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SixPack: Gaunce has game of his life in Canucks win over Blackhawks

Bailey Meadows
Bailey Meadows
|
Feb 2 2018, 12:38 pm
SixPack: Gaunce has game of his life in Canucks win over Blackhawks

Do you believe in miracles?

If not, you should now.

Brendan Gaunce scored two goals on Thursday.

I repeat – Gaunce scored TWO goals… like, in the same game.

Yes, Gaunce had a pair of goals (both scored off of his own stick) and Bo Horvat and Daniel Sedin also scored in a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

It was a good game, and a great night to have a good game, with Thursday being the annual Canucks For Kids Telethon night.

Here’s what you need to know.

1. Gaunce’s totally normal goal

Brendan Gaunce is rewriting the scriptures.

Written deep in Canucks lore was the directive that Gaunce not score a normal goal.

For 108 NHL games, Gaunce was happy to oblige, scoring just three times, all in unusual fashion. But no longer.

Gaunced scored against the Hawks on Thursday – not off his ankle, not with a broken stick – but on a normal shot from his unbroken stick.

It was his first-ever goal scored at Rogers Arena, so the fans went wild.

Fans on Twitter went wild as well.

2. SixPack Superstar: Brendan Gaunce

GAUNCEMANIA BABY!!

Two goals in the same game for Gaunce, and both were scored on everyday hockey plays.

What a time to be alive.

He even had a shot at the hat-trick with the Chicago net empty in the final minute.

A career game for #50 makes him Thursday’s SixPack Superstar. I can’t help but wonder though, what’s @GaunceCantScore going to do now?

3. Keep your head up!

The rivalry between the Canucks and Hawks certainly isn’t as fierce as it used to be.

The Canucks however, seemed to open the game with a chip on their shoulder. It was a fast-paced start to the game, and the Canucks had nine hits after 20 minutes of play.

And it wasn’t just the usual contestants laying the boom.

4. Injury free? Think again

The Canucks began Thursday’s game against Chicago with a completely healthy lineup for the first time in months, but if you’ve been around this team long enough, you knew that wouldn’t last long.

The Canucks enjoyed about 10 minutes with a full roster before another player went down with an injury.

This time it was Sam Gagner catching the injury bug as he left with an upper body injury -sustained when he laid the hit above.

5. Markstrom shuts the door

The Hawks were pressing late to try and tie the game when it was still 3-2, but Jacob Markstrom was up to the task.

He stopped 26 of 28 shots on the night, including nine in the final period to secure the win.

6. #CFKFTelethon

As mentioned in the intro, Thursday was the annual Canucks for Kids Fund Telethon.

This is always a great night. The Canucks always seem to play well, and the impact the event has on generating money for charities is astronomical.

Over the past 30 years, the Canucks for Kids Fund has given $56 million to charities in B.C. $500,000 was raised last year alone.

And of course, the healthy scratches from the game always have some fun with it.

Also wanted to shoutout fellow Daily Hive sports writer Clay for this brilliant initiative.

Many others were pledging tonight, can’t post them all but here’s a few:

I wonder how much a Brendan Gaunce hat-trick would have been worth.

See also
Bailey MeadowsBailey Meadows
+ Offside
+ Hockey

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