Posted on Sunday, October 30th, 2011 at 11:33 am
In what was a battle between the top two teams in the league on Saturday Night, it was the Giants who came out on top with a 3-2 win over the Panthers. A Mark Garside goal at 7:01 of the opening period silenced the near capacity crowd with Darryl Lloyd and Adam Keefe picking up assists on the play. Just over 10 minutes later Garside fed Craig Peacock who scored shorthanded against Craig Kowalski in net for the Panthers to make it 2-0 after 20 minutes of play.
The Panthers finally got on the board at the 10 minute mark of the second period courtesy of Guy Lepine but exactly 1 minute later, newcomer Aaron Clarke scored his first goal as a Giant to make it 3-1 with Jon Pelle and Jeff Mason drawing assists on the powerplay strike.
The Panthers came out flying in the third period, scoring on the opening faceoff when Jordan Fox got loose only 8 seconds into the final period of play. With the scoreline 3-2, the Giants defence stood tall and kept the high flying Panthers’ forwards at bay, with help from Stephen Murphy who was outstanding in goal for the Giants, stopping 33 of the 35 shots he faced.
Despite a tense final five minutes, it was the Giants who hung on for the 3-2 win to pick up 2 valuable points and extend their lead at the top of the table to 3 points over the Panthers. Special teams were the difference with the Giants powerplay going 1 for 7 while the Panthers powerplay went 0 for 5 attempts and gave up a shorthanded goal. Mark Garside picked up the man of the match for the Giants with a goal and an assist.
© 2008 Belfast Giants Limited, unless otherwise stated. Imagery © Michael Cooper Photography.
