PREVIEW: Giants Battle First Place Winterhawks Friday in Annual Talk Today Game

PHOTO BY: ROB WILTON

Langley, B.C. – Tonight the Vancouver Giants (25-24-3-0) look to extend their five-game winning streak against the top team in the Western Conference, in a 7 p.m. showdown against the Portland Winterhawks (36-12-2-1) at the Langley Events Centre in the annual Talk Today game.

The Talk Today program is celebrating a major milestone – its 10th season of supporting junior hockey and tonight the Giants and Canadian Mental Health Association Vancouver-Fraser Branch are teaming up to raise awareness about the importance of mental health. More on that here.

The Giants picked up their fifth straight victory on Wednesday on the road in Victoria, getting three third period goals to take down the Royals 5-1, which also increased the team’s point streak to nine games (8-0-1). Vancouver is now in 6th place in the West, five points back of Victoria for 5th with two games in hand.

Also of note, the Giants are 6-0 on home ice since New Year’s Day.

The Winterhawks, meanwhile, have also won five in a row, most recently a 10-2 thumping of the Everett Silvertips on Tuesday. Portland is 9-1-0 in their last 10 games and can become the first Western Conference team to clinch a playoff spot if they record at least one point tonight.

The Giants are 0-3 so far head-to-head against Portland this season.

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HOW TO TUNE IN Date | Time  Friday, February 16 | 7:05 pm PT Place Langley Events Centre Video Stream watch.chl.ca Listen Sportsnet 650 | Pre-Game begins at 6 p.m. Live Stats Click Here Social Media Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | TikTok

LAST TIME OUT

Kyren Gronick had another two goals and Cameron Schmidt had a three-point night as the Vancouver Giants topped the Victoria Royals 5-1 on Wednesday night at Save on Foods Memorial Centre.

Gronick potted his 9th and 10th tallies of the season, while Schmidt buried his 17th early on the power play and added two primary assists. Gronick now has four goals and six points in his last two games. Aaron Obobaifo and Tomis Marinkovic rounded out the scoring, with their fifth and third goals, respectively.

Goaltender Brett Mirwald made 31 saves on 32 shots for his 22nd win of the season, which is now tied for third in the WHL.

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP

This is the fourth of five head-to-head meetings this season.

The Giants are still looking for their first win in the season series, after losing on the road on Oct. 7 by a score 6-2, falling at home on Nov. 10 by a score of 5-1 and getting shut out on the road 3-0 on Dec. 31.

Both clubs enter action red-hot, each on a five-game winning streak. The Giants are 8-1-1 in their last 10, with a goal differential of +11 (39 GF, 28 GA). The Winterhawks are 9-1-0 in their last 10, with a goal differential of +33 (54 GF, 19 GA).

One player to watch from the Giants is forward Kyren Gronick, who had two goals on Wednesday night, including the game-winner and had four points the previous game against Wenatchee (2G-2A). The right-shot centre has eight points (5G-3A) in his last five contests and now has 22 points in 29 games (10G-12A) this season.

One player to watch from the Winterhawks is Nate Danielson, who was one of the biggest trade deadline acquisitions, traded by Brandon to Portland in exchange for two first-round picks, a fifth-round pick and two 18-year-old skaters in Nick Johnson and Rhett Ravndahl. Danielson, the 9th overall selection by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, is coming off a five-point night (1G-4A) against Everett and has already put up 19 points in just 12 games with Portland.

These teams will meet again tomorrow in Portland to wrap up the five-game season series.

TALE OF THE TAPE

VANCOUVER	STAT	PORTLAND
25-24-3-0 (53 Pts)	RECORD	36-12-2-1 (75 Pts)
3rd	DIV. RANK	1st
6th	CONF. RANK	1st
8-1-1-0	PAST 10	9-1-0-0
5W	STREAK	5W
13-10-2-0	HOME	21-5-1-0
12-14-1-0	AWAY	15-7-1-1
162 (3.12 – T-17th)	GF (/G)	249 (4.88 -1st)
191 (3.67 – 12th)	GA (/G)	155 (3.04 – 4th)
38-for-174 (21.8%)	PP%	63-for-215 (29.3%)
175-for-221 (79.2%)	PK%	166-for-207 (80.2%)
Halaburda (16-30-46) Lipinski (15-30-45) Thorpe (23-21-44)	LEADERS	Klassen (30-59-89) Stefan (37-42-79) Cagnoni (12-55-67)

SEASON SERIES VS. PORTLAND (0-3-0-0; 5 H2H)