It wasn't supposed to be like this. Heading into this weekend's two matchups with B.C. division rivals the 4-0-0-1 Vancouver Giants were in position to come out of the weekend with four points. But rather than capitalize on a revenge matchup with the Chilliwack Bruins and what should have been an easier game against the Kelowna Rockets the Giants came out of the weekend with only 1 point, thanks to a 5-4 overtime loss on Friday night.

Despite outshooting the Bruins 36 - 15 the Giants were never able to take a single lead against the Bruins. In fact the G-Men trailed 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-2 before mounting a third period comeback to get the game to overtime. However Bruins sniper Mark Santorelli scored on his teams first shot of the extra fram giving the Bruins their second non-regulation win against Vancouver.

Scoring for Vancouver were Spencer Machacek, Michael Repik and Mike Reich with a pair. Craig Cunningham and Garet Hunt each chipped in with two assists. The Giants powerplay suffered a major power outage going 1-for-8 on Friday night. With the poor performance Friday it was expected the boys would come out firing on all cylinders on Thanksgiving Monday. Again, it wasn't supposed to be like this.

The game opened with a tilt between Mike Berube and Cody Almond with both players landing shots in a drawn out fight. The Giants opened the scoring on the powerplay as Repik was left all alone in front to bury a Jonathon Blum point shot past Kelowna goalie Kristofer Westblom.

The lead was short-lived though as Jamie Benn scored his first Western Hockey League to on Kelowna-native Kraymer Barnstable, making his first start in the WHL. Five minutes later Rockets d-man Tyson Barrie scored a powerplay and the Giants were again playing catch-up. The Rockets would go up by two goals at 7:56 of the second period on a shorthanded goal by Brandon McMillan.

Before the second period ended rookie Mike Piluso scored his first WHL goal to cut the lead to 3-2. But at 12:54 of the second period Rockets captain James McEwan restored the two goal lead and as time wound down the Giants were on the bad end of a 4-2 loss - their first loss in regulation this season.

Things don't get any easier for the Giants as the Calgary Hitmen and Tri-City Americans make their way to the Coliseum this weekend before the boys board the bus for the third game in the Global Cup against the Bruins.

Any hope of the Vancouver Giants putting up a perfect season are now dead after the Chilliwack Bruins defeated the Vancouver Giants 3-2 in a shootout Sunday night in Chilliwack.

All kidding aside the 4-0 Giants struggled in Chilliwack and put forth their worst effort of the season. Despite having five first period powerplays the Giants were unable to get on the scoreboard until Chris Cloud scored his second goal of the season at 18:02 to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. The G-men outshot the Bruins 13-5 through the first 20 minutes of play.

The second period saw the Bruins turn the tables on the Giants when Cody Kulhanek scored only 2:11 into play to tie the game. The usual road game that the Giants usually play all but disappeared and the Bruins got through the second period with the tie intact, having outshot the Giants 9-7.

The third period started with much of the same as the Giants were unable to put together any momentum and struggled to find their game as the Bruins again outshot the Giants in the period 9-8. Spencer Machacek gave the Giants a late 2-1 lead scoring short-handed with less than four minutes to play. But a little over a minute later Kulhanek struck again and the Bruins found themselves in a 2-2 with the Memorial Cup champs.

Things were looking up for the Giants as they again went to the powerplay at 17:27 and 19:30 but were unable to convert on either opportunity. The two teams made it through an uneventful overtime frame before heading to the shootout.

In the shootout Repik, Cloud and Machacek all failed to score during the first round of shots while Sexsmith kept the Giants in it with saves against Jadon Potter, Oscar Moller and Nick Holden. The first sudden death shooter for Vancouver, Brent Regner, was also stopped by Matt Esposito before Mark Santorelli put his shot off the post and in to give the Bruins the win.

GiantsBeat.com Player of the Game: Cody Kulhanek. The winger scored two gritty goals including the tying to goal and provided enough grit to make every shift count. If some of the Giants forwards had matched Kulhanek's effort tonight the game would not have been in question at all.

A crowd of 12,000 came to watch the Vancouver Giants raise their 2007 Memorial Cup Championship banner and instead got treated to a strong dose of championship hockey from the Giants.

Spencer Machacek, Craig Cunningham and Lance Bouma all scored singles while 16-year old rookie Evander Kane scored twice to pace the Vancouver Giants to a 5-0 drubbing of the Rockets. While Machacek opened the scoring with a short-handed marker the most impressive goal was Cunningham's. After going all of last season without a goal Cunningham took a Michal Repik pass at the face off circle and one-timed a shot past Rockets goalie Kristofer Westblom. The 17-year old sophomore nearly jumped out of his own skates in celebration.

The G-Men held a clinic on how to play Giants hockey in the first period as they outshot the Rockets 16-0. Not a typo. The Rockets were unable to get a single shot on Tyson Sexsmith in the opening period. The final shots were 48 - 9 for Vancouver and while Sexsmith will be credited with a shutout, he deserves full marks for staying awake through a rather uneventful game for him.

As had been the common theme in the Giants first three games of the season Repik was again a dominating force. He finished the night with three assists and was thwarted on a third period penalty shot.

The game marked the debut of the two newest Giants; Mike Reich and Craig Schira. Schira, wearing #5, was solid at both ends of the rink and nearly scored in his first game. Reich, who had 17 fighting majors last season, got into a third period fight with Lyon Messier and provided the Giants with a strong, physical presence all night.

GiantsBeat.com Player of the Game: Michal Repik. We're going to have to consider eliminating Repik from consideration for this award. The Florida Panthers draft pick has elevated his game this season and may just be the best player in the WHL. Through 4 games Repik has 2 goals and 8 assists and is a +6. Saturday night he was a dominating player offensively but his most impressive shift may have been 45 seconds of penalty kill in the second period.

The Vancouver Giants have traded overage forward Tim Kraus and import defenceman Juraj Valach to the Regina Pats for 19-year old defenceman Craig Schira and 19-year old center Mike Reich.

Schira, 6'0 and 196 lbs and Reich, 5'10 and 192 lbs, should both be in the lineup this Saturday for the Giants home opener. Kraus apparently requested a trade during training camp after rejecting a move to Regina in the summer. Assistant GM Craig Bonner's recent trip out east was obviously to scout the Pats players. Valach, acquired from Tri-City in the summer, was a constant resident in Don Hay's doghouse and his lack of physical play combined with his defensive lapses made him an easy trade.

The trade puts the Giants one player under the WHL maximum for both 20-year old players and import players. Scott Bonner indicated in an interview withe the Team 1040 that the team could get back one of their 20-year olds currently in camp with AHL clubs. That group includes Brendan Mikkelson (Portland Pirates), Cody Franson (Milwaukee Admirals), Mario Bliznak (Manitoba Moose) and Kenndal McArdle (Rochester Americans).

There are a few teams in the WHL who will be forced to trade or release overager players as the October 11th deadline approaches.