Vancouver Giants are one win away from the Western Hockey League Championship series.
Wednesday night in Spokane, Wash., the G-Men earned a 4-3 come-from-behind overtime victory over the Spokane Chiefs.
Dawson Holt, the WHL’s reigning player of the week, ripped home his fifth of the playoffs at 7:07 into overtime, giving the Giants a 3-1 series lead.
Jadon Joseph, Bowen Byram and Brayden Watts supplied the other goals for Vancouver, while netminder David Tendeck made 28 saves in goal.
Adam Beckman had two goals in response for Spokane.
Overtime jubilation for @WHLGiants as Holt pushes Chiefs to brink of elimination in #WHLPlayoffs.
WHL TONIGHT 📰 | https://t.co/PVNMDZp28g pic.twitter.com/y5ZWlfJYgn
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 25, 2019
Box Score
1st Period:
SPO – Adam Beckman (7) opened the scoring for the Chiefs at the 18:38 mark of the first period. His first of two goals on the night was assisted by Nolan Reid and Jaret Anderson-Dolan.
Shots: 17-5 Spokane
2nd Period:
SPO – Adam Beckman wasn’t done. He notched his second of the game and eighth of the playoffs at 10:06 of the second period off a slick backhand shot that snuck past the blocker of David Tendeck. Ethan McIndoe had the lone helper on the play.
Shots: 9-8 Spokane
3rd Period:
VAN – 4:26 into the third period the Giants got on the board when Jadon Joseph (7) parked himself in front of the Spokane goal and knocked a Tristen Nielsen rebound home. Davis Koch also assisted on the Giants opening marker of the game which came on a delayed Spokane penalty.
VAN – Bowen Byram (6) tied the game at 9:11 when his shot from the left-wing point on a Giants power play snuck through traffic and home. Milos Roman and Davis Koch earned assists.
VAN – 53 seconds later the Giants took the lead when Brayden Watts’ shot from the left-wingle circle ripped past Bailey Brkin. Watts’ fourth of the playoffs was assisted by Justin Sourdif and Milos Roman.
SPO – The Chiefs answered at 16:25 of the third when Riley Woods (7) banked a shot off a defender and across the line from the right side of the net.
Shots: 14-4 Vancouver
Overtime:
VAN – Dawson Holt (5) ended the game at 7:07 of overtime when his shot from the right-wing circle off the rush beat Brkin blocker side .Holt’s OT winner was set up by Alex Kannok Leipert and Byram.
Shots: 3-1 Vancouver
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BY THE NUMBERS
• Final score: Vancouver 4 – Spokane 3 (OT)
• Final shots: 31-30 Spokane
• David Tendeck: 28/31 saves for Vancouver (7-1-1)
• Bailey Brkin: 26/30 saves for Spokane (9-4-1-0)
• Vancouver: 1/2 on the Power Play
• Spokane: 0/1 on the Power Play
• 3 Stars: 1) Bowen Byram (VAN – 1G, 1A); 2) Adam Beckman (SPO – 2G); and 3) Dawson Holt (VAN – OTG)
#WHLThreeStars âââ
Wednesday, April 24, 2019#WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/w3Bn2ljTtt— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 25, 2019
• The Giants improved to 3-1 in overtime during the 2019 playoffs thanks to Wednesday’s win. Holt joins Tristen Nielsen (Round 2, Game 2 vs. Victoria) and Owen Hardy (Round 2, Game 3 vs. Victoria) on the list of Giants playoff goal scorers in 2019.
• The G-Men power play improved to 4/8 in the series while the penalty kill now sits at 6/6. The power play has registered a goal in 13 of the Giants 14 playoff games.
• The Giants improved their 2019 road playoff record to 5-2.
• With a goal and an assist, Byram now sits second in playoff scoring with 16 points (6G, 10A)
• David Tendeck is 6-0-1-0 in his last seven playoff starts. He’s 7-1-1 over the course of the playoffs altogether.
Wednesday night’s victory comes on the heels of an overtime loss in Spokane Tuesday night, where the Giants fell 3-2, and out of the first four games of this Western Conference championship series, the G-Men have won three of the four games.
TUESDAY’S COVERAGE: Vancouver Giants fall in overtime
It means the Giants are set to return home Friday, April 26, when the series shifts back to the Langley Events Centre for a potential pivotal Game 5. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
Back home on Friday…
GIANTS NEXT HOME GAME: Friday, April 26th at 7:30 PM vs. @spokanechiefs
The Vancouver Giants return to the @LangleyEvents for Game 5 of @TheWHL Western Conference Championship Series!
GET TICKETS 🎟ï¸: https://t.co/AgksOwCi1b pic.twitter.com/vPvSSekQMs
— xy – Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) April 24, 2019
Tickets are available online.