The Northwest Giants scrapped their way back into first place with a comeback win and a tie against the Okanagan Rockets in B.C. major midget hockey.
The Giants drew 4-4 with the league-leading Rockets at the Burnaby Winter Club on Saturday.
The Burnaby-based midget club eked out a 4-3 win on Sunday morning, scoring two late third-period goals in the second game of the weekend series.
“It was a confidence booster. We proved we could score,” said Giants head coach Clint Thornton.
In the first meeting between the two top major midget clubs in Kelowna, the Giants managed just two goals all weekend.
This weekend at home the Giants got big efforts from their leaders to position themselves well for the final stretch run to the regular season.
In the opening game, the Giants trailed 2-1 after two periods and 4-2 late into the game, before Quinn Thompson tied the game with just over a minute left on the clock.
Overall scoring leader Colton Kerfoot pulled the team to within a single goal with his second marker of the game from linemate Justin Szeto and defenceman Dante Fabbro in the final two minutes.
Szeto assisted on all four Giants’ goals. Fabbro tallied his 16th of the year, and first of three points, midway through the middle period.
On Sunday, Fabbro opened the scoring wth his first of two goals from the point.
But the Rockets tied the game 2-2 in the second period and then went ahead early in the third.
Fabbro knotted the score 3-3 at the 13-minute mark of the third period.
Keegan Jones tallied the game-winning less than two minutes later with his ninth marker of the season.
Burnaby’s Tavin Grant, who also got the start on Saturday, was a difference maker in goal, stopping 46 shots to give his team in the game.
Grant improved his win/loss record to 11-2-2, while still holding on to a league-best 2.30 goals against average.
“He will be our go-to guy (in the playoffs),” Thornton said.
The three points tied the Giants with the Rockets atop the 11-team league, both with indentical 27-5-2 records.
The Kelowna club currently holds the advantage over the Giants because of its two earlier wins in league play.
“We need them to drop a point somewhere,” added Thornton.
With six games remaining against three clubs, the Giants would appear to have the easier schedule of the two.
This weekend, the Giants are in Nelson to take on the last-place Kootenay Ice.
The following week, the Giants host the 10th-place Thompson Blazers at the Hollyburn Country Club in a two-game set.
The Giants then finish up their regular season schedule in Prince George in what Thornton described as a “good test going into the playoffs.”
Okanagan will finish up against top-six clubs Cariboo, Greater Vancouver and the Northeast Chiefs.
Kerfoot continues to lead all scorers with 29 goals and 68 points. Szeto is back in fourth spot overall with 60 points.
Fabbro, the only D-man in the league’s top 20, moved into seventh with a five-point weekend.
