Make it five straight road victories and three straight wins altogether for the Vancouver Giants.
Friday night in Lethbridge the Langley-based G-Men earned a 5-2 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Tyler Benson scored twice while his linemate Ty Ronning had a goal and two assists.
Netminder David Tendeck backstopped the Giants to victory turning aside 33 of the 35 shots fired his way, explained plya-by-play broadcaster Dan O’Connor.
Maenwhile, Jordy Bellerive had a goal and an assist in response for Lethbridge.
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How it played out
Both teams found the score sheet in the first period.
Lethbridge got on the board first when Bellerive parked himself in front of Tendeck and tipped home a Calen Addison point shot for his team-leading 23rd goal of the season.
Late in the period the Giants answered when Alex Kannok Leipert’s shot from the right point switched directions and snuck past Lethbridge starter Stuart Skinner. Kannok Leipert’s second of the season was assisted by both James Malm and Brayden Watts.
Shots after one were 12-9 favouring Lethbridge, but the score was dead-locked at 1-1.
Early in the second period the two teams combined for three goals in a span of a minute and 59 seconds.
Tyler Benson gave Vancouver a brief 2-1 lead when he finished off a two-on-one rush with James Malm at 4:30.
A minute and 20 seconds later the Hurricanes tied it when Giorgio Estephan raced down the right wing and placed a perfect shot over the right shoulder of Tendeck. But 39 seconds later the Giants took their lead right back.
Again, it was Benson. This time with Ronning and Darian Skeoch factoring into the play.
Benson finished off a backhand deke in close after a slick feed from Ronning for his second of the night and 17th of the season.
Lethbridge pushed back with some good looks offensively, but Tendeck made some timely saves and got a ton of help from his defencemen who fearlessly blocked shots in front of him. Shots were 10-7 in the second for Lethbridge but they trailed 3-2 after 40 minutes.
Early in the third period, the Giants gained some insurance when Ronning buried a Matt Barberis rebound past a diving Skinner on a power play. The Giants power play finished the game one-for-four while the penalty-kill went a perfect three-for-three.
Jared Dmytriw cemented the Giants victory with his 11th goal into an empty net at 17:31 which made the final score 5-2.
The final shots after 60 minutes were 35-26 favoring Lethbridge who lost for just the seventh time at home all season. The Giants improved their road record to 10-7-2-2 and their overall record to 22-14-3-2. With the victory the Giants remain one point ahead of the Victoria Royals for second in the B.C. Division but are now within two points of the conference leading Kelowna Rockets for first place.
Saturday, the Giants will look to extend their winning streak even further when they battle the Medicine Hat Tigers at the Canalta Centre.
• Stay tuned for the results of that game