It was a night full of milestones as the Vancouver Giants defeated the Victoria Royals 5-0. This marks the seventh consecutive victory for the Giants over the Royals dating back to last season. Vancouver outshot Victoria 48-16 and were able to keep the Royals to just four shots in the third.
Game Recap
Despite some early pressure from the Royals, The Giants jumped out to an early 3-0 lead 7:24 into the game. The goals were scored by Justin Sourdif, Adam Hall and Connor Horning. After the third goal, Victoria pulled goaltender Sebastian Wraneschitz in favour of Tyler Palmer. The Giants would add one more in the period, with Victoria native Payton Mount scoring in his hometown.
There was no scoring in the second, but things got chippy when Justin Sourdif and Bailey Peach got into a tussle. Sourdif was given a game misconduct for removal of a helmet during the fight. The second was physical, with the Giants owning most of the possession.
The third featured only one goal. Mazden Leslie was able to open his account for the season at 18:59 of the period. There were two 10-minute misconducts given out late in the period. One to Ty Thorpe and the other to Royals’ forward Keanu Derungs.
Three Positives from the Game
Many positives arose from the game. The first was the play of Fabian Lysell. He was fantastic throughout the game and was making plays that wowed the crowd. If this game is any indication, he is going to have a big year for the Giants.
GOOOOOALLL!!
Justin Sourdif converts off a two-on-one with Fabian Lysell.
(Get used to that!)
1-0 G-Men!
— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) October 3, 2021
Possession was also a big positive for the Giants. They kept the puck, did not have too many giveaways and controlled play in the Royals zone. If they want to have a successful season, they need to limit the opposition’s possession time. The team got off to a good start in game one.
The last positive was the penalty kill. They went five for five and did not let Victoria get many grade-A scoring opportunities. The team even created some shorthanded opportunities for themselves. Last season, the Giants were one of the most penalized teams in the league, so they need to ensure the penalty kill is as strong as tonight for the rest of the season.
Room for Improvement
The power play was good but could not finish tonight. It could be that Sourdif left the game early or limited practice time, but the Giants need to get this unit going. There are not many games a team is going to pot five even-strength goals in. The power play had some good possession and movement, but they need more shots directed at the net.
Milestones
Here are some milestones that occurred during the game:
- Connor Horning’s 200th career WHL Game
- Jesper Vikman’s first career WHL start, win and shutout
- First career WHL points from Fabian Lysell, Jaden Lipinski and Damian Palmieri
- First career WHL games for Fabian Lysell, Jaden Lipinski, Damian Palmieri, Ty Halaburda and Ethan Semeniuk.
Three Stars for the Giants
1st Star- Connor Horning: 1 Goal, 1 Assist, +4, 4 shots
2nd Star- Adam Hall: 1 Goal, 1 Assist, +2, 6 shots
3rd Star- Jesper Vikman: 16 save shutout, first career WHL win and shutout
Congratulations to goaltender (and @GoldenKnights prospect) Jesper Vikman for securing his first WHL shutout in his first career WHL game! pic.twitter.com/4hYBp3OJRB
— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) October 3, 2021
Next Game:
The Giants now get set for their home opener against the Prince George Cougars. Game time is set for Friday, October 8th, at 7:30 pm PST.
