Devils Leave a Marc as Giants Fall in OT

Despite goals from Sean Norris, Greg Printz and Ben Lake, Adam Keefe’s men couldn’t find the extra goal to win the game and keep their hopes of stealing second place away from the Devils alive, and will now aim to carry some momentum into the end of season knockouts.

First period

Ciaran Long had the first chance of the game for the Giants as a deflected pass through the middle sent him in on Ben Bowns but the Devils netminder made the save, but the opening goal wouldn’t be long in coming and Norris delivered it as he tipped Josh Roach’s shot through the pads of Bowns at 4:46. (0-1)

Back came the Devils and Jamie Arniel hit the crossbar on the next shift before the Giants were unable to score on a tripping call against Brandon Alderson largely thanks to the heroics of Bowns to deny Mark Cooper twice, with Jackson Whistle doing the same at the other end as Printz took a high sticking penalty.

But the game would be tied at 16:34 as Cardiff got its powerplay goal, Evan Mosey tipping in Bode Wilde’s shot from the point after Lake was boxed for tripping (1-1) and then the Devils grabbed the lead at the first intermission when Whistle batted away a shot from Wilde but Riley Brandt was there for the rebound finish. (2-1)

Second period

Two late penalties in the first period on Cole Sanford (slashing) and Cody Donaghey (unsportsmanlike conduct) gave the Giants a long 5-on-3 powerplay but they couldn’t connect and, to make matters worse, Donaghey scored as soon as he burst out of the box, going in one-on-one with Whistle and just squeezing it past the netminder at 21:34. (3-1)

That prompted Keefe to call his timeout and it worked as Printz finished off a 4-on-2 breakaway from the right circle at 26:25 (3-2), although Whistle made a huge save on Sanford shortly before the goal to prevent Cardiff from extending their lead to three and then shut the door with some huge blocks on a Devils powerplay as Daniel Tedesco sat for tripping.

Oliver Cooper nearly tied things before the second intermission as he drove in close on Bowns but got too close to force it under the pads of the netminder and Lake had an effort on the rush saved by Bowns as the Devils held onto their narrow advantage at the break, with the Giants ending the period on the penalty kill as Will Cullen took two for delay of game.

Third period

Belfast quickly played out the remainder of Cullen’s penalty and they laid siege to the Devils goal early in the period but to no avail, with the closest chance they had coming when Long found Bobby MacIntyre driving the net but Bowns managed to turn away his tip on net before then making a shoulder save on a David Goodwin effort.

It was all Giants in the third period but, despite dominating both puck possession and zone time, it looked like the breakthrough wasn’t coming, only for Lake to provide the tying goal at 54:41, Goodwin with the shot from the left circle that the centre got the tip on to take it into the top corner. (3-3)

MacIntyre nearly won it at the death when he went on a mazy solo skate and nearly fired low past Bowns on the backhand, but the Great Britain netminder made the save and that forced overtime, although the Devils were the ones doing most of the pushing in the dying seconds to find the winner.

Overtime

Goodwin came within inches of winning the game for the Giants when he hit the bar on the breakaway early into the extra period but instead it would be Crawford who would settle it for the home side at 3:02, picking the top corner when one-on-one with Whistle. (4-3)

Next up

Next up, the Stena Line Belfast Giants complete their regular season schedule with a double-header against the Sheffield Steelers on Friday April 5 and Saturday April 6 before entering the Play-Offs, the home leg of which will be on Saturday April 13 against a yet to be confirmed opponent. Tickets are available here.