GAME DAY: Sat. Nov. 9 at Prince George

Prince George, B.C. – The Vancouver Giants (9-4-2-0) put their six-game point streak on the line tonight when they begin a two-game set against the Prince George Cougars (9-4-3-2) at 6:00 p.m. at the CN Centre.

The G-Men have an opportunity to hop into first place in the division with a strong weekend, currently sitting three points back of the Cougars with three games in hand, though it won’t be easy with Prince George riding a five-game point streak (3-0-1-1). They haven’t lost in regulation on home ice this season, though they do have five losses in extra time (4-0-3-2).

Vancouver hasn’t played since last Saturday, when they handily defeated the Moose Jaw Warriors 6-2 at the LEC to improve to 6-1 on home ice. Cameron Schmidt, who is playing in his hometown tonight, scored five goals in two games last weekend and leads the WHL in goals with 17.

Another headline for the Giants on Saturday will be the WHL debut of 2024 first-round pick Blake Chorney, who has been called up from the Saskatoon Blazers (SMAAAHL). Chorney was recently named an all-star at the 2024 WHL Cup for Saskatchewan, where the 15-year-old led the tournament in scoring thanks to an incredible seven goals and four assists for 11 points in five games. Chorney leads the Blazers in scoring this season with eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points in just nine games.

The Cougars last played on Tuesday at home, falling 5-4 in overtime to the Saskatoon Blades. They won the first meeting this season back on Sept. 27, defeating the Giants 6-3 after scoring twice into the empty net.

TODAY’S MATCHUP

Tonight and tomorrow will be the second and third of eight head-to-head meetings between the two division rivals.

The Cougars took the first contest back on September 27 when they jumped out to a 4-0 second period lead, before the Giants nearly launched a third period comeback, storming back to make it 4-3. But Prince George scored two empty net goals to come away with a 6-3 win.

Since then, the Cougars have gotten Riley Heidt, Terik Parascak and Koehn Ziemmer all back from their NHL clubs (none of them played on Sept. 27). Those three, plus 20-year-old Borya Valis, are the top four scorers for the club so far this season, having combined for 90 points (25 for Valis, 24 for Heidt, 23 for Parascak, 18 for Ziemmer).

The Giants are one of the highest scoring teams in the league, averaging 4.53 goals per game, including 31 in their last six (5.17 per game). Eight different players have at least five goals this season, which is the most of any WHL team (Schmidt [17], Levis [7], Thorpe [7], Leslie [6], Obobaifo [6], Titlbach [6], Halaburda [5], Oreskovic [5]).

Last season, Vancouver went 2-6-0 against the Cougars: 1-3 both at home and on the road. Vancouver split their first two games at the CN Centre last November, losing 5-0 the first night before rebounding for a decisive 6-1 win the following evening.

TALE OF THE TAPE (2024-25 REG SEASON)

SEASON SERIES VS. PRINCE GEORGE (0-1-0; 8 H2H)