With Tri-City entering the night on a two-game slide and Vancouver debuting a handful of new faces after a busy trade deadline—headlined by the addition of Mathis Preston—it had all the makings of an entertaining matchup. It delivered. The Americans mounted a resilient third-period push, sparked by Charlie Elick, to erase a 3–1 deficit and force overtime before falling 4–3.
First Period
The Giants struck early. Walking the blue line, Ryan Lin snapped home his 10th of the year just 2:30 into the game, threading a seeing eye shot through traffic and over the glove of Ryan Grout.
A tough sequence minutes later put Tri-City shorthanded when Charlie Elick was called for dragging down his man. Vancouver capitalized immediately—again through Lin. His backhand attempt from a sharp angle hit Grout’s pad and slowly trickled in, giving him two goals on the Giants’ first three shots and putting Tri-City in a quick 2–0 hole.
Vancouver nearly made it 3–0 when Misha Volotovskii walked into the slot off the rush and rang a shot off the post after a Tri-City defender laid out early to block a potential backdoor feed.
Tri-City earned a late-period power play, looking to break out of a rough 0-for-14 skid over their last seven games, but the struggles continued. After one, Vancouver led 2–0 and Tri-City once again found themselves needing a spark.
Second Period
Tri-City got their second man advantage just shy of the midway point—and finally broke through. Savin Virk buried his 19th of the season after Cruz Pavao shot wide and Vancouver goaltender Burke Hood lost track of the puck. Virk picked it up from a sharp angle and tucked it in to make it 2–1.
But Vancouver immediately answered. Just under a minute later, Lance McCloskey fired from the right circle, sneaking a shot through Grout for his first WHL goal, restoring the two-goal lead.
Tri-City nearly cut back into it again after a turnover left them with nearly a two-on-zero, but Connor Dale’s backdoor pass attempt to Mason Mykichuk was broken up. Through 40 minutes, Vancouver held a 3–1 advantage, and Tri-City’s energy remained flat.
Third Period
The entire tone of the game shifted in the opening minutes when Charlie Elick delivered a massive hit on Adam Titlbach, arguably Tri-City’s hit of the year. Vancouver’s Brett Olson immediately forced a fight, and the two traded punches before being separated.
Elick’s night ended early, assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct. After two minutes of four-on-four and a looming three-minute kill, Tri-City needed a spark—and got one.
During the four-on-four, Jakub Vanecek cut the deficit to 3–2, finishing a feed from Dylan LeBret as he drove down the middle and beat Hood cleanly.
Vancouver then unraveled, taking consecutive penalties—one for closing the hand on the puck, Ryan Lin, and another for tripping, Jakob Oreksovic. Tri-City earned a rare 4-on-3 power play, and momentum finally shifted in their favor.
The comeback was completed moments later. Aden Bouchard fired from the point, and Carter Kingerski tipped it home for his second career WHL goal. Bouchard earned his first career assist and second career point, tying the game 3–3 and electrifying the Americans’ bench.
Despite a disastrous start to the period and the loss of their top defenseman, Tri-City forced overtime.
Overtime
OT lasted just 26 seconds. Former Spokane Chief Mathis Preston—a familiar thorn for Tri-City—ended it on a quick strike, sealing Vancouver’s 4–3 victory.
Postgame / What’s Next
Though the losing streak reaches three, Tri-City must feel encouraged after clawing back from 3–1 and earning a point under such difficult circumstances. The Americans are now in a three-way tie for fourth in the Western Conference and are now 2-0-1 in the season series against Vancouver.
Carter Kingerski continues to heat up, scoring his second goal in four games, while Aden Bouchard picks up his first point since November 25 in Wenatchee.
Tri-City’s power play finally broke through (1/4), while Vancouver went 0/2. The Americans outshot the Giants 33–31, though Vancouver dominated the faceoff circle 45–23.
The Americans return home for one game Saturday night at 6 PM as they host the Moose Jaw Warriors, looking to get back in the win column.
