DUBNetwork Game of the Night: Vancouver Giants (19-18-2-2) @ Kamloops Blazers (29-11-2-1) 4 PM
Here come the Giants.
After suffering through a dreadful first half of the season by their own standards, the Giants have found some offense. They beat the Victoria Royals on back-to-back nights by a combined 10-3 score. The wins have them just three points back of the Kelowna Rockets for third in the BC Division.
For the Blazers, it’s more of the same with back-to-back wins over the Tri-City Americans. They won those games pretty handily by scores of 12-3 and 9-0. The Blazers vaulted themselves to second in the WHL with 187 goals, just one behind the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The two teams have met three times already this season. Kamloops has won all three previous meetings. The last time these two teams met, on January 3rd, required overtime. Kamloops edged Vancouver 2-1.
Five Kamloops Blazers hit the league scoring leaderboard before any Vancouver Giants show up, as has been the case for the Giants for much of the 2019-2020 campaign. Vancouver has just 107 goals on the season.
For the Blazers, there are three scorers in the WHL top seven. Zane Franklin now leads all point scorers with 72 in 43 games. He has 25 goals and 47 assists. His lead is three points over Adam Beckman of the Spokane Chiefs. Orrin Centazzo has kept pace in fourth place among the WHL point leaders. With 32 goals on the season, he has the second-most goals in the WHL. He also has 29 assists. Rounding out the top three for the Blazers is a draft-eligible prospect, Connor Zary. The 18-year-old has 27 goals and 29 assists in 38 games, good for seventh in the WHL.
The Vancouver Giants are led by Tristen Nielsen. The 19-year-old has 20 goals and 20 assists in 41 games. Tyler Preziuso has collected 10 points in 13 games since joining the Giants in early December. He now has 16 goals and 16 assists. Another recent addition has stepped up for the Giants as well with seven points in four games with his new club. That skater is Eric Florchuk who came over near the trade deadline in a deal with the Saskatoon Blades.
Kamloops Blazers defenseman Max Martin has closed the gap among defensemen when it comes to points. With eight goals and 36 assists, Martin is now tied for the league lead with Lethbridge Hurricanes defenseman Alex Cotton. Quinn Schmiemann has also contributed from the blue line with three goals and 20 assists.
Bowen Byram has not been as productive from the back end as last season. He has just three goals and 17 assists over his 29 games this season. Alex Kannok-Leipert is on pace to have his best season with two goals and 13 assists.
Despite the team’s struggles, Arizona Coyotes prospect David Tendeck is having himself a good season when it comes to his stats. His 11-11-1-1 record doesn’t do his 2.12 goals-against average and .923 save percentage any justice. He has the fourth-best GAA in the Western Hockey League this season.
Not to be outdone, draft-eligible goaltender Dylan Garand has been outstanding for the Blazers. He is 23-9-1-1 and has a 2.30 goals-against average to go with a .920 save percentage.
The two teams will look to keep momentum on their side in one of five games on the WHL docket.
In other WHL action:
Medicine Hat Tigers (29-12-1-1) @ Edmonton Oil Kings (29-7-6-3)
Seven points separate the division rivals, and both teams are rolling. Edmonton has points in seven straight, while Medicine Hat has four wins in a row. Edmonton holds a 2-1-0-0 edge over Medicine Hat, who is 1-2-0-0 in the season series.
Kelowna Rockets (21-19-1-2) @ Portland Winterhawks (32-6-2-3)
The two teams meet for the second night in a row, with Portland winning 7-0 last night. The Rockets are struggling of late, having lost five consecutive games. Portland currently owns the longest points streak in the WHL this season at 18 games. Last year’s longest such streak was 22 games.
Everett Silvertips (28-11-2-1) @ Seattle Thunderbirds (18-21-2-1)
The Silvertips are back to their winning ways, with their second win in a row coming at the hands of Seattle last night (8-0). The teams have played five games thus far. Everett is 3-2-0-0; Seattle is 2-2-1-0.
Calgary Hitmen (22-15-4-1) @ Winnipeg ICE (27-15-1-0)
Winnipeg took last night’s game 5-2 in the teams’ only other meeting this season. The ICE are on a three-game win streak heading into the night’s action and are a single point up on the Prince Albert Raiders for first in the East Division. Calgary has lost two in a row and are 10 points back of the Lethbridge Hurricanes for third in the Central Division.
