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Mason Geertsen, watching a Payton Lee stop on Friday, didn’t play for the Giants on Saturday. (Vancouver Giants.)
The Vancouver Giants beat the Victoria Royals 2-1 on Saturday at Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena in Victoria on Day 2 of the WHL season, and did it with highly regarded defenceman Mason Geertsen missing from the line-up.
According to Giants general manager Scott Bonner, Geertsen, a Colorado Avalanche prospect, suffered an upper body injury in Friday’s home opener, a 4-2 loss to the Royals at the Pacific Coliseum.
Geertsen, 18, didn’t appear to miss any action Friday. He had his struggles on the night, finishing a minus-three.
Bonner says that Geertsen could miss at least a week. He says that the team will know more Monday, when Geertsen is re-assseseed by team medical staff. The Giants resume action Wednesday, hosting the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Vancouver got goals Saturday from Carter Popoff and Rob Trzonkowski. Victoria’s Joe Hicketts spoiled Payton Lee’s shutout bid when he tallied at 12:53 of the third period.
Lee made 30 saves. Patrik Polivka made 19 saves for Victoria.
Other scratches for Vancouver on Saturday included 16-year-old rookie winger Ty Ronning and sophomore defenceman Reid Zalitach. They both played Friday. Russian defenceman Dmitry Osipov, the first pick in the CHL Import Draft, made his season debut Saturday along with 16-year-old rookie centre Alec Baer and defenceman Shaun Dosanjh.
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