Peregrym’s 50 Saves Help U18 Canadians Gain Split vs. Giants

Alan Peregrym made 50 saves on Sunday, including all 21 he faced in the third period, as the U18 AAA Greater Vancouver Canadians stunned the first-place Valley West Giants 3-1 on Sunday at the Richmond Olympic Oval. 

The victory gave the Canadians a split in their home-and-home series, as the Giants had won 2-1 on Saturday at the Langley Events Centre. 

The Canadians are in seventh place, with a 10-15-3-2 mark through 30 games. The Giants, at 20-8-0-1, dropped to a first-place tie with Cariboo. 

On Saturday, Helius Guan gave GVC a 1-0 lead with 6:16 left in the first period, but the Giants scored twice in a two-minute span in the third for the comeback victory. Liam Leslie stopped 20 shots for the Canadians. 

On Sunday, Erik Hoemberg and John Bethell scored first-period goals and Luca Martyniuk added a third-period insurance marker, as GVC ended a four-game losing streak. The big story of the game was Peregrym, who stopped 50 of 51 shots and allowed only a Giants power-play goal with 3:40 left in the second. He improved to 8-6-3-2 with a 2.99 goals-against average on the season. 

Sunday’s goal gave Martyniuk a team-best 16 on the season, with Sorash Ramlal second at 11 goals. Kaden Meyer, tied for third with nine goals, leads the club with 32 assists and 41 points. 

Next up, the U18 Canadians will take on the Vancouver NE Chiefs on Friday, Jan. 31, at the Richmond Oval at 6:15 p.m.