PREVIEW: Giants and Rockets Clash in First of 8 Meetings
PHOTO BY: STEVE DUNSMOOR/KELOWNA ROCKETS
Kelowna, B.C. – The Vancouver Giants (2-4-1-0) will face off with the Kelowna Rockets (5-4-1-0) tonight at 7:05 p.m. PT at Prospera Place in the first of eight head-to-head meetings this season.
The two divisional rivals met nine times last season, with the Giants going 4-4-1.
These teams have been trending in opposite directions, as the Giants have dropped four straight (0-3-1), while the Rockets are 3-1 in their last four.
This is the second game of a 3-in-3 for the Giants, who lost last night to Wenatchee 4-0 and also play Sunday at home for Referee Appreciation Night against Spokane at 4 p.m. PT.
The Rockets won last night in Kennewick, WA, beating the Tri-City Americans 4-3 in a shootout.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Tonight is the first of eight meetings between Vancouver and Kelowna this season.
They did meet once in the preseason back on Sept. 15, with Vancouver coming away with a 7-4 road victory.
In the 2022-23 regular season, eight of the nine head-to-head meetings were in the second half of the season. Six of the nine meetings were one-goal games, including the last four in a row.
The Giants are 0-3-1 in their last four contests with seven goals for and 19 against.
The Rockets, meanwhile, have both scored and allowed plenty of goals in their last several games. Before last night’s road win against the Americans, they went 3-2 during a five-game home stand that saw them surrender 28 goals and score 26 themselves. Overall, they rank third in the WHL in goals for per game with 4.3 and last in the WHL in goals allowed per game, with 5.1.
ONES TO WATCH
TALE OF THE TAPE
| VANCOUVER | STAT | KELOWNA |
| 2-4-1-0 (5 Pts) | RECORD | 5-4-1-0 (11 Pts) |
| 4th | DIV. RANK | 2nd |
| 10th | CONF. RANK | 4th |
| 2-3-1-0 | PAST 10 | 5-4-1-0 |
| 4L | STREAK | 2W |
| 2-1-1-0 | HOME | 4-2-1-0 |
| 0-3-0-0 | AWAY | 1-2-0-0 |
| 18 (2.57 – 20th) | GF (/Game – Rank) | 43 (4.3 – 3rd) |
| 27 (3.86 – 14th) | GA (/Game – Rank) | 51 (5.1 – 22nd) |
| 3-for-33 (9.1%) | PP% | 16-for-45 (35.6%) |
| 29-for-37 (78.4%) | PK% | 31-for-49 (63.3%) |
| Thorpe (7-0-0)
Gronick (2-2-4) Titlbach (2-2-4) |
LEADERS | Cristall (6-14-20)
Iginla (10-5-15) Cicek (4-8-12) |
LAST TIME OUT
The Giants were shut out by the Wenatchee Wild last night at the Town Toyota Center, despite firing 39 shots on goaltender Daniel Hauser.
They outshot the Wild 19-8 in the first period, but things were scoreless after 20 minutes. The Wild scored two goals within a three-minute span early in the second, and then added another late in the period to take a 3-0 lead into the second intermission. Wenatchee scored their fourth goal with under two minutes left in the game
SEASON SERIES VS. KELOWNA (8 H2H)
| DATE | LOCATION | RESULT/TIME |
| Oct. 21, 2023 | Prospera Place | 7:05 pm PT |
| Dec. 1, 2023 | LEC | 7:00 pm PT |
| Jan. 19, 2024 | Prospera Place | 7:05 pm PT |
| Jan. 21, 2024 | LEC | 2:00 pm PT |
| Feb. 23, 2024 | Prospera Place | 7:05 pm PT |
| March 1, 2024 | LEC | 7:00 pm PT |
| March 22, 2024 | LEC | 7:00 pm PT |
| March 23, 2024 | Prospera Place | 7:05 pm PT |
NEXT 5 GAMES
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | TIME |
| Oct. 22, 2023 | vs. Spokane | LEC | 4:00 pm PT |
| Oct. 27, 2023 | vs. Victoria | LEC | 7:00 pm PT |
| Oct. 28, 2023 | at Victoria | Save on Foods Memorial Arena | 6:05 pm PT |
| Oct. 29, 2023 | vs. Kamloops | LEC | 4:00 pm PT |
| Nov. 1, 2023 | at Tri-City | Toyota Center | 7:05 pm PT |
HOW TO TUNE IN
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