The Vancouver Giants have moved into a second-place tie with the Victoria Royals in the B.C. Division of the Western Hockey League with the Giants holding two games in hand.
The Giants (31-21-5) defeated the Royals 3-0 on Friday night at the Langley Events Centre. Victoria, which has lost its last three games to Vancouver, is 30-22-7.
Trevor Longo’s first-period goal stood through two periods. Defenceman Bowen Byram, a first-round NHL draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche, put it away late in the third period on a solo effort to extend his points streak to 12 games and 23 points. Veteran Milos Roman salted it away with an empty-net goal.
Adam Evanoff made 32 saves in goal to keep Victoria in the game. Trent Miner made 18 saves for the Vancouver shutout.
The Royals, already down six players due to injury, lost forward Carson Miller to a major penalty and game misconduct in the second period.
The Giants had an 11-game winning streak snapped in their previous outing before bouncing back at home Friday.
Both the Royals and Giants have clinched playoff berths and are likely heading into a first-round post-season match-up.
Victoria and Vancouver meet again tonight and Sunday afternoon at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
