Sports stats



Vancouver Giants

Hutchison Outstanding as Giants Edged 3-2 by Wild

November 4, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release


Wenatchee Wild's Conor Geekie on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Conor Geekie on game night
(Vancouver Giants, Credit: Russ Alman)

Wenatchee, WA - The Vancouver Giants lost 3-2 to the Wenatchee Wild on Friday night at the Town Toyota Center.

If not for Giants goaltender Matthew Hutchison, the score would have looked very different, as the rookie was fabulous, finishing with 39 saves, including some blockbuster stops.

The Wild scored three times in the third period to come from behind and snag the win.

With the loss, the Giants are now 5-8-1 this season. The Wild improve to 9-6-1.

Scoring for the Giants was Ty Halaburda - his fourth of the season - and Aaron Obobaifo - his second in two games. Both goals came on the power play

Scoring for the Wild was Rodzers Bukarts (2) and Conor Geekie.

GAME SUMMARY:

The Wild came out flying in this one, firing 18 shots on goal in the opening frame, but Giants goaltender Matthew Hutchison was up to the task, stopping all 18.

At the 11:35 mark of the second, the Giants got on the board, after Halaburda took a puck to the net on the backhand, forcing it home to open the scoring.

Vancouver took that 1-0 lead into the second intermission, where the shots stood 30-15 in favour of Wenatchee.

The Giants tried to hold off the Wild, but they came out with renewed energy in the third and got rewarded with three consecutive goals.

First, Bukarts put home a rebound from the slot to tie the game at the 3:19 mark.

Just a minute later, the Wild nearly made it 2-1, but Hutchison made a miraculous glove save to keep the score tied.

However, the Wild kept up the pressure. At the 7:41 mark, Geekie won a battle in front of the net to put home another rebound and make it 2-1.

Bukarts would follow up with his second of the night off an offensive zone faceoff to make it 3-1 for the home side at the 8:16 mark.

Obobaifo responded for the Giants with 3:39 to go in the game on a power play off a setup from Kyren Gronick, but that was as close as Vancouver would come.

STATISTICS

SOG: VAN - 6/9/5 = 20 | WEN - 18/12/12 = 42

PP: VAN - 2/3 | WEN - 0/3

Face-Offs: VAN - 33 | WEN - 23

3 STARS

1st: WEN - Rodzers Bukarts- 2G, 5 SOG (GWG)

2nd: WEN - Conor Geekie - 1G, 6 SOG

3rd: WEN - Graham Sward - 2A, 1 SOG

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Vancouver: Loss - Matthew Hutchison (39 saves / 42 shots)

Wenatchee: Win - Daniel Hauser (18 saves / 20 shots)

NOTEWORTHY:

Matthew Hutchison's 39 saves mark a new career-high

Giants rookie Aaron Obobaifo scored for his second straight game, after scoring his first WHL goal on Wednesday

Halaburda's goal was his 4th in the last seven games

The Giants power play scored twice in the same game for the first time this season

NEXT GAME:

The Giants finish their week tomorrow (Saturday) when they host the Blazers for the second time in six days. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Check out the Vancouver Giants Statistics




Images from this story

Vancouver Giants' Justin Ivanusec in action
Vancouver Giants' Justin Ivanusec in action
(Russ Alman)		 Wenatchee Wild's Conor Geekie on game night
Wenatchee Wild's Conor Geekie on game night
(Russ Alman)		  

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

Western Hockey League Stories from November 4, 2023


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