Recap | Feb. 14 | Giants @ Royals
Victoria, BC – It was a Wednesday night clash at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre as the Victoria Royals (25-21-4-4) played host to the Vancouver Giants (25-24-3-0) for the eighth and final time in the 2023-24 season. Coming into the action, both teams were heading in opposite directions. Victoria was looking to halt their five game-losing skid with their last win occurring against the Giants back on January 28th. While the Giants were aiming for their fifth straight win, with their last loss happening against the Royals in that same matchup.
In net, it was Jayden Kraus (8-10-0-1, 3.94 GAA, 0.878 S%) squaring off with Brett Mirwald (21-17-2-0, 3.17 GAA, 0.912 S%) for the Giants.
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The road side would grab the early advantage as it took just two minutes for the Giants to open the scoring on the man-advantage. 17-year-old Cameron Schmidt (17) showcased his skills in tight for Vancouver as the speedy forward received a perfect seem pass from Adam Tiltbach before back-handing the puck into the top corner.
Neither side would find the back of the net during the remaining 18-minutes of the period as Kraus and Mirwald held strong for their respective sides. Vancouver carried a slight 11-9 edge in shots after the first.
Victoria would find an equalizer from the red-hot Casper Evensen Haugen (11) as he found the back of the net for his second consecutive game. The product of Oslo, Norway continues to elevate his game for the Royals during his first season with the club as he now has 12 points in his last 11 games. The powerplay goal from Haugen was setup from Reggie Newman and Dawson Pasternak as the three connected on a quick tic-tac-toe play.
Vancouver would restore their one goal advantage as the game neared the final five minutes of the middle frame. Kyren Gronick (9) grabbed the tally for the Giants with assistance from Cameron Schmidt and Connor Levis. The late marker in the second would catapult the Giants to a one-goal cushion heading into the third.
The Giants would add onto their lead early in the third as they got a pair of goals within the opening seven minutes. First, it was Kyren Gronick (10) notching his second of the evening with Cameron Schmidt drawing the lone assist on the play. Shortly after that, Aaron Obobaifo (5) found the back of the net for Vancouver as he extended the road sides lead to three.
As the period passed the midway mark, Vancouver would add a fifth. It was a brilliant display of hand-eye coordination from Tomis Marinkovic (3) as he batted home a rebound out of midair following a rebound from Aaron Obobfaio.
That would be the final tally of the evening as the Giants grabbed the final meeting of the season between the two sides with a 5-1 decision.