Friday night at the Langley Events Centre in front of 4,044 strong the Vancouver Giants extended their winning streak to six games thanks to a 5-4 triumph over the visiting Spokane Chiefs.
Special teams were the difference in a battle of the two hottest teams in the WHL’s Western Conference. And while the talk beforehand may have been about the Spokane Chiefs deadly power play – they rank first in that category, converting at 29.3 per cent of their opportunities – it was the Vancouver Giants second-ranked penalty kill (84.7 per cent) getting the job done while their own power play scored on three of their four opportunities.
The near-perfect man-advantage – they only failed to score on an abbreviated 11-second power play as the game wound down – helped the Giants go from the 14th-ranked power play (21.3 per cent) in the league to eighth (22.4 per cent).
The result was the sixth consecutive Vancouver victory, while the Chiefs were handed their first regulation loss in seven games (6-0-0-1).
“Special teams stepped up for us today, it is the reason we won the game,” admitted Giants forward Milos Roman, who played a big factor in both units. Roman had a goal and an assist, while also spearheading the penalty kill unit which allowed one goal on seven opportunities.
The victory improved Vancouver to 38-13-2-1 with their 79 points giving them a 20-point lead over Victoria for first place in the B.C. division with just 14 games remaining. Spokane saw their record drop to 30-18-2-4 and with 66 points, the Chiefs sit in third place in the U.S. Division.
Friday’s game looked to be over following 40 minutes as Jared Dmytriw and Milos Roman scored power-play goals 30 seconds apart in the final two minutes of the middle frame. But Luc Smith (who had opened the scoring) and Eli Zummack cut the lead to 4-3 in the first dozen minutes of the third before the Chiefs had the potential tying goal waved off after kicking the puck in.
Jadon Joseph extended the lead back to a pair, scoring his first goal after a 12-game scoring drought and that proved to be huge as the Chiefs’ Riley Woods made things interesting, getting Spokane back within one with 70 seconds to play.
“We lost our focus and became a little unraveled towards the end of the game,” said Vancouver coach Michael Dyck.
“It definitely fed into their momentum (but) this is a learning experience for us moving forward and getting ready for the playoffs.”
Joseph said the pre-game message was limiting Spokane’s opportunities on the man-advantage, an area the team failed in.
“We didn’t want more than three and we took seven. Moving forward we need to watch what we are doing and be a little bit more careful and smarter in certain situations,” he said.
The Chiefs would score on their first power-play chance in the game, with Smith depositing his 24th of the season past Trent Miner early in the first period. The lead was short-lived as 15 seconds later, Kaleb Bulych made it a 1-1 game. Vancouver then took the lead for good, thanks to a power-play goal from
Justin Sourdif as the rookie scored for the fifth time in the past nine games, giving him 16 goals on the season.
Vancouver wore special commemorative Don Cherry-themed jerseys at Friday’s home game. It was part of the Re/Max presents: WHL Suits up with Don Cherry to Promote Organ Donation. The jerseys are being auctioned off with proceeds going to the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
MORE DETAIL: Giants suits up to promote organ donation night Friday
Next up was Saturday’s game in Kelowna, where the Giants rocked the Rockets.
DETAILS OF THAT GAME: Vancouver Giants blank Rockets – with video
Vancouver returns to Langley Events Centre again today (Monday, Feb. 18) for a Family Day matinee at 3 p.m. against the Portland Winterhawks.
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BY THE NUMBERS:
• Final score: Vancouver 5 – Spokane 4
• Final shots: 31-24 Vancouver
• Trent Miner: 20/24 saves for Vancouver (20-4-1-0)
• Reece Klassen: 26 saves for Spokane (14-6-4-5)
• Vancouver: 3/4 on the Power Play
• Spokane: 1/7 on the Power Play
• 3 Stars: 1) Milos Roman (VAN – 1G, 1A); 2) Luc Smith (SPO – 2G); 3) Davis Koch (VAN – 2A)
• Friday’s win improved the Giants record to 9-6-1-0 against teams from the US Division. It also marked their 22nd home victory – Most of any team in the WHL.
• With the win, the Giants now sit at 79 points thus clinching a top two spot in the B.C. division standings, ensuring home ice advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs.
• So far in the season series between the Giants and Chiefs, Spokane has received 14 power play chances while the Giants have received just six.
• Jared Dmytriw now leads all Giants with three goals and two assists for five points in three games against the Chiefs.
