2003 – Kelowna puts Giants on the brink
The first two games of this series were polar opposites, Game 1 had the Rockets winning 10-0 then the next night it took two overtimes for them to win Game 2.
Vancouver was a severe underdog in what was their first playoff series in their history but continued to put in a respectable effort as the series shifted to the Pacific Coliseum.
The game didn’t see its first goal until 1:24 remaining in the second period when Cam Paddock put Kelowna up 1-0.
That goal would end up being the game-winner as the Giants were unable to find the score sheet. Tyler Mosienko got the game’s insurance goal with 1:27 remaining in regulation to give the Rockets a 2-0 win and a 3-0 series lead.
Kelowna’s Kelly Guard had a 26 save shutout and Giants goaltender Jordan McLaughlin stopped 36-of-38 shots.
2005 – Rockets take Game 2 in overtime
Kelowna came into Game 2 looking to bounce back from their hard-fought loss the previous night to the underdog Giants.
Vancouver scored the only goal in the first period, coming off the stick of Adam Courchaine for his second of the series.
The second period was a good one for the Rockets as they rattled off three goals, two on the man advantage, in a 3:07 span to quickly shift the game’s momentum.
The Giants willed themselves back into the game in the third period with back-to-back goals from Mitch Bartley and Mark Fistric, ultimately forcing the game to overtime.
Brent Howarth evened up the series for the Rockets 2:25 into the extra frame to give his team the 4-3 win and sending the series to Vancouver.
Marek Schwarz stopped 35-of-39 shots while Derek Yeomans made 25 saves.
2008 – Giants sweep Bruins
Vancouver came into Game 4 looking to close out the Chilliwack Bruins in four straight games, and that’s exactly what they did.
Spencer Machacek got the Giants on the board early with his third goal of the series. The Giants held the lead until midway through the second period when Ryan Howse put the Bruins on the board to even things up at one goal apiece.
Despite being outshot 15-6 in the third period, Vancouver was able to score the only goal of the period from Casey Pierro-Zabotel which stood up as the series-winning goal to send the Giants to the second round.
Tyson Sexsmith stopped 26 shots in the series-clincher and Chilliwack’s Mark Friesen stopped 29-of-31.
2011 – Tri-City wins Game 2
After dropping Game 1 in overtime the night before in Kennewick, Washington, the Giants were looking to bring a series split-back north of the border.
The entirety of the game’s scoring transpired in the first 40 minutes of the game, including five goals in the first period.
Brendan Gallagher wasted no time getting his team on the board, scoring just 24 seconds into the hockey game.
The lead didn’t last long as the Americans scored three unanswered goals, the third being shorthanded.
Vancouver would cut the lead to one goal before the end of the period when Michael Burns scored with 1:03 remaining.
The next goal came from the younger of the Burns brothers, Nathan, 1:52 into the second period on the power play to tie the game at three.
Tri-City put up two quick goals within a few minutes of each other from Neal Prokop and Matt MacKenzie.
The latter would end up being the game-winner as Giants forward Jordan Martinook late in the middle frame.
There was some rough stuff at the game’s buzzer to set the tone for Game 3, with 24 minutes in penalties given out.
Mark Segal stopped 28-of-33 shots for Vancouver and Drew Owsley had 28 saves.
2014 – Winterhawks finish off Giants
Vancouver needed a win to keep their season alive against a potent Portland Winterhawks team.
It wouldn’t take long for the visiting Winterhawks to put the game out of reach, leaping out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, with Brendan Leipsic opening the scoring with his fifth goal of the series.
Carter Popoff scored the only goal of the game for Vancouver in the second period on the power play before Portland scored three more unanswered goals to end the Giants’ 2013-14 season with a four-game sweep.
Payton Lee stopped 10-of-13 shots before being pulled in the first period for Jared Rathjen who stopped 29-of-32 shots in relief. Brendan Burke stopped 32 shots in the series-winning game.
Portland would go all the way to the WHL Final before losing to Edmonton in Game 7.
2019 – Giants beat Seattle in Game 3
After splitting the first two games in Langley, the Western Conference-leading Giants looked to get things back on track down in Kent.
The Giants surrendered the first goal 4:06 into the game before Tristen Nielsen tied things up on the power play with just 33 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Vancouver picked up where they left off after the intermission when Bowen Byram scored his second of the series just 3:21 into the second.
From there, things got weird for the Giants. They took consecutive too many men penalties that were both capitalized on by Payton Mount to give Seattle their second lead of the game at 3-2.
Jadon Joseph was able to even things back up for the Giants before the period closed out with a power-play goal of his own.
It took just 24 seconds into the third period to regain the lead thanks to a goal from future captain Alex Kannok Leipert to make it 4-3 Giants.
Several minutes later Vancouver got offence from an unlikely source in defenceman Dallas Hines who put the Giants up by two goals. They hung onto that lead until the 16:38 mark when Sean Richards cut the lead to one and helping the Thunderbirds put on some late pressure.
The Giants would be able to hold off Seattle with Brayden Watts scoring into the empty net to put the game away at 6-4.
David Tendeck stopped 25-of-29 shots for Vancouver while Roddy Ross made 31 saves on the 35 shots he faced to give the Giants a 2-1 series lead.
