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Giants back on home ice in Langley Saturday to take on Rockets

After a loss in Kamloops Friday, the Langley-based hockey team is hoping to redeem itself Saturday.
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For the first time in six games, the Vancouver Giants dropped a game in regulation.

Friday night in Kamloops, the Blazers scored five times on the power play en route to a 6-2 victory over the G-Men.

Quinn Benjafield and Garrett Pilon each had three-point games for Kamloops while goaltender Dylan Ferguson, fresh off a stint in the NHL with Las Vegas made 23 saves and was named the game’s first star.

Ty Ronning had both goals in response for the Giants extending his goal-scoring streak to nine straight games.

BOX SCORE

Kamloops wasted little time getting the offense started as Brodi Stuart banged home a Garrett Pilon rebound past Giants goaltender Todd Scott 1:25 into the game on a power play to put the Blazers up 1-0.

Ronning answered with a power play marker of his own at 6:05 of the first period. Ronning snuck into the slot and one-timed home a spin-around pass from Milos Roman for his first of two on the night.

Luc Smith regained the lead for Kamloops at 14:02 (also on a power play) when he converted off a Joe Gatenby rebound from in close for his fourth of the season. Kamloops took the 2-1 lead into the first intermission with a 14-7 edge in shots.

Dylan Ferguson’s best save of the game for Kamloops came early in the second when he slid to his right and denied Ronning’s one-timer from just inside the left circle.

That save would prove valuable as the Blazers maintained their one-goal lead through the first 12 minutes of the second period before their offence came alive again.

Kamloops struck three times in a span of a minute and 52 seconds in the later stages of the second starting with Jermaine Loewen tipping home an Ondrej Vala point shot on the power play. That goal was Loewen’s team leading 10th of the season.

Moments later Quinn Benjafield and Ondrej Vala would each score 21 seconds apart to push the Blazers lead to 5-1. Benjafield’s goal came on the fourth Blazers power play of the night while Vala scored off a three-on-one rush.

Shots were 10-9 in the middle period for Vancouver but they went into the final frame down 5-1.

Ronning did his best to kick-start a Giants comeback at 5:33 when he finished off an individual effort down the right wing with a backhand goal over the right shoulder of Dylan Ferguson.

Just over four minutes later though the Blazers ended all hopes of a comeback when Joe Gatenby buried his seventh of the season on the man advantage.

The Kamloops power play finished five-for-seven on the night.

From there the Blazers cruised to what ended up being a 6-2 victory.

The final shots were 32-25 for Kamloops who improved their record to 8-13-0-0 while the Giants’ three game winning streak came to an end.

Their record now sits at an even 9-9-2-2.

The Giants loss coupled with a Prince George win at home against Edmonton means that the Giants hold a two-point lead on the Cougars for third in the B.C. Division.

Up next: The Kelowna Rockets Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre. Puck drop: 7 p.m.

NOTES:

• Over the course of his nine-game goal scoring streak, Ty Ronning has scored 12 goals while adding five assists for 17 points.

• Friday’s loss in Kamloops marks the first time since Sept. 23 that the Giants have lost a game by more than one goal.

• Rookie Milos Roman has recorded points in each of his past five games. In that span he’s scored once while adding seven assists.

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