Giants Wrap up Weekend with a 5-2 Loss to Kamloops
January 30, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release
Vancouver Giants goaltender Jesper Vikman vs. the Kamloops Blazers
(Vancouver Giants, Credit: Rob Wilton)
Vancouver, B.C. - Sunday afternoon at the LEC the Vancouver Giants (16-21-2-0) wrapped up a three-in-three weekend with a 5-2 setback at the hands of the Kamloops Blazers (28-11-1-0). The top Blazer trio of Logan Stankoven (1G, 2A), Luke Toporowski (1G, 1A) and Caedan Bankier (1G, 1A) combined for seven points while the Giants received two point efforts from both Evan Toth (1G, 1A) and Cole Shepard (2A). Dylan Garand finished with 17 saves for Kamloops while Jesper Vikman countered with 31 for Vancouver. Both teams tallied once on the power play.
1st Period:
VAN - With time ticking away on the Giants first power play of the game, defenceman Tom Cadieux's shot from the right-wing point snuck through a screen and past Dylan Garand to stake the Giants to a 1-0 lead. Assists came via Evan Toth and Cole Shepard at 4:23.
KAM - The Blazers answered at 15:10 when Caedan Bankier (14) snuck into the high slot and one-timed home a Logan Stankoven feed which came from behind the Giants net off a turnover.
Shots: 7-5 Kamloops
2nd Period:
KAM - 8:53 into the middle period, Blazers leading scorer Logan Stankoven (23) made it 2-1 off a high shot from the right-wing circle. The assists on the play came courtesy of Quinn Schmiemann and Luke Toporowski.
KAM - Luke Toporowski (24) extended the Kamloops lead to 3-1 on a power play at 14:35. Logan Stankoven's initial shot clanged off the goal post, but the rebound bounced right back out to Toporowski who made no mistake. Matthew Seminoff had the second assist.
Shots: 14-5 Kamloops
3rd Period:
KAM - 3:56 into the third, Mats Lindgren's point shot from the left-wing deflected off a body in front of the Giants goal and in. Lindgen's fourth of the season came unassisted.
VAN - 28 seconds later, Giants defenceman Evan Toth pounced on a Cole Shepard pass and hammered a slap shot past Dylan Garand from the left-wing circle. Zack Ostapchuk had the second assist on the goal that came at 4:24.
KAM - Daylan Kuefler (19) nabbed the game's final goal at 18:45 when he tucked home a Reese Belton rebound home for his 19th goal of the season.
Shots: 15-9 Kamloops
GAME SUMMARY
Final Score: Kamloops 5 - Vancouver 2
Final Shots: 36 - 19 Kamloops
Jesper Vikman: 31/36 Saves for Vancouver (13-10-2-0)
Dylan Garand: 17/19 Saves for Kelowna (22-6-0-0)
Vancouver Power Play: 1/3
Kamloops Power Play: 1/4
3 Stars:
1) Luke Toporowski (KAM - 1G, 1A)
2) Logan Stankoven (KAM - 1G, 2A)
3) Evan Toth (VAN - 1G, 1A)
Next Giants Game: The Giants return to action at home next Friday night against the same Kamloops Blazers at 7:30 PM.
NOTES
- Defenceman Evan Toth has now scored in back-to-back games for the first time in his WHL career. He's got three points (2G, 1A) over his past two games.
- Tom Cadieux's first period goal was also his first in a Giants uniform.
- With their record of 16-21-2-0 the Vancouver Giants remain in seventh place in the Western Conference standings, two points back of sixth placed Prince George and five points ahead of the eight placed Victoria Royals.
- The Giants home record now sits at 8-10-1-0.
- The Giants are now 1-7 for the season against the Kamloops Blazers.
Images from this story
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