The Vancouver Giants have played 62 games already this season and have a record of 23-35-4-0. With only six games remaining the G-men still have not been able to lock in a spot in the postseason.
This season, teams were split into two conferences, the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference, and the top eight teams from each conference would advance to the playoffs. Five of the eight potential playoff spots have already been claimed in the Western Conference and Vancouver, despite losing its last six games, is still in a good spot to grab one of the final three remaining spots.
Vancouver and Victoria are tied in points with 54, but it is the Royals who sit in seventh while the Giants are currently in sixth as the Royals have played two more games than the Giants. Vancouver has also played two fewer games than the Spokane Chiefs who have 49 points and one less game than the Prince George Cougars who sit at 48 points. Three playoff spots remain open in the Western Conference and three teams (the Giants, Chiefs, and Cougars) are still all in good spots to grab a ticket to the playoffs.
With six games remaining on the Giants’ schedule take a look at all six of those remaining meetings and how the Giants have already done against their remaining opponents this season.
Friday, March 8 has the Portland Winter Hawks in town for a game at 7:30 p.m. Vancouver is 3-0-0-0 against Portland this season dating back to November 6, 2021, when the Giants won 3-1 followed by a 3-2 overtime victory a few weeks later (November 24, 2021) and most recently a 6-5 victory on March 12. This will also be the first game of a three-game weekend for the Vancouver Giants.
Saturday, April 9 marks the first of a back-to-back weekend over the Kelowna Rockets and sees Vancouver paying a visit to the Okanagan before heading back home for a Sunday matinee game. The Giants are 4-4-1-0 over the Rockets this season, but the G-men did win their last meeting over Kelowna in a 5-4 home victory on March 12. Saturday’s game is set for 7:00 p.m. while Sunday’s game is expected to begin at 4:05 p.m.
Giants’ defenceman Mazden Leslie has done well with impressing his coaches this season. Photo: Rob WiltonThe Giants play an American team on Wednesday for the final time during the regular season as the Seattle Thunderbirds make the trek across the border for a puck drop at 7:00 p.m. Vancouver has struggled to come away with a victory over Seattle this season and is currently 0-3-0-0 against the birds.
The final home game of the regular season for the Giants is on April 15 and will have the Kelowna Rockets in the building for a tilt set for 7:00 p.m.
Giants’ forward Ty Thorpe has picked up 44 points in 56 games with the Giants this season. Photo: Rob WiltonThe 68th and final game for the Giants is on Saturday, April 16th and it will be a meeting hosted by the second-best team in the Western Conference, the Kamloops Blazers. This duel is set to take place at 7:00 p.m. Vancouver’s record against Kamloops is nothing to brag about as the team currently has a 2-8-1-0 record over the orange and blue. Vancouver’s two victories took place on December 3, 2021, when the team tripled Kamloops 3-1 and Vancouver picked up another two points in an overtime game back on February 19 that the Giants took by a 4-3 score.
All six of the Giants’ remaining regular-season games are against teams who have already punched their tickets to the playoffs in the Western Conference. Kamloops (46-16-2-0, 94 PTS), Portland (43-16-3-2, 91 PTS), Seattle (40-18-4-2, 86 PTS), and Kelowna (38-19-1-5, 82 PTS).
The G-men have been inconsistent this season in regards to the team’s ability to win games and consistency is one thing that this Giants team will need to have as they come to the end of the regular season and make one final push towards the playoffs.
