Giants Storm Back to Beat Manchester

First Period

The visitors had the first chance of the game through Brendon Clavelle but the Giants got a foothold in proceedings. Ryan Smith was the first to test Drew DeRidder but he was denied as were JJ Piccinich and Nicolas Guay. Loren Ulett then brilliantly controlled with his hand before testing Whistle but the opener would soon follow as Gary Haden mopped up a rebound (0-1).

The Giants D-men did their best to get their side back into proceedings as Mike Lee and Gabe Bast had efforts stopped by the sharp DeRidder. David Goodwin couldn’t force home from close range before Marcus Eriksson couldn’t take advantage of Brandon Whistle’s inch-perfect pass.

These wasted chances would come back to haunt the hosts as, with Bo Hanson sent to the penalty box for high-sticking, Joseph Nardi took advantage with the Storm’s second in the first period. (0-2)

Second Period

The Giants went on the powerplay early in the second period with Nick Welsh called for interference but Nicolas Guay’s effort whistling just wide was the best they could muster. Hanson then forced a pad save but Manchester were in clinical form and added a third through Dennis Busby after a nice set-up by Brandon Cutler. (0-3)

In response, Garrett McFadden’s drive was stopped by DeRidder and Whistle couldn’t capitalise on the rebound. Ben Lake and Nick Welsh exchanged chances before Stephen Johnson was sent to the penalty box late in the period.

Third Period

That penalty would prove crucial as, with Johnson still sitting at the start of the period, Jordan Kawaguchi continued his hot scoring streak to get the Giants on the board with less than a minute played. (1-3)

Little did the crowd inside The SSE Arena know that this would be the start of an onslaught. It was Scott Conway who brought the hosts within one after Piccinich put one a plate for him (2-3)

For the first time in the game, the momentum was squarely with Adam Keefe’s men and they made the most of it. The roof almost came off The SSE Arena as Nicolas Guay finished off a marvellous move to equalise six minutes after the restart as the game was back to square one. (3-3)

The Giants weren’t finished there, and they kept the pressure on DeRidder’s net and there was only so much he could soak up. Captain Goodwin was the man with the shot that was tipped home by the faintest of touches in front from Piccinich to completely flip the game on its head. (4-3)

The Giants killed a penalty called on Garrett McFadden with Alexis Gravel making a super save from Busby to preserve the lead before the hosts were able to extend that lead through Jake Gaudet who finished off a rebound. (5-3)

The shell-shocked visitors dropped their goalie for an extra skater to try to stem the flow and get back into proceedings but that only served to open up the empty cage for Patrick Grasso to slot into to complete a stunning third period comeback win (6-3)

Up Next

The good news is these two will go at it again tomorrow, Saturday 15 November at 7pm, in front of a sold-out SSE Arena.