PREVIEW: Giants Look to Stretch Point Streak to 7 in Seattle on Friday

PHOTO BY: ROB WILTON

Kent, WA – Tonight the Vancouver Giants (22-24-3-0) look to remain perfect against the Seattle Thunderbirds (18-27-2-0), in the third of four head-to-head meetings at the accesso ShoWare Center. 

The Giants are on a roll as of late, not just because of back-to-back wins against two of the top clubs in the Western Conference last weekend, but because they are 9-3-1 since the calendar flipped to 2024 and 5-0-1 in their last six games.

The Thunderbirds are coming off a 4-1 loss to Kamloops on Wednesday and are 2-3 in their last five games.

The Giants sit in 7th place in the Western Conference standings, just two points back of the 6th-place Kelowna Rockets. Seattle is 10th in the West, four points out of the final playoff spot.

HOW TO TUNE IN Date | Time  Friday, February 9 | 7:05 pm PT Place accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, WA 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

Another standout performance from goaltender Brett Mirwald and goals from four different suspects led the Vancouver Giants to a 4-3 win over the Everett Silvertips on Saturday Feb. 3 at the Langley Events Centre.

Scoring for the Giants on Saturday was Cameron Schmidt (16th), London Hoilett (5th), Tyler Thorpe (23rd) and Sam Honzek (7th). Mirwald stopped 34 of 37, while 10 different players registered a point in the win.

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP

This is the third of four head-to-head meetings this season.

Vancouver previously grabbed a 2-1 win (OT) on the road on Dec. 15 and a 3-1 win at home on Dec. 17. 

Seattle lost 4-1 to Kamloops this past Wednesday on the road. They are 2-2 so far in February and 4-6 in their last 10 games.

Both clubs are in the bottom-five in goals for per game in the WHL this season, however, Vancouver has averaged 3.77 GF/G in their last 13 games, nearly a goal more than their season average of 3.00. Seattle has just 12 goals in their last six (2.00 per game; excluding shootout goals).

The player to watch from the Giants is forward Tyler Thorpe, who scored on a unique play off a face-off last game while shorthanded, increasing his point streak to six games (3G-6A). He now has points in 12 of his last 13 games, as it’s his second six-game point streak of 2024.

The player to watch from the Thunderbirds is defenceman Sawyer Mynio, who sits second on Seattle in points with 38. The 18-year-old draft pick by the Vancouver Canucks has 15 points in his last 14 games (3G-12A), including four multi-point nights.

TALE OF THE TAPE

VANCOUVER	STAT	SEATTLE
22-24-3-0 (47 Pts)	RECORD	18-27-2-0 (38 Pts)
4th	DIV. RANK	6th
7th	CONF. RANK	10th
6-3-1-0	PAST 10	4-6-0-0
2W	STREAK	1L
12-10-2-0	HOME	9-11-2-0
10-14-0-0	AWAY	9-16-0-0
147 (3.00 – 20th)	GF (/G)	130 (2.77 – 21st)
187 (3.82 – 16th)	GA (/G)	179 (3.81 – 15th)
36-for-167 (21.6%)	PP%	39-for-153 (25.5%)
165-for-210 (78.6%)	PK%	143-for-179 (79.9%)
Thorpe (23-21-44) Halaburda (15-29-44) Lipinski (14-28-42)	LEADERS	Hanzel (11-35-46) Mynio (11-27-38) Alarie (13-20-33)

SEASON SERIES VS. SEATTLE (2-0-0; 4 H2H)