Vancouver Giants may have fallen 5-2 to Portland on Friday, but they came back with a vengeance to take down the visiting league-leaders from Everett by the score of 6-2 on Saturday night.
Head coach Manny Viveiros is attributing the overnight turn around to a few heart-to-hearts he had with the boys between games.
“We had a good talk after the game last night and today, this morning, in Ladner as a group. We had a really good talk,” he said, expecting they’d make a come back and play much better on Saturday.
“I expected us to come out and play really well tonight. I didn’t expect how good we were going to be. I thought that was really encouraging. We were pretty dialed in, in all aspects of our game,” Viveiros said after Saturday’s game.
Vancouver Giants were defeated on home ice at the Langley Events Centre by the visiting Winterhawks on Friday.
In Friday's matchup, Giants goaltender Burke Hood made 29 saves on 33 shots, while Winterhawks’ rookie goalie Ondrej Stebatek made 25 saves of 27 shots.
The three stars of the game were Portland’s Tyson Jugnauth (first), Vancouver’s Titlbach (second), and Buttazzoni of the Winterhawks (third).
Thing turned around for the Giants the next night facing the Silvertips. Again playing on home ice, this time the G-Men scoring one in the first, one in the second, and four in the final periods of play.
This time, Hood stopped 37 of 39 shots on goal in the game, while Silvertips netminder Jesse Sanche stopped 25 of 31 shots.
In this game, all three stars of the game were Giants players, first star going to Mazden Leslie, second star to Hood, and third to Maxim Muranov.
“We’re certainly pleased with the way we played tonight,” concluded the Giants’ head coach.
Here's Maxim Muranov's 13th of the season, thanks to some great wheels from #Canadiens draft pick Tyler Thorpe! pic.twitter.com/RfstcZ2gAy
— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) February 9, 2025
Up next, the G-men play in Victoria on Valentine’s Day (Friday, Feb. 14), in the first of back-to-back games against the Royals. Then Saturday, Feb. 15, they host the Royals at Langley Events Centre. where they’re hoping for another home ice victory. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
They also have a special matinee game on Family Day on holiday Monday (Feb. 17) at home. They’re hosting the Prince George Cougars for a 2 p.m. game.
