PREVIEW: Vancouver Giants at Seattle Thunderbirds (Game #41)
For the first time since early December, the Vancouver Giants will take to the road for a US city. Tonight at 6:05 PM, the G-Men will take to the ice against the only Western Conference team that they have yet to face this season – The Seattle Thunderbirds. The Giants are looking to quash a five-game losing streak while the Thunderbirds are looking to build off of last night’s victory at home.
SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS
OVERVIEW
Record: 24-11-4-1
Home Record: 11-4-3-1
Last Game: A 7-2 victory at home last night over the Prince George Cougars
Last 10: 5-3-1-1
Goals For/Goals Against: 155 GF/111 GA (+44)
Power Play: 23.3% (7th)
Penalty Kill: 82.1% (3rd)
Leading Scorers: Jared Davidson (21-29-50), Connor Roulette (15-26-41), Henrik Rybinski (14-26-40)
DAVIDSON’S BREAKOUT SEASON
At the very top of the Seattle scoring list is 2002-born forward Jared Davidson. Davidson comes into tonight’s game with 21 goals and 29 assists for 50 points – 11 of which have come in his past five games. During that five-game span, Davidson has compiled six goals and five assists. Not bad for a player who was never drafted into the WHL. Last night against Prince George, Davidson posted one goal and one assist in a 7-2 victory.
DRAFTED
The Seattle Thunderbirds boast an impressive roster filled with NHL draftees/prospects:
- Connor Roulette (Dallas, Round 4, 2021)
- Lukas Svejkovsky (Pittsburgh, Round 4, 2020)
- Lucas Ciona (Calgary, Round 6, 2021)
- Matthew Rempe (New York Rangers, Round 6, 2020)
- Tyrel Bauer (Winnipeg, Round 6, 2020)
- Samuel Knazko (Columbus, Round 3, 2020)
T-BIRD NOTES
- 10 of Jared Davidson’s 21 goals have come via the power play.
- Second-year defenceman Kevin Korchinski leads the T-Birds with 32 assists.
- Over-age defenceman Ryan Gottfried leads the team with a +26 rating.
- Henrik Rybinski leads the T-Birds with four game winning goals.
- Rookie goaltender Scott Ratzlaff has yet to lose a game in regulation this season. He’s 8-0-1-0 with one shutout, a 2.39 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage.
VANCOUVER GIANTS
OVERVIEW
Record: 16-22-2-0
Road Record: 8-11-1-0
Last Game: A 3-2 home loss last night to the Kamloops Blazers.
Last 10: 2-7-1-0
Goals For/Goals Against: 111 GF/138 GA (-27)
Power Play: 18.7% (16th)
Penalty Kill: 75.6% (18th)
Leading Scorers: Fabian Lysell (13-19-32), Ty Thorpe (10-22-32), Alex Cotton (11-18-29)
A HOMECOMING FOR MOUNT
Tonight in Seattle marks the first time that 2002-born forward Payton Mount will face his former team. The one-time first-round pick of the Seattle Thunderbirds was traded to the Giants this summer after playing the first 140 games of his WHL career with the Thunderbirds. Mount returned to the Giants lineup last night against Kamloops and registered an assist on their first goal of the game. In 34 games this season with Vancouver, Mount has five goals and 12 assists for 17 points.
A SLICK DEBUT FOR BOUCHER
The Vancouver Giants lineup was further bolstered last night by the addition of 2002-born forward Jacob Boucher. The 2002-born forward was acquired by the Giants at the trade deadline from the Edmonton Oil Kings, and after being sidelined with an injury since before January 17th, Boucher made an immediate impact last night by opening the scoring off a two-on-one rush. Through 31 games this season, Boucher now has 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points. Last night was Boucher’s 50th career WHL game.
GIANT NOTES
- Only four active Giants (Cole Shepard, Kaden Kohle, Justin Lies, and Connor Horning) faced the Seattle Thunderbirds during the 2019-20 season as actual members of the Giants.
- Over the past five seasons, the Giants are 4-2 overall against Seattle and are 3-0 against them at the ShoWare Center.
- With a shorthanded goal last night, Zack Ostapchuk recorded his 10th goal of the season. The Ottawa Senators prospect has now reached double digits in goals for the first time in his WHL career.
- The Giants are 5-2 so far this season against teams from the US Division.
- When the Giants surrender three goals or less, they are 14-8-1-0 this season.
