WHL Vancouver Giants

Vancouver Giants Lose 5-1 to Spokane; Trail 3-2 in Series

Published on March 31, 2012 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release


The Vancouver Giants lost their 3rd straight game to the Spokane Chiefs, falling 5-1 on home ice in game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal. The Chiefs now lead the best of seven series 3-2.

Thirty seconds into the game, alone in front, Brendan Gallagher was stopped by Chiefs goaltender Eric Williams, setting the tone for the entire night. From there Spokane would open the scoring 7:20 into the first period as Liam Stewart banged home a loose puck to put the Chiefs up 1-0. That is how things would stand after 20 minutes. Shots were 11-8 in favour of the Giants.

It didn't take long for the Chiefs to add to their lead in the second period as Darren Kramer beat Adam Morrison 1:09 into the frame to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage. The Giants finally got on the board with just under five minutes remaining in the period courtesy of Brendan Gallagher on the power play. The captain scored his 5th goal of the playoffs on a nice feed from Marek Tvrdon to cut the lead to 2-1 through 40 minutes of play.

Vancouver could not get anything going early in the third period and then a dagger from Mitch Holmberg as he whacked home a puck the Giants failed to clear to give the Chiefs a 3-1 lead 4:47 into the frame. Holmberg on the power play and Blake Gal, playing 4-on-4 hockey, would score back to back goals 23 seconds apart midway through the period to extend the lead to 5-1. That was it for the scoring. With the victory the Chiefs take a 3-2 series lead.

The Giants went 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Chiefs finished 1- for-4. Adam Morrison stopped 19 of 24 shots he faced, while Eric Williams picked up 2nd star honours making 23 saves on the night. The first team to score has won every game of the series.

Game 6 is set for Sunday in Spokane. Puck drop is at 6:05 pm at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The pregame show begins at 5:30 pm on AM 650. If game 7 is necessary it will be Wedensday April 4 at the Pacific Coliseum at 7:00 pm.

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 31, 2012


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