Hitmen Top Giants 4-1
Published on December 31, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release
Vancouver Giants goaltender Kelton Pyne vs. the Calgary Hitmen
(Vancouver Giants, Credit: Rob Wilton)
LANGLEY, B.C. - The Calgary Hitmen scored twice in the first period and twice in the third to beat the Vancouver Giants 4-1 on Tuesday night at Langley Events Centre.
Calgary had a strong first period - outshooting Vancouver 19-4 and taking a 2-0 lead - and then added two third period insurance markers to take the lone head-to-head game of the season.
The Giants fall to 16-20-1-1 following the loss, while the Hitmen improve to 18-10-4-1.
Tyus Sparks scored the long goal for Vancouver late in the third period on a power play, his 16th of the season. Cameron Schmidt registered an assist to increase his point streak to 18 games (13G-16A-29P).
Julien Maze scored twice for Calgary, while Landon Amrhein and Ethan Moore each found the back of the net once.
GAME SUMMARY
Maze opened the scoring midway through the first when he found the back of the net from the left circle on a 2-on-1 rush.
Less than four minutes later, Amrhein had the puck go off his skate and into the net after it hit the end boards and landed back in front of the net, making it 2-0 for the visitors.
After getting outshot 19-4 in the first, the Giants pushed back in the second, outshooting Calgary 12-8, but Eric Tu made 12 saves.
Maze scored the dagger at the 11:01 mark of the third period, when he found free space in the slot and roofed it for his 18th of the season and second of the game.
Moore tipped in a shot from Andrei Molgachev on a power play less than two minutes later to make it 4-0.
Sparks ripped a one-timer past Tu late in the third period on a 5-on-3 power play for the only Giants goal of the game.
STATISTICS
SOG: VAN - 4/12/7 = 23 | CGY - 19/8/9 = 36
PP: VAN- 1/3 | CGY - 1/1
Face-Offs: VAN - 25 | CGY - 26
3 STARS
1st: CGY - Julien Maze - 2G, 1A, 3 SOG, +3
2nd: CGY - Kale Dach - 2A, 4 SOG, +3
3rd: VAN - Tyus Sparks - 1G, 4 SOG
GOALTENDING BATTLE
Vancouver: LOSS - Kelton Pyne (32 saves / 36 shots)
Calgary: WIN - Eric Tu (22 saves / 23 shots)
THEY SAID IT
"I didn't think we came out with the pressure and urgency that we needed to early in the game, especially in the first period. They were coming off a tough loss to a Kamloops team 9-5 and they had a day off yesterday...we needed to build off and use the momentum that we created from the win against Kamloops into tonight and be ready for what we were about to see...I thought in the first period we just stood around and sat back. It's an unacceptable start for our group. I thought in the second period we found it a little bit...and then in the third period a d-zone breakdown from the penalty kill and the game gets out of reach."
Click HERE for the full post-game interview with Head Coach Parker Burgess
UPCOMING
The Giants head to the U.S. for a pair of games this weekend.
Date Opponent Time Location
Thursday, January 2 Spokane Numerica Veterans Arena 7:05 PM
Friday, January 3 Portland Veterans Memorial Coliseum 6:00 PM
Stream all Giants games for free on Victory+.
The Giants next home game is on Friday, January 9 against Tri-City! Grab your seats at VancouverGiants.com/tickets.
Images from this story
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