Claude Noel’s Vancouver Giants are back into a playoff position. (Province Files.)
They’re a funny team, these Vancouver Giants.
We’re talking yesterday morning about how they’re struggling on the road. This morning, we get to talk about how they won in one of the rinks they traditionally have trouble, the home of the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash.
Vancouver bounced Tri-City 6-2 Saturday night, marking their first regulation time win their since a 3-1 triumph on Dec. 13, 2008. Their previous last regular season victory there of any sort was a 5-4 shoot-out win on Valentine’s Day, 2012.
All told, over the last five years, the Americans are 7-1-0-1 at home against the Giants.
Vancouver’s back in a playoff spot this morning, holding down third spot in the B.C. Division. The Giants (24-30-1-2) are one point up on both the Prince George Cougars (23-32-2-2) and the Kamloops Blazers (22-30-3-3), with two games in hand on P.G. and one on Kamloops. Vancouver has 15 regular season games remaining.
The Cougars, who were scuffling, picked up points in a third straight game Saturday with a 3-2 overtime over the host Red Deer Rebels. The Blazers, meanwhile, fell 5-2 at home to the Kamloops Blazers.
Against Tri-City, Vancouver got goals from six different players highlighted by Zane Jones with his 27th of the campaign.
Alec Baer, with his 12th, and Carter Popoff, with his 23rd, staked Vancouver to a 2-0 lead. Jackson Houck, with his 18th, and Clayton Kirichenko, with his fourth, made it 4-1. Gage
Ramsay, with his second, and Jones nixed any thoughts of a Tri-City comeback after the Americans made it 4-2 with a goal on Payton Lee on the first shift of the third period.
Healthy scratches for Vancouver included veteran defenceman Arvin Atwal and forward Ty Ronning.
Vancouver returns to action Wednesday, with a special noon start at the Pacific Coliseum against the Moose Jaw Warriors (22-30-3-1). Kamloops is at the Kelowna Rockets (44-9-3-1) that night, while Prince George wraps up their four-game Alberta road swing a with a day game tomorrow versus the Edmonton Oil Kings (25-26-4-2).
