Pre-season play this weekend for the Langley-based Vancouver Giants was a bit like a roller coaster ride.
It was up, then down, then up again.
Overall, the Giants went 2-1, playing three back-to-back games at the Xfinity Arena in Everett over the Labour Day weekend.
They started by beating the Seattle Thunderbirds Friday, 3-1, but were similarly defeated 3-1 Saturday night by the Spokane Chiefs.
Then the G-Men pulled out an overtime victory against the Tri-City Americans Sunday by the score of 5-4, said Dan O’Connor, the Giants’ new media relations officer and play-by-play broadcaster.
“The Giants trailed 4-1 heading into the third period and ended up tying the game in the final minutes,” O’Connor said. “A great game.”
The Giants play three more pre-season games, this time at home at the Langley Events Centre.
Friday, Sept. 8 there’s a 7 p.m. start against the Prince George Cougars.
Then, on Saturday, they play the Victoria Royals starting at 6 p.m.. And on Sunday, the last pre-season game is against the Everett Silvertips starting at 4 p.m.
Their regular season play gets underway on Friday, Sept. 22, when they play in the Royals in Victoria, followed by their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m.
Cougar on board
A coveted Prince George defenceman, following in his father’s footsteps, joins the G-Men’s ranks.
Vancouver Giants have added a Cougar to their team roster ahead of the 2017-18 season, that player being defenceman Jacob Gendron, G-Men’s general manager Glen Hanlon announced last week.
Originally selected by the Giants in the sixth round (126th overall) of the 2017 WHL bantam draft, the 2002-born Gendron becomes the second defenceman and fourth player already from the Giants 2017 draft class to sign with the team.
Last season the 6 ft., 170-pounder played for the Prince George bantam tier 1 Cougars and also appeared in five games as an under-ager for the 2017 BC Major Midget League champs, the Cariboo Cougars.
“Jacob was a player that we really coveted heading into the draft,” Hanlon said.
“He got better each time he took the ice during training camp and competed very well against older competition. He’s going to play a big role for the Vancouver Giants in the seasons to come.”
Gendron was equally excited.
“It’s a huge honor for me to sign with the Vancouver Giants,” he said.
“I really enjoyed my training camp experience and I’m so proud to be a part of the Vancouver Giants family. This season I’m going to continue to work extremely hard to make sure that I’m ready to make to jump to the WHL as quickly as possible.”