PREVIEW: Giants Try to Halt Winterhawks Win Streak
PHOTO BY ROB WILTON
Portland, OR – The Vancouver Giants (2-1-0-0) take on the Portland Winterhawks (3-1-0-0) tonight at 6 p.m. PT at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the first of five meetings between the clubs this season.
The Giants continue their light start to the season schedule-wise, as they haven’t played since Oct. 1, when they crushed the Wenatchee Wild at home 6-2.
The Winterhawks are winners of three straight, after defeating the Everett Silvertips 4-1 last night in their home opener, although they were outshot 43-26.
TODAY’S MATCHUP
Tonight is the first of five meetings this season between Vancouver and Portland.
They last faced off on March 21, 2023, when Ty Halaburda scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime to help the G-Men to a 3-2 victory. Brett Mirwald made 37 saves on 39 shots in that game.
So far this season, both teams have been scoring at strong rates, with the Giants averaging 3.67 goals for per game and the Winterhawks averaging 5.25 goals for per game.
Portland was recently ranked #2 in the first week of the CHL’s Top-10 rankings. Head Coach Mike Johnston likes to play an offensive, risky style and his team has some serious scoring weapons, but they tend to give up chances as well, as was evident in their home opener on Friday against Everett.
TALE OF THE TAPE
| VAN | STAT | POR |
| 3 | GP | 4 |
| 2 | W | 3 |
| 1 | L | 1 |
| 0 | OT | 0 |
| 4 | PTS | 6 |
| 11 | GF | 21 |
| 8 | GA | 13 |
| 7.1 | PP% | 17.6 |
| 100 | PK% | 87.0 |
LAST TIME OUT
The Giants rebounded from Friday’s 5-1 loss to Kamloops in a big way on Oct. 1, defeating the visiting Wenatchee Wild 6-2 at the Langley Events Centre.
Both Kyren Gronick and Tyler Thorpe had multi-goal games, while rookies Cameron Schmidt and Adam Titlbach each found the back of the net as well.
CLICK TO READ THE RECAP FROM OCT. 1 | CLICK FOR SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
SEASON SERIES VS. PORTLAND (5 H2H)
| DATE | LOCATION | RESULT/TIME |
| Oct. 7, 2023 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 6:00 PT |
| Nov. 10, 2023 | LEC | 7:00 PT |
| Dec. 31, 2023 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 5:00 PT |
| Feb. 16, 2024 | LEC | 7:00 PT |
| Feb. 17, 2024 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 6:00 PT |
NEXT 5 GAMES
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | TIME |
| Oct. 13, 2023 | vs. Swift Current | LEC | 7:00 PT |
| Oct. 18, 2023 | vs. Medicine Hat | LEC | 7:00 PT |
| Oct. 20, 2023 | at Wenatchee | Town Toyota Center | 7:00 PT |
| Oct. 21, 2023 | at Kelowna | Prospera Place | 7:05 PT |
| Oct. 22, 2023 | vs. Spokane | LEC | 4:00 PT |
HOW TO TUNE IN
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