PREVIEW: Vancouver Giants vs. Victoria Royals (Game #46)
This afternoon at the LEC, the Vancouver Giants take aim at their 20th victory of the season when they once again tangle with the Victoria Royals. Today marks the 10th of 12 total meetings between these two rivals who will also meet twice more later this week on Friday and Saturday. The Giants are 0-4 to this point against Victoria at home, and are looking to follow up a 4-3 overtime victory from Saturday in Kamloops. After winning 5-2 in Langley on Friday, the Royals dropped a 3-1 decision Saturday in Everett.
VICTORIA ROYALS
OVERVIEW
Record: 13-30-4-1
Road Record: 7-15-3-0
Last Game: A 3-1 loss on Saturday in Everett
Last 10: 1-9-0-0
Record vs. VAN: 7-2
Goals For/Goals Against: 134 GF/212 GA (-78)
Power Play: 22.2% (11th)
Penalty Kill: 79.7% (8th)
Leading Scorers: Bailey Peach (27-35-62), Brayden Schuurman (25-18-43), Gannon Laroque (7-36-43)
LIKE A ‘ROQUE’
The San Jose Sharks appear to have struck gold with their 2021 fourth-round draft pick Gannon Laroque. Laroque, a 6’2″, right-shot defenceman from Edmonton, AB comes into today’s game with 43 points (7G, 36) which is tops among all Royals defencemen and has him tied for second on the team in scoring with Brayden Schuurman. Laroque’s 43 points rank him tied for third in league scoring among defencemen. In nine games so far this season against Vancouver, Laroque has notched one goal and seven assists for eight points. In 72 career WHL games (all with Victoria) Laroque has produced eight goals and 42 assists for 50 points along with 97 penalty minutes. He was undrafted in the WHL Prospects Draft.
LAST FRIDAY NIGHT
Three days ago the Victoria Royals kicked off the long weekend with an impressive 5-2 victory against the Giants at the LEC. Five different goal scorers paced a Royals attack that was led by captain Tarun Fizer (1G, 2A) and forward Tanner Scott (1G, 1A). Tyler Palmer stopped 19 of the 21 shots he faced in goal as the Royals snapped an 18-game winless skid with their seventh win in nine tries against the Vancouver Giants. Four of the Royals seven wins against the Giants have now come on the road.
ROYAL NOTES
- Forward Bailey Peach has a nine-game point streak. In that span he’s got three goals and eight assists for 11 points.
- Bailey Peach leads all Royals with 18 points (9G, 9A) in nine games against Vancouver.
- The Royals are 12/39 on the power play against Vancouver this season.
- Victoria is 8-1-0-1 when leading after two periods of play.
- Goaltender Tyler Palmer is 4-0 against the Giants this season with a 1.64 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage.
VANCOUVER GIANTS
OVERVIEW
Record: 19-24-2-0
Home Record: 8-12-1-0
Last Game: A 4-3 come-from-behind overtime win over Kamloops.
Last 10: 3-7-0-0
Record vs. VIC: 2-7
Goals For/Goals Against: 126 GF/155 GA (-29)
Power Play: 19.0% (15th)
Penalty Kill: 76.3% (18th)
Leading Scorers: Fabian Lysell (17-21-38), Ty Thorpe (13-23-36), Alex Cotton (11-18-29)
A TRULY ‘FAB’ PERFORMANCE
2003-born forward Fabian Lysell has shown a flair for the dramatic in his first WHL season, and Saturday in Kamloops was no exception. With the Giants trailing 2-0 going into the third period, Fabian Lysell helped kickstart the Giants comeback with an early goal. Then in overtime, with time winding down – He took a breakaway feed from Evan Toth, skated in alone and snapped home his team-leading 17th of the season, sending the Giants home winners. Heading into today’s game, Lysell leads the Giants with 17 goals and 38 points and has recorded points in each of his past four games (4G, 2A). The 2021 first-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins also leads the Giants in scoring against Victoria with four goals and four assists for eight points in six games against them.
NOTABLE STREAKS
- Jesper Vikman has started 14 straight games for the Giants in goal.
- Fabian Lysell has points in each of his four games (4G, 2A).
- Payton Mount has points in his past four games (2G, 4A)
GIANT NOTES
- Zack Ostapchuk has six points in his past six games (3G, 3A)
- Cole Shepard has five assists in his past five games.
- Jesper Vikman’s 49 saves on Saturday in Kamloops were a season high. His 49 save effort marked the most saves in a single game for a Giants goaltender since David Tendeck made 49 saves on February 9, 2018 at home against Seattle in a 2-1 overtime win.
- The Giants are 15-1-1-0 when they lead after two periods.
