Vancouver Giants won their second consecutive road game on Sunday night, Dec. 3, defeating the Spokane Chiefs 4-3 thanks to 39 saves from Brett Mirwald, a penalty kill that went 7-for-7, and a shorthanded game-winning-goal from defenceman Mazden Leslie.
Associate Coach Adam Maglio said the big difference was their penalty kill.
“It seemed like the game had a lot of different waves to it, different momentum swings,” Maglio said.
“A lot of it was based on special teams: power plays, penalty kills, but it was a gutsy win.”
Maglio rated Mirwald’s performance as “terrific,” and gave high marks to the new additions to the team as well.
“Your goalie is your best PKer and then the last couple games we used some new guys coming into the lineup and getting inserted in, and they just all looked comfortable tonight,” Maglio commented after the game.
“They did a really good job for the most part keeping that power play to the outside and I thought our forecheck set it up for us on the kill because we weren’t in our zone for extended periods of time. I thought it was great, but Mirwald was terrific as well, so everyone played a big part in that.”
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Contributing the other goals for Vancouver was Logen Hammett, Tyler Thorpe and Colton Langkow.
Captain Sam Honzek was named the first star with a three-assist performance.
Honzek had another multi-point game, giving him five points (2G-3A) in his first three games back. He has 18 shots on goal in three games.
Scoring for the Chiefs was Chase Bertholet, Berkly Catton and Ty Cheveldayoff.
Mirwald’s win was his ninth of the season, equalling his total from last season. His 39 saves were the second most he has made in a win this season, after stopping 41 of 43 on Nov. 4 against Kamloops. Mirwald ranks second in the WHL in saves (672).
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With the win, the Giants’ record improves to 11-15-2-0 this season.
Next, Giants have a home-and-home with the Everett Silvertips on the weekend as both teams host their respective Teddy Bear tosses.
Vancouver will visit Angel of the Winds Arena on Friday, Dec. 8, before hosting their own Teddy Bear Toss at the LEC on Saturday, December 9 at 7 p.m.
