Rookie Giants goaltender Matthew Hutchison kept it close, but in the end, Vancouver Giants lost 3-2 to the Wenatchee Wild on Friday night, Nov. 3, at the Town Toyota Center.
Hutchison finished with 39 saves, including some blockbuster stops. It was more than double the number Wild netminder Daniel Hauser had to contend with (18 saves on 20 shots).
The Wild scored three times in the third period to come from behind and snag the win.
Scoring for the Giants was Ty Halaburda – his fourth of the season – and Aaron Obobaifo – his second in two games. Both goals came on the power play.
Scoring for the Wild was Rodzers Bukarts (twice) and Conor Geekie.
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Wild fired 18 shots on goal in the opening frame, but Giants goaltender Matthew Hutchison was up to the task, stopping every one.
At the 11:35 mark of the second, the Giants got on the board, after Halaburda took a puck to the net on the backhand, forcing it home to open the scoring.
Vancouver took that 1-0 lead into the second intermission, where the shots stood 30-15 in favour of Wenatchee.
The Giants tried to hold off the Wild, but they came out with renewed energy in the third and got rewarded with three consecutive goals.
First, Bukarts put home a rebound from the slot to tie the game at the 3:19 mark.
Just a minute later, the Wild nearly made it 2-1, but Hutchison made a miraculous glove save to keep the score tied.
However, the Wild kept up the pressure. At the 7:41 mark, Geekie won a battle in front of the net to put home another rebound and make it 2-1.
Bukarts would follow up with his second of the night off an offensive zone faceoff to make it 3-1 for the home side at the 8:16 mark.
Obobaifo responded for the Giants with 3:39 to go in the game on a power play off a set up from Kyren Gronick, but that was as close as Vancouver would come.
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With the loss, the Giants are now 5-8-1 this season. The Wild improve to 9-6-1.
Matthew Hutchison’s 39 saves mark a new career-high
Giants rookie Aaron Obobaifo scored for his second straight game, after scoring his first WHL goal on Wednesday
Halaburda’s goal was his fourth in the last seven games
The Giants power play scored twice in the same game for the first time this season
Next, Giants finish their week today (Saturday, Nov. 4) when they host the Blazers for the second time in six days. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
