Giants best Panthers on pulsating night in Belfast

First Period

A packed SSE Arena was almost on its feet just seconds in when JJ Piccinich broke away only to be denied well by Kevin Carr. The Panthers goalie was at it again moments later when he made a terrific double save from Ryan Smith. The visitors did find their footing in the game and Jackson Whistle made a pair of excellent stops from Matthew Marcinew and Zsombor Garat.

However, it would be the hosts who would strike first when Smith rifled home a missile of a shot straight off the draw that flew past an unsighted Carr. (1-0) Nicolas Guay was next to try his luck but was denied on an odd-man rush as was Gabe Bast on the rebound from a narrow angle.

Nottingham were not without their chances and had a couple of opportunities before the break through Jarod Hilderman and Brendan Harris before, with just seconds left on the clock, Whistle made a fantastic one-on-one stop from Nolan Volcan.

Second Period

The Panthers had the first real chance of the second period when Bryan Lemos’ deflected shot almost found its way through bodies but just wide before Mike Lee rattled the post at the far end. Carr then did well to keep the puck out of his net after a net-front scramble while Whistle was almost wrong-footed by Matt Spencer’s broken stick effort.

The game was turning into an end-to-end affair with Ciaran Long and Chase Pearson both denied at either end. Nottingham captain Matt Alfaro was then sat down for a tripping penalty that his side killed with a Kawaguchi effort wide the best the hosts could muster.

All inside The SSE Arena then held their breath as Jordan Kelsall somehow found himself with the freedom of the ice to pick his spot but Whistle stood tall to deny him. It would then be the Giants’ turn to kill a penalty when Jake Gaudet was sent to the box for interference but the hosts killed the penalty with minimum fuss.

As we approached the final five minutes of the period, Adam Keefe’s men extended their lead after superb work from Ben Lake in the corner sprang the puck free for Reid Irwin to hammer home a one-timer (2-0). That lead was three just 36 seconds later when Carr misjudged his pass from behind his own net and put it on a plate for Marcus Eriksson who couldn’t miss the gaping cage from straight in front. (3-0).

Third Period

Both sides killed early penalties served by Lake and Pearson respectively as we entered the third. Danny Stewart’s side fought hard to get a way back into the game as Alfaro slid just wide before Tim Doherty was repelled by another great save from Whistle.

Piccinich broke away shortly after but couldn’t find the net before the Panthers put their foot down again and a scramble in the paint eventually saw Lemos get a shot away that couldn’t get through the bodies in front of the net.

With the clock rapidly running out, the away side did eventually get themselves on the board with Kelsall getting the better of Whistle to set up a grandstand finish (3-1). That gave the Stewart the green light to drop his goalie for an extra skater and the Giants took full advantage of the open goal with Smith grabbing his second from well inside his own zone with a clinically accurate shot to seal a big win. (4-1).

Up Next

The Giants are back in action today (Sunday) as the Manchester Storm visit The SSE Arena. That game is a 4pm start and tickets are available here.