victoria powerplay exploded in Game 4, going 3-for-7, cracking a very good penalty kill thus far in the series for the Giants. It should be pointed out that there is a discrepancy in the number of chances the teams have had, with the Royals powerplay at 5-for-21 versus the Giants 2-for-12 in the series. Whether that is a statement of Vancouver playing less disciplined or the Royals getting some extra opportunities, these issues tend to even out over a series.
