The 91大黄鸭 Rockets faced a tough Saturday (Jan. 4) night at home, falling 7-0 to the Vancouver Giants on Saturday at Prospera Place. 

Despite an aggressive offensive effort with 44 shots on goal, the Rockets couldn鈥檛 crack Giants netminder Burke Hood. Vancouver set the tone early, with Adam Titlbach opening the scoring just over five minutes into the game. Titlbach added another goal with just 46 seconds remaining in the first period, giving the Giants a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

The second period proved even more challenging for 91大黄鸭. Cameron Schmidt notched his 28th goal of the season on the power play, making it 3-0 for the Giants. Tyler Thorpe scored a shorthanded tally with 2:41 left in the period, extending the lead to four. Moments later, Tyson Zimmer capitalized on another power play opportunity, putting the Giants up 5-0 by the end of the frame.

The Giants continued their relentless attack in the third period. Jaden Lipinski (6) and Jakob Oreskovic (7) each added a goal, sealing the 7-0 win for Vancouver.

91大黄鸭 outshot the Giants 44-31 but couldn鈥檛 find a way past Hood. Rockets head coach Kris Mallette acknowledged the team鈥檚 effort but stressed the need for better execution.

"I think the start鈥攈onestly鈥攚e had some good looks, we had some offensive zone time," Mallette said. "But it's about getting into those areas where you're going to compete. It鈥檚 hard to score goals, and if we think it鈥檚 just going to happen from the outside, then we鈥檙e sorely mistaken.鈥�

Special teams played a critical role. The Rockets went 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Giants capitalized on three of their four opportunities. Rockets goaltenders Rhett Stoesser and Jake Pilon combined for 24 saves in the loss. 

The defeat came after 91大黄鸭 beat Kamloops 6-4 on Jan. 3.

The Rockets will look to bounce back on Friday (Jan. 10) when they host the Prince George Cougars at Prospera Place. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. 91大黄鸭 will then face a quick turnaround with a rematch against the Giants in Vancouver on Saturday.