Discipline an Issue for Giants in Game 4 Loss to Chiefs

Sports stats



WHL Vancouver Giants

Discipline an Issue for Giants in Game 4 Loss to Chiefs

April 4, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release


Vancouver Giants left wing Maxim Muranov (right) vs. the Spokane Chiefs
Vancouver Giants left wing Maxim Muranov (right) vs. the Spokane Chiefs
(Vancouver Giants, Credit: Larry Brunt)

Spokane, WA - The Vancouver Giants lost to the Spokane Chiefs 6-2 in game four on Thursday night after surrendering three power play goals.

The Giants now trail the best-of-seven series 3-1.

Maxim Muranov and Cameron Schmidt had the goals for Vancouver - one in the first and one in the third - but Spokane was in control the whole way, thanks to six consecutive goals in the first 27 minutes of the game.

Andrew Cristall netted his first career playoff hat-trick for the Chiefs, while Chase Harrington scored a pair. Mathis Preston also found the back of the net for Spokane.

GAME SUMMARY

Muranov opened the scoring for the Giants with a great effort, as he picked the top corner on the short side of goaltender Dawson Cowan while fending off a defender at the same time from the left circle.

Spokane responded quickly, and not just once.

Nineteen seconds later, Cristall equalized from the left circle after getting a pass from Berkly Catton.

Fourteen seconds after that, Harrington scored from a similar spot to make it 2-1.

Late in the first, Catton found Cristall wide open in the right circle on the power play, who made no mistake on the one-timer.

Preston extended Spokane's lead to 4-1 early in the second with another power play marker, beating Hood from the right circle.

Less than two minutes later, Cristall completed the hat-trick with the Chiefs third power play goal of the game.

Harrington added to the hurt at the 7:15 mark of the second when he made the score 6-1 after putting home a rebound from the side of the net.

Schmidt would score a power play goal for the Giants five minutes into the third period to make the final score 6-2.

STATISTICS

SOG: VAN - 7/8/8 = 23 | SPO - 10/15/8 = 33

PP: VAN- 1/5 | SPO - 3/8

Face-Offs: VAN - 27 | SPO - 32

3 STARS:

1st: SPO - Andrew Cristall - 3G, 8 SOG, +1

2nd: SPO - Mathis Preston - 1G, 2A, 4 SOG, +2

3rd: SPO - Berkly Catton - 3A, 3 SOG

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Vancouver: LOSS - Burke Hood (13 saves / 19 shots). Brady Smith (14 saves / 14 shots in relief)

Spokane: WIN - Dawson Cowan (21 saves / 23 shots)

THEY SAID IT

"I think a lot of momentum shifts. We get the first one and they punch right back with two quick ones. And then discipline became a massive issue for us. One thing is we're down - we've been down in this series before - but it's how we react to it. I think we just got away from it a little bit. Took some undisciplined penalties in that second. But I did think 5-on-5 for the most part tonight, although there wasn't a ton of 5-on-5, I thought we were okay. I thought we were in there, we were hanging around and we had some good chances." - Giants Associate Coach Adam Maglio on the game overall

"You've got to eliminate the high sticks, the slashing, hooking, tripping, those ones, and then after the whistle stuff, you've got to skate away, right? Any retaliation stuff, you've got to just eat it and move on. I think at the end of the day, you still want to play hard. You've got to play hard; you've got to play within the rules. A little bit of that is you're going to finish checks, but you're going to do it the right way. So making sure they're not late and high. Making sure they're clean." - Giants Associate Coach Adam Maglio on discipline

UPCOMING

The Giants will play a do-or-die game five on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m.

You can tune in for free on Victory+ starting at 5:55 p.m. or on Sportsnet 650 following the Canucks post-game show around 5:30 p.m.

If they force a game six, it will be played in Langley on Monday, April 7.

See below for the first playoff schedule:

Game Date Away Home Time

1 Friday, March 28 Spokane Vancouver 4-1 L

2 Sunday, March 30 Spokane Vancouver 7-5 L

3 Wednesday, April 2 Vancouver Spokane 3-2 W

4 Thursday, April 3 Vancouver Spokane 6-2 L

5* Saturday, April 5 Vancouver Spokane 6:05 p.m. PDT

6* Monday, April 7 Spokane Vancouver 7:00 p.m. PDT

7* Wednesday, April 9 Vancouver Spokane 7:05 p.m. PDT

Don't forget that the WHL Playoffs are streaming FOR FREE on Victory+! Simply download the Victory+ app on your smart TV or mobile device. Download at victoryplus.com/download.

Check out the Vancouver Giants Statistics




Images from this story

Vancouver Giants goaltender Burke Hood faces pressure from the Spokane Chiefs
Vancouver Giants goaltender Burke Hood faces pressure from the Spokane Chiefs
(Larry Brunt)		 Vancouver Giants center Kyren Gronick attempts to slow the Spokane Chiefs
Vancouver Giants center Kyren Gronick attempts to slow the Spokane Chiefs
(Larry Brunt)		 Vancouver Giants right wing Tyus Sparks fights for position by the Spokane Chiefs goal
Vancouver Giants right wing Tyus Sparks fights for position by the Spokane Chiefs goal
(Larry Brunt)
Vancouver Giants defenceman Kolby Gapter (right) vs. the Spokane Chiefs
Vancouver Giants defenceman Kolby Gapter (right) vs. the Spokane Chiefs
(Larry Brunt)		 Vancouver Giants left wing Maxim Muranov (right) vs. the Spokane Chiefs
Vancouver Giants left wing Maxim Muranov (right) vs. the Spokane Chiefs
(Larry Brunt)		  

• Discuss this story on the Western Hockey League message board...

Western Hockey League Stories from April 4, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central