Giants Goalie Hood's Back-To-Back Shutouts Highlight WHL Weekly Awards

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Giants Goalie Hood's Back-To-Back Shutouts Highlight WHL Weekly Awards

January 6, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL) News Release


Calgary, Alta. - Wenatchee Wild forward Evan Friesen has been named Tempo WHL Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday, January 5, 2025, the Western Hockey League announced Monday.

Friesen led all WHL skaters with six goals (including a hat trick) and three assists for 10 points and a +5 rating through four games.

The Wild Captain helped his team close out 2024 on a high note with a two-assist effort in a 6-1 takedown of the Kelowna Rockets on New Year's Eve. This marked a five-game point streak that saw Friesen pile up three goals and eight assists.

His streak would be snapped as Wenatchee was shut out by WHL Goaltender of the Week Burke Hood and the Vancouver Giants, but Friesen roared back with two of his best games of the season.

Wenatchee then rolled into hostile territory for a road match against the Portland Winterhawks on January 4.

With the Wild leading 1-0 at the midway mark of the first period, Friesen won a powerplay faceoff in the offensive zone back to Reid Andresen, who teed up Shaun Rios for his second goal of the game and a 2-0 lead. The powerful Winterhawks had clawed their way back to tie the match in the middle frame, but Friesen came in clutch to restore the lead. After the Captain was clipped on a breakaway, he was awarded a penalty shot and whipped the puck past the netminder with a lightning-quick shot and a 3-2 advantage. Wenatchee wouldn't trail again, and Friesen capped off the night with an empty netter for a 6-3 win.

The 5-foot-11, 188-pound centreman followed it up with one of the biggest games of his career. With Wenatchee rolling into Kennewick, Wash. to face another strong U.S. Division squad in the Tri-City Americans, Friesen drew first blood with a powerplay marker through traffic just over two minutes into the game. The Wild extended their lead to 4-1 in the second period, where Friesen picked up his second tally of the night with a precision wrister on a partial break. Less than four minutes later, he put on a burst of speed coming down the wing to outpace an Americans defender and complete the natural hat trick with a wraparound goal. This marked the first hat trick of Friesen's WHL career- but he wasn't done there. The Winnipeg, Man. product scored his fourth by potting his own rebound after a deft redirection in front of the Tri-City net. Friesen picked up another assist in the third period as Wenatchee cruised to a 10-2 win, with the Captain snagging first star of the game. Friesen now has two five-point games in the last month, having previously added a goal and four helpers in a 9-1 win over Kelowna on December 14, 2024.

Friesen leads the Wild with 19 goals (including two game-winners and two shorthanded tallies) and 23 assists for 42 points in 35 games. He's on pace for a career-best season and a second-straight 20-plus goal campaign.

Since being signed by the then-Winnipeg ICE as an undrafted free agent in 2020, Friesen has suited for 209 regular-season games with the club, netting 127 points (62 goals, 65 assists).

He has another 10 goals and five helpers in 37 postseason contests. Three of those goals came in the 2023 WHL Championship Series, where the ICE came up short against the eventual Champion Seattle Thunderbirds.

Wenatchee (15-18-3-1) is on a two-game winning streak to sit in the final playoff spot in the Western Conference just past the halfway point of the 2024-25 regular season.

The Wild kick off a three-game homestand on Friday, January 10 when they host the B.C. Division's Victoria Royals at 7:00 p.m. PST.

2024-25 Tempo WHL Player of the Week

September 23, 2024: Roger McQueen, Brandon Wheat Kings

September 30, 2024: Nathan Behm, Kamloops Blazers

October 7, 2024: Shea Van Olm, Spokane Chiefs

October 15, 2024: Mazden Leslie, Vancouver Giants

October 21, 2024: Ben Kindel, Calgary Hitmen

October 28, 2024: Nathan Behm, Kamloops Blazers

November 4, 2024: Brady Birnie, Swift Current Broncos

November 11, 2024: Koehn Ziemmer, Prince George Cougars (Los Angeles Kings)

November 18, 2024: Tomas Mrsic, Prince Albert Raiders (St. Louis Blues)

November 25, 2024: Andrew Cristall, Kelowna Rockets (Washington Capitals)

December 2, 2024: Gavin McKenna, Medicine Hat Tigers

December 9, 2024: Tyson Jugnauth, Portland Winterhawks (Seattle Kraken)

December 16, 2024: Gracyn Sawchyn, Edmonton Oil Kings (Florida Panthers)

December 23, 2024: Rilen Kovacevic, Moose Jaw Warriors

December 30, 2024: Landon DuPont, Everett Silvertips

GIANTS NETMINDER HOOD NAMED WHL GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Calgary, Alta. - Vancouver Giants netminder Burke Hood has been named WHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending Sunday, January 5, 2025, the Western Hockey League announced Monday.

The rookie led all starting goalies with a 3-0-0-0 record, a 1.10 goals-against average, a .965 save percentage and back-to-back shutout victories.

The 6-foot-3, 193-pound netminder kicked off his week with a relief appearance in a 5-2 loss to the Victoria Royals in Wednesday Night in the Dub action. Burke entered the match at the beginning of the second period and allowed just one goal on 25 shots, including four Royals powerplay attempts.

On Friday, January 3, Hood got the nod against the upstart Wenatchee Wild. With the game deadlocked at zero heading into the third period, the 17-year-old continued to make clutch saves- including one on a partial breakaway by Wenatchee's Luka Shcherbyna. Hood turned aside all 27 shots he faced, including four Wild powerplays, for a 3-0 win and his first WHL shutout. He was named first star of the game.

