Saturday night at the CN Centre the Vancouver Giants (18-23-2-0) completed the weekend road sweep of the Prince George Cougars (18-25-2-1) after a 3-1 victory. Payton Mount provided a goal and an assist for the Giants who also received special teams tallys from Fabian Lysell (15) and Ty Thorpe (13). Jesper Vikman turned aside 24 of the 25 shots fired his way to earn his second straight victory. The only goal of the night for Prince George came from Caden Brown in the final minute of regulation.
1st Period:
No Scoring
Shots: 10-7 Vancouver
2nd Period:
VAN – 3:19 into the second period, Fabian Lysell put the Giants ahead 1-0 on a power marker. Lysell parked himself in the left-wing circle, took a cross-ice feed from Payton Mount and made no mistake. Lysell’s second goal in as many games also featured an assist from Connor Horning.
VAN – Payton Mount earned his second point of the period off a shorthanded two-on-one rush at 17:52. Mount’s low shot snuck through the legs of Cougars netminder Tyler Brennan, giving him his sixth goal of the season and the first of two shorthanded goals on the evening for the Giants. Evan Toth and Ty Thorpe both assisted.
Shots: 12-7 Vancouver
3rd Period:
VAN – With the Cougar net empty Ty Thorpe ended all hopes of a comeback with his second empty-netter in as many nights. At 18:03 Thorpe launched a shorthanded goal into the open cage from center ice. Thorpe’s 13th of the season was unassisted and marked the second shorthanded goal of the night for Vancouver.
PG – For a second straight night, Jesper Vikman had a shutout spoiled in the final minute of regulation. This time the Cougars got a goal from rookie Caden Brown, who whacked home a Keaton Dowhaniuk rebound that rang off the post. Connor Bowie also assisted.
Shots: 8-5 Prince George
GAME SUMMARY
Final Score: Vancouver 3 – Prince George 1
Final Shots: 25-24 Prince George
Jesper Vikman: 24/25 saves for Vancouver
Tyler Brennan: 21/23 saves for Prince George
Vancouver Power Play:: 1/3
Prince George Power Play: 0/3
3 Stars:
1) Jesper Vikman (VAN – 24 Saves)
2) Payton Mount (VAN – 1G, 1A)
3) Fabian Lysell (VAN – 1G)
Next Game: Friday at home against the Victoria Royals at 7:30 PM.
