Until Monday night, it was a mystery who the Vancouver Giants would be playing next, but it was known it would happen starting on Friday in Langley.
Well, following a Game 6 victory for the Victoria Royals over the Kamloops Blazers, it seems the G-Men will be squaring off against Victoria this weekend.
The G-Men secured a 5-1 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday night in Kent, Wash., taking their first round in the playoff series, 4-2.
That triumph secured them a spot in Round 2 of the Western Hockey League playoffs against a team they’ve played frequently.
Interestingly, the Giants were 6-2-1-1 against Victoria during the regular season. Time will tell if they can keep it up in the playoffs.
In the meantime, the Giants are back practising in South Delta, and one day closer to their Round 2 playoff opener on Friday.
Even before they knew who their opponents were going to be in Round 2, the location and time for Games 1 and 2 had been solidified – it will be on the Giants’ home ice at the Langley Events Centre – the first game on Friday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. and the second on Saturday, April 6 at 7 p.m.
AS FOR GAME 2, IT’S STILL A QUESTION
While the team is getting ready for Friday’s game, the Giants were met with more good news.
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HONOURED AGAIN
For the second time this season, 18-year-old defenceman Bowen Byram has been named the WHL On the Run player of the week after posting two goals, four assists, and a +7 rating in four games.
During a historic regular season, Byram finished with 26 goals and 45 assists for 71 points. His 26 goals were a single-season best for a Vancouver Giants defenceman.
In four games last week, Byram secured two goals along with four assists for six points and a +7 rating. The Giants won three of those games en route to closing out their first-round series with the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Giants won three of those games en route to closing out their first-round series with the Seattle Thunderbirds.
On Tuesday, March 26, Byram had a goal and two assists and was a +2 in a 6-4 victory for the Giants on the road. He was named the first star of Game 3.
Then on Friday, March 29, at the LEC, Byram secured the primary assist on Dallas Hines’ game-winning goal early in the third period, lifting the Giants to a 3-2 win in a crucial Game 5.
Byram followed that up with a goal and an assist in Game 6 and finished with a +4 rating as the Giants captured the series in six games.
Byram also set a new WHL single-season record with six overtime winning goals.
Back in November, Byram was one of two Giants to suit up for Team WHL in the 2018 CIBC Canada Russia Series and then in January 2019 he represented Team Cherry in the 2019 Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
He is considered a top prospect for the 2019 NHL draft, which takes place in Vancouver in June.
At the same time, Giants forward Davis Koch has been named the WHL McSweeney’s player of the month for March.
In eight March regular season games, Koch posted four goals and 10 assists for 14 points, along with a +5 rating. He followed up with a goal and nine assists in six Round 1 games against Seattle.
Koch recorded multi-point games in four of the six games against the Thunderbirds and had at least one point in all but one of the games. He also finished the series 42/80 in the faceoff circle.
He appeared in 67 regular season games for the Giants and set new season highs for goals (28), assists (50) and points (78).
Koch’s regular season also included seven game-winning goals, 25 multi-point games and 31 power play points. He was the recipient of the team’s Bublé Iron Man Award along with the Gordie Howe Top Scorer award. Overall Koch has suited up in 320 career WHL regular season games where he posted 91 goals and 164 assists for 255 points. In 24 career WHL playoff games Koch has scored four goals along with 14 assists for 18 points.
Koch and his Giants teammates were back practicing in South Delta and one day closer to their Round 2 playoff opener on Friday.
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roxanne.hooper@langleyadvancetimes.com
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