The following night, Hood got much more offensive support- and faced a lot more rubber. Hood was named first star again with a monster 44-save shutout of the Kelowna Rockets in a 7-0 decision. His finest moment came in a pair of second-period kicking pad saves on defenceman Nate Corbet and a third-period breakaway stop on Kayden Longley. The blowout saw the Giants win their first game in Kelowna since January 21, 2023, snapping a nine-game losing streak at Prospera Place.

Hood's shutout streak stands at an impressive 149:48.

He's the first Giants netminder to post back-to-back clean sheets since Colorado Avalanche prospect Trent Miner in the 2021 bubble season.

Hood is 8-5-3-0 in his first WHL season with a 3.51 goals-against average, a .895 save percentage and two shutouts. He's undefeated in his three starts following the WHL's holiday break.

The Brandon, Man. Native was drafted by the Giants in the sixth round of the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.

Vancouver (19-14-4-0) has now won two straight games and seven of their last 10 to sit third in the B.C. Division.

The G-men will head north to face the B.C.-leading Prince George Cougars (22-10-3-2) for a two-game set at the CN Centre starting on Tuesday, January 7 at 7:00 p.m. PST.

2024-25 WHL Goaltender of the Week

September 23, 2024: Koen Cleaver, Lethbridge Hurricanes

September 30, 2024: Ethan Eskit, Brandon Wheat Kings

October 7, 2024: Spencer Michnik, Victoria Royals

October 15, 2024: Harrison Meneghin, Medicine Hat Tigers (Tampa Bay Lightning)

October 21, 2024: Evan Gardner, Saskatoon Blades (Columbus Blue Jackets)

October 28, 2024: Jesse Sanche, Everett Silvertips

November 4, 2024: Carson Bjarnason, Brandon Wheat Kings (Philadelphia Flyers)

November 11, 2024: Nathan Preston, Tri-City Americans

November 18, 2024: Dawson Cowan, Spokane Chiefs

November 25, 2024: Alex Worthington, Edmonton Oil Kings

December 2, 2024: Anders Miller, Calgary Hitmen

December 9, 2024: Raiden LeGall, Everett Silvertips

December 16, 2024: Jackson Unger, Lethbridge Hurricanes

December 23, 2024: Max Hildebrand, Prince Albert Raiders

December 30, 2024: Joshua Ravensbergen, Prince George Cougars

ROYALS DEFENCEMAN VERHOEFF NAMED WHL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Calgary, Alta. - Victoria Royals defenceman Keaton Verhoeff has been named WHL Rookie of the Week for the week ending Sunday, January 5, 2025, the Western Hockey League announced Monday.

This is the third time Verhoeff has won the award this season.

The 16-year-old picked up two goals and two assists for four points in four games.

Verhoeff registered a pair of assists in wild back-to-back matches against the Vancouver Giants on December 31 and January 1, with mixed results for the Royals. After falling in a shootout to the Giants on New Year's Eve, they stormed back with a dominant 5-2 win in Wednesday Night in the Dub action. Verhoeff assisted Teydon Trembecky's game-winning powerplay tally in the victory.

But the youngster's best efforts came in a back-to-back home-and-away set against the league-leading Everett Silvertips. On January 3, 2025, NHL Draft-eligible Carter Bear tied the game at 1-1 to force overtime. In the extra frame, Verhoeff and newly-acquired sniper Kenta Isogai flew down the ice to create several opportunities, with Verhoeff finally banging his teammate's rebound into the net for the win. Verhoeff was named second star of the game.

He came up big again in the rematch, where Everett held a 3-2 lead in the late goings. With less than five minutes left, Verhoeff walked the Silvertips' blue line and rifled a shot through traffic to find the equalizer. This time, overtime wouldn't solve anything, but the Royals would snag a second straight win over the U.S. dynamos in the shootout for a 4-3 win.

Verhoeff has 14 goals (highlighted by four game-winners) and 14 assists for 28 points in 33 games.

He has the second-most goals of any WHL rookie, sits fourth in the first-year points race and is currently riding a five-game point streak.

The Royals selected the Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. product with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 WHL Prospects draft. Verhoeff registered two assists in 12 call-up appearances in 2023-24.

In November, Verhoeff claimed gold with Canada White at the World U17 Hockey Challenge with a goal and four assists- one of which came in the championship match against Canada Red.

He's eligible for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

Victoria (20-11-3-4) has points in four straight matches to sit second in the B.C. Division and fourth in the Western Conference.

The Royals hit the road for a three-game U.S. swing, starting with the Seattle Thunderbirds (12-23-2-1) on Tuesday, January 7 at 7:05 p.m. PST.

2024-25 WHL Rookie of the Week

September 23, 2024: Keaton Verhoeff, Victoria Royals

September 30, 2024: Landon DuPont, Everett Silvertips

October 7, 2024: Cooper Williams, Saskatoon Blades

October 15, 2024: Josh Banini, Moose Jaw Warriors

October 21, 2024: Gavin Garland, Tri-City Americans

October 28, 2024: Jaxon Jacobson, Brandon Wheat Kings

November 4, 2024: Gavin Garland, Tri-City Americans

November 11, 2024: Ondrej Stebetak, Portland Winterhawks

November 18, 2024: Kason Kobelka, Calgary Hitmen

November 25, 2024: Jordan Duguay, Portland Winterhawks

December 2, 2024: Jaxon Jacobson, Brandon Wheat Kings

December 9, 2024: Liam Ruck, Medicine Hat Tigers

December 16, 2024: Keaton Verhoeff, Victoria Royals

December 23, 2024: Parker Rondeau, Swift Current Broncos

December 30, 2024: Joe Iginla, Edmonton Oil Kings

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