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WHL Vancouver Giants

Iginla's Hat-Trick Leads Rockets Past Giants

January 20, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release


Vancouver Giants' Cameron Schmidt
Vancouver Giants' Cameron Schmidt
(Vancouver Giants, Credit: Steve Dunsmoor/Kelowna Rockets)

Kelowna, B.C. - The Kelowna Rockets got a third period natural hat-trick from draft-eligible forward Tij Iginla in a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Giants on Friday night at Prospera Place.

The Giants overall record falls to 17-24-2-0. Kelowna improves to 21-19-2-0 this season.

Vancouver got goals from Cameron Schmidt (11th) and Sam Honzek (5th).

Kelowna's other goals came from Andrew Cristall and Ethan Neutens.

GAME SUMMARY:

The Giants opened the scoring less than five minutes in, when Schmidt - who was celebrating his 17th birthday - got a stretch pass from Colton Alain and went in all alone, faking to the backhand and finishing on the forehand past goaltender Jake Pilon.

The Rockets responded in the back half of the first period, after Iginla spun and fired a backhand pass across the crease that was deflected in off Cristall to tie the game 1-1.

After 20 minutes, the Rockets were out-shooting Vancouver 15-9 and the score was 1-1.

Only one goal was scored in the middle frame, coming off the stick of Neutens, who snapped a shot past the blocker of goaltender Matthew Hutchison for his sixth of the season, giving the home side a 2-1 edge. Moments earlier, Hutchison made two fantastic stops on Max Graham on a shorthanded breakaway.

Honzek would even the score in the third, as the Giants captain ripped a one-timer off a feed from Mazden Leslie to make it 2-2 at the 7:33 mark of the third period.

Iginla restored the Rockets lead with his first of three straight at the 11:52 mark of the period, after he split the defence and poked it home to make it 3-2.

Three minutes later Iginla scored shorthanded off the rush to make it 4-2.

The 17-year-old completed the natural hat-trick with an empty-net marker with 1:37 remaining in the game to make it a 5-2 final score.

THEY SAID IT

"Obviously a tough loss. It's a big game for us. We've got to reset and get ready for Sunday. We've got to pull out some things we did well and we've got to clean up a couple other areas...5-on-5 I thought it was pretty even overall. We give up a couple shorthanded goals and an empty netter, so that's what it came down to. I thought our discipline was good tonight, I think four seconds on the kill. We did a good job in that regard, but ultimately we lose the game and special teams played a part in it at the end of the day here tonight." - Giants Associate Coach Adam Maglio on the game as a whole

"You build a lot of momentum from a power play even if you're not scoring and certainly I think [losing momentum] was a factor. We were kind of panicking with the puck and there wasn't balance. I thought we weren't recovering well. Our routes weren't good. It ends up with a breakaway, they don't score, they score on the 2-on-1 and then ultimately Iginla scores in the third there shorthanded as well off the rush, so certainly we'll clean up, we'll look at it." Giants Associate Coach Adam Maglio on the poor power play draining momentum

STATISTICS

SOG: VAN - 9/6/11 = 26 | KEL - 15/10/10 = 35

PP: VAN - 1/5 | KEL - 0/1

Face-Offs: VAN - 22 | KEL - 30

3 STARS

1st: KEL - Tij Iginla - 3G, 1A, 6 SOG

2nd: KEL- Andrew Cristall - 1G, 1A, 5 SOG

3rd: VAN - Mazden Leslie - 1A, 4 SOG

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Vancouver: Loss - Matthew Hutchison (30 saves / 34 shots)

Kelowna: WIN - Jake Pilon (24 saves / 26 shots)

NEXT GAME:

The Giants have a rematch with the Rockets on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Check out the Vancouver Giants Statistics




Images from this story

Vancouver Giants' Cameron Schmidt
Vancouver Giants' Cameron Schmidt
(Steve Dunsmoor/Kelowna Rockets)		   



Western Hockey League Stories from January 20, 2024


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