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Missed it by that much

The Vancouver Giants came within a hair of beating the Portland Winterhawks for the first time since February 2012, but settled for a single point in a 5–4 shootout loss on Sunday night. It was a hollow victory for the Giants, who led 4–3 late in the third period but gave up a shorthanded goal to take the game into extra time.

Taylor Leier nearly won the game in regulation for the Winterhawks when he hit the crossbar with under a minute left in the third period. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Taylor Leier nearly won the game for the Portland Winterhawks with under a minute left in regulation when he chipped a bouncing puck off the crossbar behind Payton Lee. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Vancouver held the edge in the first period, punishing a tired Winterhawks team playing their third game in three nights. After 20 minutes, the G-Men led 3–2 and looked in pretty good shape.

As the night wore on, however, Portland’s snipers seemed to gain their legs. Leading scorer Nicolas Petan started cutting in and out of traffic, giving nifty short passes to linemates and trailing defenders alike. The also dangerous Oliver Bjorkstrand dominated on the boards, making Vancouver goaltender look over his shoulder several times in the third period. And in the final ten minutes, Portland generated a seemingly endless string of breakaways and odd-man rushes.

 More, including pics and highlights, after the jump.

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Giants sock it to the Hitmen

The Vancouver Giants came out swinging in the first period, then held on for a gritty 4-3 overtime win over Calgary Wednesday night. In the first period, Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger didn’t look much like the young man who stopped 38 of 39 shots to gift his team a 2-1 win over Kelowna on Tuesday night. He was beaten three times in the first period, including once on a spectacular dangle by rookie Alec Baer.

Forward Alec Baer scored a beauty midway through the first period en route to a 4-3 win for the Vancouver Giants on Wednesday. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head
Forward Alec Baer scored a beauty midway through the first period en route to a 4-3 win for the Vancouver Giants on Wednesday. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

He wouldn’t allow another puck past him until 2:04 of overtime, however, when Tim Traber swept home a rebound to seal just the third win of the season for the Giants.

More after the jump.

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