GAME DAY: Nov. 2 vs. Moose Jaw
Langley, B.C. – The Vancouver Giants (8-4-2-0) battle the defending WHL Champions tonight in the Moose Jaw Warriors (4-10-2), at 7:00 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre.
Moose Jaw is wrapping up their five-game B.C. road trip, where they have gone 1-3 so far.
The G-Men came out on top last night in a wild 7-6 game against the Saskatoon Blades, where the visitors tied the game five separate times, before the Giants finally secured things with a two-goal lead with 1:13 left thanks to an empty-net goal from Adam Titlbach. Cameron Schmidt scored twice and leads the WHL again in goals with 14.
The Giants have points in five straight (3-0-2) and have scored with ease so far this season, currently averaging 4.43 goals per game, which ranks 2nd in the WHL.
Last night the Warriors won the first game of their B.C. trip in Victoria over the Royals, erasing a 2-0 deficit to win 4-2. In their previous three losses to Prince George, Kamloops and Kelowna, Moose Jaw was outscored 16-5.
HOW TO TUNE IN
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TODAY’S MATCHUP
The last meeting between these teams was on January 13, 2024, when the Giants were playing the final game of a five-game East Division road trip. Moose Jaw won the game 7-2.
The Warriors are a very different team from last season, after going all-in and winning their first ever WHL Championship in 2024. They have lost forwards Jagger Firkus, Matthew Savoie and Atley Calvert, as well as outgoing captain Denton Mateychuk. They do, however, still have newly named captain Brayden Yager, who was a first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023, and has since been traded to the Winnipeg Jets.
Special teams could play a factor today, with the Giants holding the league’s best power play and the Warriors currently last in that regard at just 15.4% with the man advantage.
The Giants are 2-1-1 in their last four meetings with Moose Jaw, dating back to 2019.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
The Player to Watch for the Giants is forward Connor Levis.
The 20-year-old scored a big goal yet again last night, giving the Giants a 5-4 lead early in the third period with his seventh goal of the season. The Jets prospect now has points in three straight and five goals in his last five games.
On Sunday, Levis scored the game-winning-goal against his former team, the Kamloops Blazers. Levis leads all Giants players in career points with 191 (83G-108A) and is up to 13 points this season in 12 games.
On the other side, Lynden Lakovic is the Player to Watch for Moose Jaw.
Thanks to his late December birthday, the West Kelowna native is one of the top prospects for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The soon-to-be 18-year-old leads the Warriors with 20 points this season (7G-13A), including an assist last night on the game-tying-goal early in the third period.
Lakovic was rated an ‘A’ skater by NHL Central Scouting in their Preliminary List for the NHL Draft and will play for Team CHL in the upcoming CHL USA Prospects Challenge, alongside Giants forward Cameron Schmidt. The power forward (6-foot-4, 190) scored some big playoff goals last spring, including the OT winners in Game 6 and Game 7 over Saskatoon in the Eastern Conference Final.
TALE OF THE TAPE (2024-25 REG SEASON)
| VANCOUVER | STAT | MOOSE JAW |
| 8-4-2-0 (18 points) | RECORD | 4-10-2-0 (10 points) |
| 2nd | DIVISION RANK | 6th |
| 4th | CONFERENCE RANK | 11th |
| 5-3-2 | LAST 10 | 2-7-1 |
| 5-1-0-0 | HOME RECORD | 2-4-0-0 |
| 3-3-2-0 | ROAD RECORD | 2-6-2-0 |
| 62
(4.43 – 2nd) |
GOALS FOR
(Per Game) |
48
(3.00 – 18th) |
| 52
(3.71 – 13th) |
GOALS AGAINST
(Per game) |
69
(4.31 – 19th) |
| 33.3% (1st) | POWER PLAY | 15.4% (22nd) |
| 73.6% (16th) | PENALTY KILL | 78.0% (10th) |
| Schmidt (14-9-23)
Leslie (5-12-17) Thorpe (7-8-15) |
LEADERS | Lakovic (7-13-20)
Yager (8-9-17) Kovacevic (3-8-11) |
| Schmidt – 14 Goals | TOP GOAL SCORER | Yager – 8 Goals |
| Leslie (17 Points) | TOP SCORING D-MAN | Parker (7 Points) |
SEASON SERIES VS. MOOSE JAW (0-0-0; 1 H2H)
| DATE | LOCATION | RESULT/TIME |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 2, 2024 | LEC | 7 PM PT |
NEXT 5 GAMES
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | RESULT/TIME |
| Nov. 2, 2024 | vs. Moose Jaw | LEC | 7:00 pm PT |
| Nov. 9, 2024 | at Prince George | CN Centre | 6:00 pm PT |
| Nov. 10, 2024 | at Prince George | CN Centre | 2:00 pm PT |
| Nov. 15, 2024 | vs. Kamloops | LEC | 7:00 pm PT |
| Nov. 16, 2024 | vs. Portland | LEC | 7:00 pm PT |
