PREVIEW: Giants Continue Road Trip in Red Deer on Tuesday

Red Deer, Alta. – The Vancouver Giants (3-2-0-0) continue their five-game Alberta road trip tonight when they visit the Peavey Mart Centrium for the first time in nearly two years to take on the Red Deer Rebels (4-0-1-0) at 7:00 p.m. local time (6 p.m. Pacific Time).

The Rebels are the only team in the WHL currently without a regulation loss.

The last time these two teams played in Red Deer was on October 29, 2022, when Red Deer shut out the Giants 4-0. These teams played once last season at the LEC, where the G-Men won 4-3 on November 8.

The Giants are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Calgary Hitmen on Sunday afternoon. The Rebels most recent game was a 5-2 win over the Hitmen on home ice on Saturday night.

HOW TO TUNE IN Date | Time  Tuesday, October 8 | 6:00 pm PT Place Peavey Mart Centrium Video Stream watch.chl.ca Listen Sportsnet 650 | Pre-Game begins at 5:00 p.m. PT Live Stats Click Here Social Media Twitter | Facebook  | Instagram | TikTok

TODAY’S MATCHUP

Just like Calgary (and every team the Giants will play on this road trip), there is not a lot of familiarity, with Vancouver and Red Deer having only played each other three times in the last five years.

The Giants will be looking to score the first goal for the first time this season, something they haven’t been able to do in their first five games. Overall though, they haven’t had trouble finding the back of the net, currently tied for fourth in the league with 4.4 goals for per game.

The Rebels have been well-known for their stout defensive play for many years, and so far this season that is not different, with only 2.4 goals against per game, which ranks third in the WHL.

DATE	LOCATION	RESULT
November 8, 2023	LEC	4-3 W
October 28, 2022	Peavey Mart Centrium	4-0 L
Feb. 12, 2020	LEC	4-1 W

Players to Watch

The Player to Watch for the Giants is defenceman Mazden Leslie, who scored for the second consecutive game on Sunday.

The newly named Giants captain played a team-high 24:04 last game and has four points (2G-2A) in three games so far this season, which already includes a power play goal, a shorthanded goal and a game-winning-goal.

The Player to Watch for the Rebels is 6-foot-5 rookie forward Matthew Gard, who may have been held pointless last game, but prior to that had six points in three games, including a 2G-1A performance against Medicine Hat on Oct. 4.

The Winnipeg native was the Rebels second-round pick from 2022, 39th overall, who played nearly a full season last year at 16, recording seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 55 games.

TALE OF THE TAPE (2024-25 REG SEASON)

VANCOUVER	STAT	RED DEER
3-2-0-0 (6 points)	RECORD	4-0-1-0 (9 points)
3rd	DIVISION RANK	1st
6th	CONFERENCE RANK	1st
2-1-0-0	HOME RECORD	3-0-1-0
1-1-0-0	ROAD RECORD	1-0-0-0
22 (4.4 – T-4th)	GOALS FOR  (Per Game)	20 (4.00 – T-6th)
22 (4.4 – T-18th)	GOALS AGAINST  (Per game)	12 (2.4 – 3rd)
34.8% (6th)	POWER PLAY	19.0% (15th)
76.5% (11th)	PENALTY KILL	86.4% (T-2nd)
Schmidt (7-3-10) Lin (0-8-8) Gronick (1-6-7)	LEADERS	Gard (3-3-6) Fabrizi (2-4-6) Birnie (3-2-5)
Schmidt – 7 Goals	TOP GOAL SCORER	Gard/Birnie – 3 Goals
Ryan Lin (0-8-8)	TOP SCORING  D-MAN	Fabrizi (2-4-6)

SEASON SERIES VS. CALGARY (0-0-0; 1 H2H)