Giants grind out Glasgow win in 2025 crescendo

First Period

The opening few minutes of the first were slow to get going after the quick turnaround from the previous evening’s game. Carsen Twarynski slid wide after some good build-up before Ciaran Long’s pass found Scott Conway at the back post but he couldn’t get a shot away.

It took until the midway point of the period for the hosts to have a chance of note but, when it came, it took a brave block from Garrett McFadden to deny Rylan Schwartz before Deven Sideroff couldn’t quite connect with Tristin Langan at the back post.

Last night, it was Ryan Smith who opened the scoring and we had a repeat of that today in Glasgow as the Virginia-born forward netted again with a hard snipe that rifled into the roof of the net to give the visitors the lead. (0-1)

After the previous night’s game had passed without a single penalty for either side, the Giants did get one called on them as McFadden was sat down for a delay of game penalty but it was killed with minimal fuss. It took a pair of blocks from Clan defencemen to deny the away side a second as the seconds ticked down towards the buzzer with Karl Boudrias and Mike Lee denied.

Second Period

Corey Neilson’s side came out of the traps quickly after the restart and had some good chances. Robert Lachowicz whiffed on a puck at the back post before Jackson Whistle had to make a pair of good quick-fire saves to first deny Hugo Roy and then Miikhali Teppo.

David Goodwin was then presented with a chance after seizing on a loose puck but was well denied by Sami Aittokallio in the home goal. Whistle then did the same to Steven Seigo before the men in teal started to gain a foothold.

Jordan Kawaguchi and Ben Lake both had shots saved before the Clan killed a penalty of their own with only Ciaran Long having any noteworthy chances on the powerplay. However, with just over a minute remaining, McFadden teed up his defensive partner Reid Irwin whose shot had eyes and found its way past Aittokallio and into the net (0-2)

Third Period

Conway had an early chance in the third to extend the lead but was repelled as were Sideroff and Seigo thanks to a wonderful double save from Whistle. The hosts had two powerplays in quick succession with one beginning just as the other ended but the visitors allowed precious little in terms of threat in front of the net in these four minutes.

McFadden and Twarynski had chances at the other end while Aittokallio did well to save from JJ Piccinich who was teed up after good work from Goodwin and Conway. After this, Smith had a great chance for his second and his team’s third to seal the victory but he put his rebound wide with the goal at his mercy and Glasgow capitalised at the other end.

Schwartz was among the scorers in Belfast the night before and, after a net-front battle, he forced the puck home to set up a grandstand finish (1-2). Neilson dropped his goalie with just under three minutes remaining as the home crowd tried to force home and equaliser. They almost did with chances for Seigo and Brady Risk but they could not breach Whistle in the visiting goal. Piccinich even hit the post of the empty net but, ultimately, Adam Keefe’s men did enough to secure maximum points from this doubleheader.

Up Next

The Giants are on the road for the next three games in Manchester, Coventry and Dundee before returning to home ice for the first time in 2026 on 10^th January. The Nottingham Panthers will be in town that day and tickets can still be purchased here.