Martinook Plays Hero In Overtime
The Vancouver Giants defeated the Victoria Royals 5-4 in overtime Sunday night at the Pacific Coliseum. Jordan Martinook scored the overtime winner, helping the Giants to their 39th win of the season, moving into 4th place in the Western Conference.
Sunday marked the 10th and final meeting of the season between these two BC Division rivals and it was the Giants scoring the lone goal in the first period; Marek Tvrdon potted his 28th goal of the year to give Vancouver a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes.
The Giants started the second period with a 10 minute lull and the Royals made them pay, scoring 3 goals to go up 3-1. Riley Kieser got his team back within one, scoring his 6th goal of the season. Vancouver trailed 3-2 through 40 minutes.
It took just 56 seconds for the Giants to score the equalizer in the third period as Tvrdon scored his 2nd goal of the night taking advantage of a Royals turnover. Less then five minutes later the Giants took the lead courtesy of Jordan Martinook, who banged in a loose puck for his 35th goal of the season. With the net empty, the Giants looked to ice the game, but Hayden Rintoul’s point shot deflected past Adam Morrison with 22.2 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 4-4, sending the game to overtime.
In extra time Martinook scored the winner on a 2-on-1 to give the Giants a 5-4 victory. Vancouver finished the season series 7-3-0-0 vs. the Royals. With the win the Giants moved into 4th place in the Western Conference, two points up on the Spokane Chiefs. The Chiefs though have two games in hand. They will play 4 games in 5 nights in the final week of the season, while the Giants have just two games left vs. Kelowna.
The Giants are back in action Friday night at the Pacific Coliseum when they play host to the Kelowna Rockets. Puck drop is 7:30 pm. It is Honda Fan Appreciation Night. $30,000 in prizes will be awarded including a brand new 2012 Honda CR-V. The pregame show begins at 7:00 pm on AM 650.
