PREVIEW: Giants Host Rockets Saturday
Langley, B.C. – The Vancouver Giants (7-7-0-1) battle the Memorial Cup host Kelowna Rockets (4-5-1-1) tonight at 7 p.m. at Langley Events Centre in the first of six meetings this season.
The Giants have played strong the past two weekends, winning four of six games during back-to-back 3-in-3s. Add in a convincing win in their game prior to that and you get a 5-1-0-1 record in their last seven, during which they’ve outscored the opposition 30-21.
Five of the Giants next seven games will be played on home ice. Tonight is the 13th different opponent Vancouver has faced this season. They will also play a brand new opponent in each of their next seven games.
Kelowna has come out of the gate slowly, with just one win in their last seven games (1-4-1-1). Their most recent result was a 4-3 overtime loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers one week ago.
With the Rockets in town, it’s the return of former Giants captain Mazden Leslie, who played 280 games with Vancouver over five seasons. He has six points (1G-5A) in his first 10 games with Kelowna.
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HOW TO TUNE IN
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TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Tonight is the first of six head-to-head meetings between Vancouver and Kelowna this season.
Last year, the Giants went 6-1-1.
| vs. KEL – LAST 8 H2H (6-1-1) | ||
| DATE | LOCATION | RESULT |
| March 23, 2025 | LEC | 5-1 W |
| Feb. 23, 2025 | LEC | 4-3 OTL |
| Feb. 22, 2025 | Prospera Place | 5-1 W |
| Jan. 25, 2025 | Prospera Place | 6-4 W |
| Jan. 11, 2025 | LEC | 6-4 W |
| Jan. 4, 2025 | Prospera Place | 7-0 W |
| Dec. 29, 2024 | LEC | 3-1 W |
| Nov. 22, 2024 | Prospera Place | 8-3 L |
LAST 5 GAMES (3-1-0-1) | 21 GF, 18 GA
| DATE | VAN RESULT | SCORE | VAN SCORERS | IN GOAL | GWG |
| Oct. 26 | WIN | VAN 5 vs. KAM 3 | Oreskovic, Chorney, Sparks (2), Schmidt | Hood (22/25) | Schmidt (VAN) |
| Oct. 25 | WIN | VAN 5 at KAM 4 (OT) | Schmidt (2), Olson, Domenichelli, Halaburda (GWG) | Pyne (45/49) | Halaburda (VAN) |
| Oct. 24 | LOSS | VAN 5 vs. POR 6 | Halaburda, Schmidt, Titlbach, Obobaifo, Tomik | Hood (11/15), Pyne (8/10) | Duguay (POR) |
| Oct. 19 | WIN | VAN 3 vs. MH 1 | Sparks, Oreskovic, Schmidt | Hood (29/30) | Oreskovic (VAN) |
| Oct. 18 | SO LOSS | VAN 3 at PEN 4 (SO) | Sparks, Schmidt (2) | Pyne (40/43) | Evers in SO (PEN) |
TALE OF THE TAPE (2025-26 REG SEASON)
| KELOWNA | VANCOUVER | |
| 4-5-1-1 — 10 points | Team Record | 7-7-0-1 — 15 points |
| 6th/11th | Conf./WHL Ranking | 4th/7th |
| 4-4-1-1 | Past 10 Games | 5-4-0-1 |
| 1-0-1-0 | Streak | 2-0-0-0 |
| 4-3 OTL vs. MH (Oct. 25) | Last Game | 5-3 W vs. KAM (Oct. 26) |
| 1-3-1-1 | Home Record | 4-2-0-0 |
| 3-2-0-0 | Away Record | 3-5-0-1 |
| 32 (2.91 – 18th) | GF | 55 (3.67 – 12th) |
| 43 (3.91 – 13th) | GA | 66 (4.40 – 20th) |
| -11 (T-17th) | Goal Differential | -11 (T-17th) |
| (7/49) 14.3% | PP (Overall) | (13/49) 26.5% |
| (9/40) 77.5% | PK (Overall) | (23/63) 63.5% |
| (0/0) 0% | PP vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% |
| (0/0) 0% | PK vs. Opp. | (0/0) 0% |
| Poletin (7-3-10) | Leading Rookie | Chorney (4-3-7) |
| Poletin (7-3-10) | Top Scorer | Schmidt (10-13-23) |
WHAT ARE WE WEARING
The Giants will be wearing their primary red primary jerseys tonight.
UPCOMING
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | TIME |
| Saturday, November 1 | Kelowna | Langley Events Centre | 7:00 PM |
| Sunday, November 2 | Prince George | Langley Events Centre | 4:00 PM |
| Friday, November 7 | Tri-City | Toyota Center | 7:05 PM |
| Saturday, November 8 | Seattle | Accesso ShoWare Center | 6:05 PM |
