PREVIEW: Giants Battle Raiders Saturday in Rare Matchup

Langley, B.C. – The Vancouver Giants (5-4-0-0) will play a home game for the first time since October 4 when they battle an unfamiliar foe in the Prince Albert Raiders (2-6-2-0) on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. PT at the Langley Events Centre.

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The G-Men returned from their 11-day Alberta road trip early Tuesday morning and should be well rested after getting a rare Friday off.

Vancouver went 2-3 on their road trip, but led after 40 minutes in four of their five games. Two of their losses were by a single goal. The club also got a boost earlier this week with the return of forward Jaden Lipinski, who began the season with AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. Last season, the 6-foot-4 forward co-led Vancouver in scoring with 66 points.

The Raiders have only played in Langley once since the two teams met in the 2019 Western Hockey League Championship Final, which was on February 1, 2023 when the visitors beat the Giants 4-1. The Raiders are in a similar spot the Giants were a week ago: at the end of a long road trip. Prince Albert began their five-game B.C. swing in Prince George on October 12 and have gone 1-3-0 so far, most recently losing to Victoria 6-4 last night.

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TODAY’S MATCHUP

The Giants topped the Raiders 6-5 in a shootout in the only meeting last year, which was on January 9 to begin their five-game East Division road trip. It was Tyson Zimmer’s first game after being acquired from Lethbridge and he netted the shootout winner. Lipinski and Tyler Thorpe each had three-point nights (1G-2A each). Matthew Hutchison picked up the win.

Vancouver will be looking to be stay disciplined, after they had leads in their last two games of their road trip, but couldn’t hold onto them after getting into penalty trouble in the third period.

Cameron Schmidt continues to be a focal point, as he still leads the WHL in goals with 11 in just nine games. Mazden Leslie and Ryan Lin each have 11 points from the backend, which continues to be a dominant pairing.

The Raiders have allowed 20 goals in their four games so far on the road trip (five per game), but they’ve also scored 18 and have a lineup with established scorers like Delta’s Niall Crocker, Surrey’s Tomas Mrsic and Calgary’s Aiden Oiring. They also made a blockbuster trade in the summer to acquire defenceman Lukas Dragicevic from Tri-City. The Richmond, B.C. native had a goal and two assists last night against Victoria, giving him 10 points in eight games this season from the backend.

These teams have only met three times in the past five years in the regular season, as outlined below:

Players to Watch

The Player to Watch for the Giants is forward Jaden Lipinski, who was recently returned to the team after beginning this season with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers.

The 20-year-old was selected by the Calgary Flames in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, 112th overall. Last year, the 6-foot-4, 210 lb. forward co-led the Giants in scoring with 66 points (24G-42A). In 201 career games, he has recorded 51 goals and 83 assists for 134 points.

Lipinski helps the team in many ways: he is excellent on face-offs – finishing second in the WHL in face-off wins last season with 888 while going 57.4% on draws – and he can play in all situations, including the penalty kill, where he had six shorthanded points in the 2023-24 season.

The Player to Watch for the Raiders is Delta’s Niall Crocker, who extended his point streak to four games last night after he registered his fourth goal of the season and third goal in his last four games. The 20-year-old forward has seven points during the four-game streak on three goals and four assists and is now co-leading his team with 11 points (4G-7A) this season.

Last year, the right-shot forward had a career-high 57 points (23G-34A), which ranked second on Prince Albert. He added three goals in five playoff games. Crocker is a former first round pick by the Raiders in 2019 and played at Delta Hockey Academy before making the jump to the WHL in the bubble season in 2021.

TALE OF THE TAPE (2024-25 REG SEASON)

SEASON SERIES VS. PRINCE ALBERT (0-0-0; 1 H2H)