Kelowna will get another chance today to take defeat the Vancouver Giants on their home ice in Langley.
The G-Men are on a winning streak, and a 2-1 victory over the Rockets Saturday night Saturday night at Prospera Place in Kelowna, helped extend the spree to eight straight games.
Bowen Byram broke up a 1-1 game with a power play goal at the 14-minute mark of the third period to help lift the Giants (who are sitting at 31-12-2-0) to their fourth straight victory against Kelowna (19-24-3-1) this season.
Dallas Hines had the other Giants goal, which came early in the opening period.
Nolan Foote had Kelowna’s lone tally, which came 15 seconds into the second period.
Between the pipes, Trent Miner, stopped 18 Kelowna shots to earn his 15th win of the season. Meanwhile, his counterpart, Roman Basran, made 37 saves for the Rockets.
Both teams lost a forward due to injury on Saturday night: Dawson Holt (Giants) left the game in the second period after a collision with Rockets defenceman Lassi Thomson, while Rockets forward Liam Kindree was helped off the ice in the first period after he collided with his own teammate Cayde Augustine.
There’s a rematch on the books this afternoon (Sunday, Jan. 27) with the Kelowna Rockets at the Langley Events Centre. The puck drops at 4 p.m.
.
BOX SCORE
1st Period:
Hines made it 1-0 Vancouver at the 3:14 mark of the first, when his shot from the left-wing point snuck through traffic and past Basran. Evan Patrician had the lone helper on Hines’ sixth of the season.
When it came to shots on goal, Vancouver dominated in the first period, 13-5.
2nd Period:
Kelowna Rocket’s Foote tied the game just 15 seconds into the second period, when he pounced on a loose puck in the slot and roofed his 25th of the season up and over Miner’s shoulder.
Once again, the G-Men dominated when it came to shots on goal, with 13-8.
3rd Period:
Byram restored the Giants lead at 14:00 – on a power play.
He took a pass from Tristen Nielsen, skated into the left-wing circle, toe-dragged the puck past a Rocket defender before rooming home his 17th goal of the season.
Goaltender Miner earned the second assist on Byram’s game-winner.
The number 13 might be lucky for the Giants, since again in the third period they recorded 13 shots on goal, to the Rockets’ six.
.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Final score: Vancouver 2 – Kelowna 1
• Final shots: 39 – 19 Vancouver
• Vancouver power play: 1/2
• Kelowna power play: 0/3
• Trent Miner: 18/19 saves for Vancouver (15-3-1-0)
• Roman Basran: 37/39 saves for Kelowna (13-14-1-0)
• 3 Stars: 1) Kelowna’s Roman Basran ( 37 saves); 2) Vancouver’s Owen Hardy (three shots on goal); 3) Kelowna’s Lassi Thomson (two shots on goal)
• In each of his past three victories, Giants goaltender Miner has only surrendered one goal against. His goals-against-average currently sits at 1.82, which ties him for second in the WHL. He’s also on a two-game point streak having earned an assist in each of his past two games.
• The Giants have won four consecutive road games and improved their overall road record to 12-7-1-0. It’s also their third straight road victory in Kelowna.
• The Vancouver Giants have the best road power play percentage in the entire Western Hockey League (31 per cent). The Giants went one-for-two on the power play on Saturday night.
RECENT COVERAGE: Vancouver Giants down top team in the country
