Giants Kick off Weekend with a 6-0 Loss to Kelowna
January 29, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release
Vancouver Giants left wing Zack Ostapchuk vs. the Kelowna Rockets
(Vancouver Giants, Credit: Rob Wilton)
Vancouver, B.C. - Friday night at the Langley Events Centre the Vancouver Giants (16-19-2-0) dropped a 6-0 decision to the visiting Kelowna Rockets (21-10-1-3). Six different Rockets found the back of the net while goaltender Talyn Boyko stopped all 25 Giants shots fired his way to secure his second career shutout. The goaltending tandem of Jesper Vikman and Will Gurski combined for 24 saves for Vancouver who finished the night zero-for-five on the power play. The Rockets responded with a one-for-three clip on the man advantage.
BOX SCORE
1st Period:
KEL - Fresh off a successful penalty kill, Rockets forward Turner McMillen was sent in alone off a feed from Elias Carmichael and made no mistake in close to give Kelowna the 1-0 lead. For McMillen it marked his sixth goal of the season and it came at 16:24.
Shots: 8-7 Vancouver
2nd Period:
KEL - Marcus Pacheco (2) increased the Rockets lead to 2-0 at 12:34 of the middle frame. Pacheco's breakaway goal came as a result of a puck hopping over the Giant defender's stick at the Rocket blueline.
KEL - Pavel Novak made it 3-0 for Kelowna when he finished off a feed from Andrew Cristall from the right-wing circle. Novak's 17th of the season came on the man advantage, and came seconds after Zack Ostapchuk had a shorthanded chance denied at the other end by Kelowna goaltender Talyn Boyko. The goal came at 19:21.
KEL - 21 seconds later, Adam Kydd increased the lead to 4-0 for Kelowna when he pounced on a Dylan Wightman rebound, and roofed a backhand over the left shoulder of Jesper Vikman. Marcus Pacheco earned the second assist.
Shots: 12-10 Kelowna
3rd Period:
*Will Gurski started the third period in goal for the Vancouver Giants.
KEL - Mark Liwiski (11) made it 5-0 Kelowna on a shorthanded breakaway just 1:40 into the final period. John Babcock set up the play by breaking up a pass in the Kelowna zone before sending Liwiski on his way.
KEL - Gabriel Szturc (7) converted off a two-on-one rush with Andrew Cristall at 16:23 to extend the Kelowna lead to 6-0 and to cap the scoring in the game.
Shots: 11-6 Kelowna
GAME SUMMARY
Final Score: Kelowna 6 - Vancouver 0
Final Shots: 30 - 25 Kelowna
Jesper Vikman: 15/19 saves for Vancouver (13-8-2-0)
Will Gurski: 9/11 saves for Vancouver
Talyn Boyko: 25/25 saves for Kelowna (15-11-2-1)
Vancouver Power Play: 0/5
Kelowna Power Play: 1/3
3 Stars:
1) Mark Liwiski (KEL - 1G, +1)
2) Talyn Boyko (KEL - 25 Saves, SO)
3) Zack Ostapchuk (VAN - 5 Shots, 7 PIMS)
Next Game: A rematch with Kelowna tomorrow night at 7:05 PM at Prospera Place.
NOTES
- Friday's loss to Kelowna marked the first regulation loss of the season for the Giants in six meetings against them. The Giants record against the Rockets now sits at 4-1-1-0.
- The Giants home record now sits at 8-9-1-0 through 18 games.
- Zack Ostapchuk and Alex Cotton both led the Giants with five shots each.
Images from this story
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