The Vancouver Giants couldn’t manage to get past Braden Holt, the new goalie for the Victoria Royals, leading to a 3-0 shutout at home in the Langley Events Centre on Wednesday, Dec. 28.
In Holt’s first game in net for the Royals, he blocked 35 shots from the Giants, despite a 35-29 advantage for Vancouver in shots on goal.
The Royals’ win allowed them to avenge four straight losses to the Giants, including one the previous night.
In goal for Vancouver, Jesper Vikman was solid through 40 minutes of play, holding the Royals to two scoreless periods.
It was a game controlled by the goalies for most of its length, as Vancouver went 0 for 5 on its power play, while Victoria was 0 for 7.
Only in the third period did anyone manage to get the puck into the net, with Victoria’s Jake Poole opening the scoring with a blocker-side writers 45 seconds into the third period.
Brayden Schuurman would make it 2-0 just under seven minutes later, redirecting the puck in the slot.
As the game’s final seconds wound down, Schuurman would add to Victoria’s score with an unassisted empty netter at 0:27 remaining.
Holt, traded from the Everett Silvertips, was named the game’s first star, followed by Schuurman and Thorpe.
The game was in many ways a mirror image of the Giants-Royals matchup on Tuesday, Dec. 27, when the Giants won 3-2 despite being outshot 36-19.
The Royals and Giants will face off for a third and final time on Friday, Dec. 30 in Victoria, with the puck-drop set for 7:05 pm at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
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