PREVIEW: Vancouver Giants at Seattle Thunderbirds (Game #59)
Tonight in Seattle the Vancouver Giants look to rediscover their winning form when they take to the ice against the Seattle Thunderbirds for the second time in as many nights. Last night at the LEC the Thunderbirds struck three times on the power play in the first period, and never looked back en route to a 5-2 win over the Giants. Despite forcing the score to 3-2 in the second period, the Giants comeback bid fell short. The win gave the Thunderbirds a four-point cushion ahead of Kelowna for fourth while the Giants and Victoria Royals are now tied with 50 points apiece. The Giants maintain sixth place though due to the fact that they hold four games in hand.
SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS
OVERVIEW
Record: 37-17-4-2
Home Record: 17-8-3-2
Last Game: A 5-2 victory on the road against Vancouver last night.
Last 10: 6-3-0-1
Goals For/Goals Against: 229 GF/160 GA (+69)
Power Play: 23.1% (9th)
Penalty Kill: 76.1% (18th)
Leading Scorers: Jared Davidson (30-42-72), Lukas Svejkovsky (27-36-63), Connor Roulette (20-35-55)
ABOUT LAST NIGHT
- Jared Davidson led the T-Birds attack with a goal and two assists.
- Lukas Svejkovsky had two first period power play goals for Seattle.
- The T-Birds finished the game 3/4 on the power play.
- Defencemen Kevin Korchinski and Samuel Knazko both recorded two points from the back-end.
- Both Jared Davidson and Reid Schaefer recorded their 30th goals of the season.
T-BIRD NOTES
- Seattle improved to 24-1-1-1 when leading after one period.
- The T-Birds are now 33-1-0-1 when leading after two periods.
- Seattle captain Tyrel Bauer returned to the Thunderbird lineup last night and played his first game since December 10th.
- Lukas Svejkovsky has three goals and three assists for six points in two games against Vancouver.
- Jared Dvaidson has added a goal and three assists for four points in two meetings against the Giants.
VANCOUVER GIANTS
OVERVIEW
Record: 23-31-4-0
Road Record: 13-16-1-0
Last Game: A 5-2 loss at home last night to Seattle.
Last 10: 3-5-2-0
Record vs. SEA: 0-2
Goals For/Goals Against: 163 GF/203 GA (-40)
Power Play: 18.8% (16th)
Penalty Kill: 76.1% (18th)
Leading Scorers: Fabian Lysell (20-31-51), Ty Thorpe (14-27-41), Zack Ostapchuk (19-16-35)
ABOUT LAST NIGHT
- Damian Palmieri recorded his second goal of his rookie season.
- Ethan Semeniuk recorded his eighth goal of the season.
- Evan Toth, Mazden Leslie, Jaden Lipinski and Ty Thorpe all recorded assists.
- Connor Martin made 19 saves on 20 shots faced after he entered the game in the first period.
- The Giants finished the game 1/7 on the power play.
GIANT NOTES
- The Giants enter tonight’s game tied with Victoria for sixth in the West. But the Giants holding four games in hand.
- Giants captain Zack Ostapchuk was injured in the second period of last night’s game and did not return for the third period.
- Tonight marks the final game of suspension for both Adam Hall (3 games) and Justin Lies (5 games).
- Mazden Leslie and Evan Toth both lead the Giants with two points each against Seattle.
- The Giants power play has gone 1/11 so far this season against Seattle.
