Sunday afternoon in Victoria the Giants fell 4-3 to the Victoria Royals.
Royals forward Matthew Phillips scored twice for Victoria including the game winner on a shorthanded breakaway at 8:10 of the third period, which snapped a 3-3 tie.
Ty Ronning had a goal and an assist in response for the Giants and came away with one of six available points this weekend in three games.
For a second straight game, Giants defenceman Matt Barberis opened the scoring for his team.
His second goal in as many days came off the rush at 9:56 of the first period and was assisted by Ty Ronning and Alex Kannok Leipert.
Vancouver fired 10 shots at Victoria goaltender Dean McNabb in the first and took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
4:30 into the second, Matthew Phillips got the Royals on the board when he pounced on a Tyler Soy rebound off the rush. Phillips followed up Soy’s chance from in close and lifted his first of two goals on the day over Giants starter Todd Scott.
All it took was 15 seconds for the Giants to answer back, recounted play-by-play broadcaster Dan O’Connor.
Off the ensuing faceoff, Milos Roman pushed the puck ahead to Brad Morrison, who crossed the Victoria blueline, spun off a check and found Ronning in the slot.
“Ronning snuck a low backhand shot past McNabb for his team leading 12th. Vancouver would end up with 18 shots on the Royals goal in period two, but Dean McNabb turned aside 17 of them. He’d finish as the game’s third star.”
Ryan Peckford got Victoria back even at 7:49 when he stuffed his ninth of the season home on a power play.
His goal was a result of some great passing from behind the Giants goal courtesy of Dante Hannoun and Soy.
With time winding down in the second period Victoria took their first lead when 20-year-old Regan Nagy parked himself in front of the Giants goal and snuck a Dante Hannoun feed past Scott for his team high 16th goal.
The Royals took that 3-2 lead into the break despite being outshot 28-19.
Early in the third the Vancouver Giants tied the game with Milos Roman’s shot from the slot bounced in off a skate and past McNabb. Roman’s fifth was assisted by Brad Morrison.
At 7:24 of the third, Royals forward Dino Kambeitz took a tripping penalty which put the Giants on their sixth power play of the game. Unfortunately though it would be the Royals who capitalized.
Off a miscue at the Victoria line, Phillips forced the puck forward, won the race for the loose puck, and buried his breakaway chance despite a valiant back-checking effort from the Giants defence.
“Phillips’ shorthanded goal stood as the game winner as the Royals improved to 4-0 on the season against Vancouver,” O’Connor elaborated.
The final shots were 34-25 for Vancouver who have now dropped three straight.
Their power play went zero-for-seven Sunday while their penalty kill went four-for-five. Through 15 games the Giants record now sits at 5-7-1-2 with a 3-4-1-2 record on the road.
Next up for the Giants: A home-and-home series with the Kamloops Blazers beginning on Friday at 7:30 p.m., at the Langley Events Centre.