Miner plays major role as Vancouver takes series opener on road
VICTORIA Inputting some dates into a website tells us that the Vancouver Giants played their first playoff game in 1,458 days here on Friday.
Inputting some more dates reveals they have their first Western Hockey League playoff win in 2,190 days.
The Giants, who had missed three consecutive post-seasons going into this year, tripped the Victoria Royals 2-1 at the Save- OnFoods Memorial Centre before a crowd of 4,728 to launch their best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final.
It was the Giants’ first playoff game since the Portland Winterhawks completed a four-game, first-round sweep of Vancouver in a March 26, 2014 contest with a 6-1 win.
It was Vancouver’s first win in a playoff game since March 24, 2012, when they tipped the Spokane Chiefs 7-3 to take a 2-0 lead in their opening-round set. Vancouver ended up losing that series in six games.
The Royals were the secondplace team in the B.C. Division this year, while the third-place Giants were three points back.
Rookie Trent Miner, getting the start in goal for Vancouver with No. 1 starter David Tendeck (upper-body injury) still on the shelf, made 40 saves in the win. Making just his 10th WHL appearance, the 17-year-old Brandon minorhockey product was superb, highlighted by getting across the crease to thwart Victoria sniper Matthew Phillips on a short-handed chance at 3:21 of the third period with Vancouver holding that 2-1 lead.
Milos Roman and Matt Barberis had the goals for Vancouver. Griffen Outhouse turned in a strong outing in the Victoria net, making 31 saves.
Game 2 is here tonight. Game 3 is Tuesday at the Langley Events Centre. Here’s what we learned in Game 1:
WOUNDED WORRIES
Tendeck, who made the Western Conference second all-star team, missed Vancouver’s final three regular-season games and was limited in practice this week. No word on when he might be back.
Victoria was missing No. 1 centre Tyler Soy (undisclosed injury), who didn’t finish the Royals’ regular-season finale, an 8-1 loss to the Everett Silvertips last Saturday. Soy, an over-age, finished with 92 points, including 36 goals, in 66 regular-season games. That included eight points in eight games against the Giants.
Victoria was also missing veteran defencemen Ralph Jarratt (lower-body injury) and Scott Walford (upper-body injury). The return of those Royals to action remains up in the air, too. Go ahead and debate which team has a more dire injury situation right now.
SOURDIF GETS THE CALL
Under-age call-up forward Justin Sourdif, who was the third overall pick in last May ’s bantam draft, was inserted in the Giants’ starting lineup, and looked at home playing fourth-line minutes with Tyler Popowich and Cyle McNabb.
That certainly says something about coach Jason McKee’s trust level with Sourdif, and would seem to bode well for Vancouver next year, when they’ll be without forwards like Ty Ronning and Tyler Benson.