By Brendan Batchelor, vancouvergiants.com / \
The Vancouver Giants booked their ticket to the second round, defeating the Kamloops Blazers 5-4 at the Interior Savings Centre earlier this week to win the Kal Tire WHL Western Conference Quarter-Final in a four-game sweep.
Tomas Vincour was absent from the Giants lineup in Game 4 while Jon Groenheyde made his first ever WHL playoff start in net for Kamloops after head coach Guy Charron opted to go with him ahead of the veteran Kurtis Mucha. Mucha struggled through the first three games of the series, allowing 14 goals and amassing a 5.03 goals against average.
For the first time in the series, the Blazers outshot the Giants in the first period of the hockey game, and it showed on the scoreboard. Kamloops took a 1-0 lead on a powerplay goal when C.J. Stretch fed Colin Smith all alone in front, and he beat a sprawling Mark Segal to put the Blazers ahead. The Giants, who erased Kamloops leads on four different occasions in Game 3, had a golden opportunity to draw even in the final minute of the period when Bronson Maschmeyer turned the puck over at his own blue line, giving James Henry a breakaway, but he was denied by the glove hand of Groenheyde to preserve the Kamloops lead.
The Giants jumped on the Blazers early in the second period and erased the deficit 3:51 into the middle frame when Milan Kytnar netted his first of the series, sneaking a low wrist shot between the pads of Groenheyde. Kamloops took the lead back on the powerplay when Jake Trask scored one of the weirdest goals you’ll ever see. The puck appeared to be caught in Trask’s equipment off a point shot, before he skated into the net, and the puck dropped out of his pants. The play was reviewed by the officials and was deemed a good goal, and the Blazers took a 2-1 lead.
But Vancouver would score two goals in a 3:46 span later in the period to retake the lead.
First, Brendan Gallagher knocked home on a rebound from a Craig Cunningham shot to tie the game, followed by Henry who picked up the puck in his own zone and went streaking down the right wing boards before cutting into the slot and firing a wristshot past Groenheyde to put the Giants ahead 3-2. The Blazers would equalize before the end of the period when Austin Madaisky scored a power play goal on a one-timer from the point to level the score heading into the third.
Vancouver had a number of great chances to take the lead early in the final frame. Gallagher fired a shot off the goal post, and a few moments later, Henry had a wide open net before Groenhyde dived in front of his shot, making the save with his mask. Despite the Giants’ pressure play, the Blazers took the lead when Smith scored his second of the game to give Kamloops their tenth lead of the series. But as was the story in the first three games, the Giants answered back on a great individual effort by Cunningham who barreled to the net and shoveled home the tying goal as he fell to the ice. Gallagher would seal the deal for Vancouver with less than five minutes remaining when he took a pass from James Wright off the rush and buried the eventual game winner to lift Vancouver into the Conference Semi-Final.
The Giants will now wait for the remaining Conference Quarter-Finals to finish before they find out where, when, and who they’ll play next. |