Vancouver Giants scored first, but the Tri-City Americans scored three times before the first period was over, and cruised to a 5-2 victory in Kennewick Sunday afternoon, March 19.
Giants Skyler Bruce opened the scoring on the powerplay with a rebound goal 4:00 into the game to put Vancouver ahead 1-0. Ty Thorpe and Samuel Honzek had the assist .
![Giants Ty Halaburda played against the Tri-City Americans Sunday afternoon, March 19. Tri-City scored three times before the first period was over, and cruised to a 5-2 victory in Kennewick WA. (John Keller/Special to Langley Advance Times)](https://www.bpmcdn.com/f/files/mapleridge/import/2023-03/32181010_web1_230320-LAT-DF-Giants2Americans5-JPK_3938-F-Ty-Halaburda_1.jpg)
Tri-City’s Jake Sloan responded 2:51 later, capitalizing on a turnover in the defensive zone.
Exactly 1:01 later, Ethan Ernst got in on the action with a deflection goal to make it 2-1 Tri City.
Then, Adam Mechura scooped up a loose puck and deked out Giants goaltender Jesper Vikman to make it 3-1 with 8:11 left in the opening frame.
In the second period, Sloan netted his second of the game 1:59 into the middle frame with a shortside shot beside the net.
Mechura also got on the board for a second time with a deflection 8:48 into the period.
![Vancouver Giants defenceman Colton Alain in action against the Tri-City Americans Sunday afternoon, March 19. . Tri-City scored three times before the first period was over, and went on to win 5-2 in Kennewick. (John Keller/Special to Langley Advance Times)](https://www.bpmcdn.com/f/files/mapleridge/import/2023-03/32181010_web1_230320-LAT-DF-Giants2Americans5-JPK_3799-D-2-Colton-Alain_1.jpg)
Giants Ty Thorpe netted his 37th of the campaign to get within three with 7:21 left in the second. Skyler Bruce, and Brenden Pentecost, assisted.
After a scoreless third period, final score was Vancouver 2 – Tri City 5.
Giants Associate Coach Adam Maglio gave credit to Tri-City, saying “I thought they played solid.”
“They’re a big team, they’re hard to get off the puck, they use their size well, they try to play a possession game,” Maglio told Sportsnet650 following the game.
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Next up, a Tuesday, March 21, road game against the Portland Winterhawks, 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, OR.
Giants return home Friday, Mar 24, to play against Kelowna Rockets at 7:30 p.m. pm at Langley Events Centre.
Have a story tip? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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