Sunday shutout over Stars seals four point weekend for Giants

First Period

The Giants were given an early man advantage when Travis Ewanyk was sent to the penalty box for boarding after just 34 seconds and they immediately went on the attack. After JJ Piccinich had a shot tipped into the screen, David Goodwin opened the scoring after 01:53 as he finished from a Mike Lee assist (1-0).

The hosts continued this forward momentum with Vladislav Pestov in the home goal making impressive stops from Morten Jensen and Jaeden Martin before Zack Hoffman had Dundee’s first effort on goal that was repelled by Jake Kupsky. After opening his Giants account on Friday night, Christian Berger tried his luck again to no avail before Pestov made a stunning stop to thwart Piccinich again.

Evan Brand fizzed an effort wide before the puck fell to the stick of Ty Prefontaine after a net-front scramble but his shot was saved. The home side came a crossbar’s width away from doubling their advantage just before the break as Scott Conway’s shot bobbled onto the ironwork but one would be all they would get before the first intermission.

Second Period

The away side had a golden opportunity early in the second when Joshua Nelson broke away with only Kupsky to beat but the Wisconsin-born goalie stuck to his task and denied him well. Cole Shudra was stopped at the other end by Pestov but the Giants’ second came on 27:24 when Nicolas Guay found space for a shot and fizzed it past Pestov into the net (2-0).

Much like the time after the first goal, the hosts pushed hard for another after netting. Patrick Guay came closest when his shot came back off the post while Kaleb Pearson whistled a shot just wide. To their credit, Scott Dutertre’s men did not lie down and, with Goodwin in the penalty box for tripping, Kupsky had to be alert again to deny Keaton Jameson and Ewanyk from close range.

After returning to the ice, Goodwin had a good chance for his second but Pestov stopped him with a super double save as the Stars’ Kazakh goalie kept them in the game heading into the second intermission.

Third Period

The beginning of the third was punctuated by penalties and stoppage as the game struggled for any sort of momentum. It was the Giants’ defencemen who tried to get some offense going with Lee trying his luck on a couple of occasions including a neat wraparound move that was stopped by Pestov. Prefontaine and Jensen also had a shot each that were blocked and saved respectively while Dundee struggled to get anything going with Brodi Stuart’s shot wide their only real look going into the final few minutes.

They were still keeping things tight before the hosts scored a pair of quick-fire goals late on to put some gloss on the final result. The first came on 56:31 from Ciaran Long who fired home a one-timer off a Conway pass for his third goal in four games (3-0) before Piccinch added a fourth unassisted on 58:04 to wrap up the game (4-0).

Up Next

The Giants go on the road to start their Motorpoint Elite League campaign next weekend with trips to Coventry and Cardiff on Saturday and Sunday before returning home on Saturday 17th September to face Glasgow Clan in a Challenge Cup clash. That game faces off at 7pm and you can get your tickets here.