B.C. Division, Game Recap

Giants Continue to Roll Defeating Two Juggernaut’s of the CHL

Written by Adam Kierszenblat on

The Vancouver Giants continued their win streak with victories over Kelowna, Kamloops and Everett. They have now won their last six games 14 goals over the last three games. Here is the rundown of the week that was.

Vancouver- 5 vs Kelowna- 3

The Giants did something no other team has been able to do this season, defeat Kelowna at home in regulation. Fabian Lysell started the scoring with two goals in the first. The Rockets fired back with two straight in the second from Mark Liwiski and Colton Dach, but Adam Hall was able to retake the lead with less than two minutes left in the third. Kelowna would tie it up thanks to a Pavel Novak goal in the third, but two straight goals by Zack Ostapchuck proved to be the difference as the Giants skated away with a 5-3 victory.

The Giants can thank Jesper Vikman as he was sensational, stopping 38 of 41 shots. The Swedish goaltender has really stepped up his game lately, keeping the Giants in games night after night. The hope is his recent form has evaluated him into consideration for the Swedish National Junior Team, as an announcement is expected to come soon.

From an offensive perspective, the big story of the games was the Giants’ best players stepping up. Lysell, Justin Sourdif, Alex Cotton and Zack Ostapchuck all had at least two points in the game. These are the players the Giants need on a night-to-night basis if they want to go on a long playoff run. It is very encouraging to see them thrive in a game like this.

Three Giants Stars of the Game

Fabian Lysell- 2 goals, 2 assists, +2, 5 shots on goal

Jesper Vikman- 38 saves on 41 shots

Zack Ostapchuck- 2 goals, 1 assist, +1, 4 shots on goal, 11 for 21 on faceoffs

Vancouver- 3 vs Kamloops- 1

Yes, you are reading this correctly. The Vancouver Giants finally beat the Kamloops Blazers. It was the team’s first victory versus the Blazers since April 5th, 2021. The Giants struck late in the first, thanks to a one-timer from Zack Ostapchuk. They doubled their lead early in the third when Ethan Semeniuk buried a rebound in close to make it 2-0. The Blazers did get one back when Ethan Brandwood beat Vikman with a knuckle puck, but Payton Mount was able to score the empty netter to seal the 3-1 victory for Vancouver.

Once again, it was the Vikman show as he stopped 39 of 40 shots, including a diving stop off of Logan Stankoven. Whatever sort of magic he is doing before games, he needs to keep it up because he is on a tear. He kept the team in the game and was named the first star as a reward.

The big difference during this game compared to others the Giants have played against the Blazers was the penalty kill. Kamloops went 0-4 on the power play and could not get set up outside of the Stankoven chance. They moved the puck well, but a red Giants jersey blocked every shooting lane. Vancouver has finally figured out Kamloop’s power play which can only mean good things for them in the future.

Three Giants Stars of the Game

Jesper Vikman- 39 saves on 40 shots

Alex Cotton- 1 assist, +2, 5 shots on goal

Fabian Lysell- 1 assist, +1, 3 shots on goal

Vancouver- 6 vs Everett- 5

The Giants once again did something no one else has done as they hung 6 on the Silvertips. They are also only one of two teams to beat Everett in regulation this season. Everett jumped out to an early lead as Matthew Ng scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal less than 2 minutes in. Ty Halaburda responded with a goal of his own before the Silvertips bagged two more before the end of the period. Ben Hemmerling and Jackson Berezowski were the goal scored.

The Giants then stormed back two of their own in the second with goals from Ty Thorpe and Lysell to tie things at three. Everett retook the lead thanks to Beezowki’s second until Cotton buried the tieing goal less than 30 seconds later. Zack Ostapchuck was able to bag two straight to make it 6-4, but Everett kept fighting and pulled within one late off a goal from Niko Huuhtanen. Unfortunately for Everett, that was as close as they would come as they fell 6-5.

This game was very chaotic. It had Teddy Bears being thrown on the ice, a questionable hit and multiple blown leads by Everett. Overall though, the Giants played extremely well and showed they could hang with the league’s big dogs. They deserved the win as their big guns stepped up once again for this team.

One line that played fantastic during the game was Halaburda, Semeniuk and Jaden Lipinski. These three have earned the coaches’ trust and were out there late in the game. Although they only finished with one shot combined, they played well in their own zone and were not giving up many high danger chances. Yes, the Silvertips did have 48 shots, but not many stuck out as high danger saves. This line should be getting more minutes, and will have to step up with Sourdif and Lysell leaving for World Juniors this week.

Three Stars for the Giants

Zack Ostapchuck- 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 shots, 15 for 24 on faceoffs

Fabian Lysell- 1 assist, 2 goals, +3, 6 shots

Jesper Vikman- 43 saves on 48 shots