With the season set to start in just twenty days, the Vancouver Giants took to the Delta ice for the second of six preseason friendlies. After dropping their first match in Kamloops by shootout, the Giants rebounded with an emphatic 6-1 victory over the visitors from Kelowna.
Tyler Benson opened the scoring for Vancouver midway through the first period, as he batted the puck out of the air, while Kelowna goalkeeper Christopher Tai could do nothing but watch hopelessly. And while that was the last point he would have in the match, Benson was a constant threat throughout.
Tomas Soustal, a recent import from the Czech Republic, tied the game in the second period. It was his first outing for the Rockets and would prove to be Kelowna's only goal. And while the game had remained tight for just over two periods, the Giants were able to unlock the Kelowna defence a few minutes into the third.
First, Jesse Roach hammered the puck past the post from between the circles, then Thomas Foster shovelled the puck from a goal line scramble, Dmitry Osipov fired a powerful shot from the right point, Foster added a second tally, and finally, Vladimir Bobylev capped off the night with just over five minutes to go.
Kelowna will have the chance to get their revenge this Saturday in Delta at 7:00 PM, while Vancouver will try to reverse their preseason opener the next day at 5:00 PM when they play host to the Kamloops Blazers.
