Vancouver Giants’ playoff future hinges on this afternoon’s game – it will either eliminate them from contention, or it will keep them on the ice at least one more day.
The Langley-based G-Men are currently down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series that sees them competing against the Everett Silvertips, and the puck drops at 4 p.m. today (Sunday, April 7) on what could be the deciding game.
Today’s Game 5 comes after what Giants’ head coach Manny Viveiros described as a disappointing 4-1 loss at home Friday night at Langley Events Centre, before a packed house of fans who turned out for the opening round series.
“When things got tough for us, we panicked, bailed, took some dumb penalties. It wasn’t our best evening as a group, that’s for sure,” Viveiros said.
“Sometimes when things for our group get really hard, sometimes unfortunately we fold in some situations and we did tonight, but Everett was good,” he added.
Everett fired 57 shots on goal, outshooting the Giants by more than double (25).
“They were good. They came in, they had a game plan, they stuck to it. When things got tough, they stuck to the game plan,” the G-Men coach said of their competitors.
The Giants had two first period power plays, but couldn’t convert on either, and as the period wore on, the Silvertips began to get more and more comfortable, eventually drawing a power play and converting off the stick of defenceman Kaden Hammell.
It was Hammell’s second power play goal of the series, giving Everett a 1-0 lead in the final minute of the opening frame.
Everett fired 21 shots on goal in that first period and took the one-goal lead into the intermission.
Netminder Brett Mirwald continued to keep the Giants in the game in the second period, making his 30th save of the game before the halfway mark, and with 3:22 left in the period, the Giants got the equalizer while shorthanded.
Kyren Gronick made a strong defensive play, poking the puck past the defenceman at the left point and leading a 2-on-1 with Sam Honzek, who he fed a perfect pass to for the game-tying goal.
Unfortunately for Vancouver, Everett kept coming, and they re-gained the lead just 2:21 later. Jesse Heslop scored off the rush on a 2-on-1, finishing from the slot over the glove to make it 2-1 Silvertips after 40 minutes of play.
After 40 minutes, the Giants were within a goal but trailing in shots on goal 42-16.
Thirty-six seconds into the third period, Austin Roest extended Everett’s lead to 3-1 on a wrap-around and just under nine minutes later, Parker Berge scored on a power play to put the game out of reach at 4-1.
“We had some guys that came tonight that worked real hard [and] we had some other guys that have a bit of a history sometimes that when it gets hard, when push comes to shove, we get pushed out and that’s what happened tonight,” Viveiros said, reflection on Friday night’s play.
“But again, we’re at the stage of the season here where we’re going to have to put this behind us. We’re going to get ready for [the next game]. We’re going to get together again. We’re going to talk. We’re going to go through it again. For me, this isn’t about x’s and o’s. This is about competing for the Vancouver Giants. That’s the biggest thing for me,” he concluded.
Despite Everett winning the game, and two of its players being crowned stars of the game, there were some accolades given to one particular Giants’ player, too.
Once again, Mirwald was applauded for his efforts in the net, this time out stopping 53 of 57 shots on goal.
With his second 53-save performance of the series, Mirwald has now made 176 saves in just four playoff games on 189 shots. That’s an average of 44 saves per game and a .931 save percentage.
If the Giants can win today and the series goes to Game 6, that will be held Wednesday, April 9 at Langley Events Centre. That game will get underway at 7 p.m.
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