Keith Dwiggins
B.C. Division

The Vancouver Giants are looking good against American teams

Written by Giancarlo Nadeau on

 

The Vancouver Giants are currently in an eight-game stretch of playing teams from across the border. Saturday, February 5, was the last time the Giants had played against an American team before this stretch. The G-men made the trek down to Seattle for a 7-2 beating from a former Giant in Lukas Svejkovsky and his flock. The Thunderbirds score three goals in the first period of play and led 5-0 after the middle frame. Justin Lies and Adam Hall each netted goals, but the Gants fell 7-2. A goal and three assists were good enough for Svejkovsky to be named the first star of the contest. Born in Point Roberts, Washington, Svejkovsky was selected 36th overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft by the Vancouver Giants and was part of the Giants team for two seasons. The Giants traded the 2001-born forward during the 2019-20 season to Medicine Hat and he was with them until the mid-way mark of this season before heading south.  

Photo: Larry Brunt

On Friday, the Vancouver Giants kicked off a three-game swing through the US Division when they battled the Spokane Chiefs for the second time this season. Earlier last week, the Giants had named Zack Ostapchuk the team’s 19th captain who replaced former Giant Justin Sourdif. With a new face wearing the ‘C’ and a chance to move up in the standings, the Giants who had dropped four straight were searching for win 21. Ethan Semeniuk opened the scoring while the newly appointed Giants captain, Zack Ostapchuk, ripped his 17th of the season home off the rush from the right-wing. The score was tied at 2 after 2, but three third-period goals were not matched by the Giants who dropped their 29th game of the season. Despite the loss, it was a memorable game for one Giants player; With Jesper Vikman injured, Matthew Hutchison became the fourth ever goaltender to start a game for the Vancouver Giants in his under-age season. With his first game under his belt, Hutchison also became the second 2006-born goaltender to start a game in the WHL this season. 

The G-men continued their trip down south with a Friday night battle against the Tri-City Americans. The Giants entered the game as losers of their past five games while the Americans were searching for their first win after four consecutive defeats. It was Will Gurski who went between the pipes for Vancouver and made 26 saves to earn the 3-2 win over Tomas Suchanek who stopped 38 shots for Tri-City. Samuel Huo, a 2001-born forward from Richmond, B.C. continued his impressive final season in the WHL by adding two more goals to his name and extending his team lead in goals with 24. With two points, Huo matched his offensive production from his first game against Vancouver when he registered a goal and an assist for two points. For Vancouver, it was Jaden Lipinski who led the charge offensively with two goals, the first multi-goal game of his WHL career, while Fabian Lysell notched his 19th and third game-winning goal of the season. 

Saturday night in Portland the Vancouver Giants wrapped up their three-game journey through the United States with their third meeting of the season against the Winterhawks. Saturday’s game was a chance for Vancouver to earn their 22nd victory of the season and finish their road trip with two of a possible three victories and getting the win is just what the G-men did. Adam Hall led the Giants with two goals and an assist for a total of three points while four other Giants (Ostapchuk, Lysell, Lipinski, and Alex Cotton) managed two points. Clay Hanus responded to a 5-0 Giants lead with four assists of his own, but his team came just short of a remarkable comeback bid as the G-men won 5-4. Will Gurski was back in the crease for Vancouver and made a season-high 41 saves while Dante Giannuzzi and Taylor Gauthier shared the net making 25 saves for Portland. Saturday’s victory was the third of the season against Portland and improved the Giants’ road record to 13-15-1-0. A possible playoff matchup may be in store for these two foes and Saturday’s game was a good indication that if the first-round series between Portland and Vancouver were to occur, it would be nothing but thrilling and unforgettable.

The Giants continue their eight-game stretch against American teams tomorrow night when the Tri-City Americans come to town for a 7:00 p.m. game. The Americans are currently ranked 10th in the Western Conference and are eight points back of the eighth-placed Prince George Cougars. 13 of their final 15 games are against teams in the US Division with two games against Vancouver being the only exception. 

Vancouver will then kickstart a home-and-home stint against Everett on Friday before concluding their eight-game stretch of games against teams down south with a home-and-home showdown against Seattle the following week.