Stars Align for Giants to Open Season

First Period

The Giants got off on the front foot immediately with the top line causing trouble. Scott Conway and JJ Piccinich were digging around the net giving debutant Dundee goalie Vladislav Pestov plenty to think about. The puck was in the Dundee net early on when Ciaran Long tipped in a Mike Lee shot but it was disallowed as it struck Long’s glove.

The visitors continued to press with Ty Prefontaine’s shot blocked in front and Pestov tipping Patrick Guay’s shot into the screen. However, despite a good pad save from a Lee effort, the Kazakh goalie could do nothing to prevent Nicolas Guay sweeping the rebound home on 10:31 (0-1).

Peter Bates linked up well with Patrick Guay shortly after but was forced wide before another debutant opened his Giants account. It was Mason Klee who unleashed an absolute ripper into the roof of the net from the blue line after Long had won a face-off and the Giants had doubled their lead on 14:15 (0-2).

With Travis Ewanyk in the penalty box for holding, Belfast went on the hunt for more with Piccinich on a one-man mission. The New Jersey-born forward did everything but score with the man advantage as he struck the post before being denied well by Pestov. Ultimately, the hosts killed the penalty successfully and tested Jackson Whistle for the first time in the game late in the first as the Giants number one had to react well to deny Rasmus Nousiainen.

Second Period

The hosts then had the first attempt of the second period when Gary Haden was repelled but any momentum they had was stalled somewhat when Duggie Lagrone was sat down for a tripping penalty. However, the Stars would kill the penalty again as, despite efforts from Morten Jensen and Patrick Guay, the Giants couldn’t take advantage.

Craig Moore was next to test Whistle with a long range shot that was held before Nicolas Guay shot wide when locking eyes with Pestov. Nicolas and his brother Patrick would soon combine to good effect midway through the period, after Nicolas was denied by an outstretched Pestov leg, Patrick was on hand to clean up the rebound on 30:04 as Nicolas and Pestov ended up tangled in the net (0-3).

To their credit, this did not deter the hosts and they continued to get shots on net with Nousiainen and Keaton Jameson in particular causing trouble. Pestov again was on fine form denying Conway and Kaleb Pearson which proved crucial as his side got off the mark on 38:04. It was Jameson who was in the right spot to get a lovely tip on Brodi Stuart’s shot to wrong-foot Whistle and reduce the deficit to two again heading into the second intermission (1-3).

Third Period

The third period began with a chance for Dundee to go on the powerplay for the first time in the game as Long was sent to the penalty box for high sticking. Not only did the Giants kill the penalty, though, they actually had the best chance during the two minutes as Logan Cockerill broke away short-handed but was denied well by Pestov.

The final period was an even affair with chances limited for both sides. For the visitors, David Goodwin and Cole Shudra tried their luck to no avail before the latter of the two linked up with Conway. Shudra’s shot was blocked but the rebound fell to Conway who finished into the unguarded cage for a fourth goal on 51:45 that ultimately put the game beyond the Stars (1-4).

Ben Brown tried to pull one back late on for the home side before Pearson rattled the crossbar with just seconds to go as Adam Keefe’s men got off to a winning start on Tayside.

Up Next

The Giants stay in Scotland with a clash against the Glasgow Clan at The Braehead Arena tomorrow (Sunday) before the Stars travel across The Irish Sea next weekend for the first competitive home game at The O2 Belfast. That game is on Saturday 19 September with a 7pm puck drop. You can get your tickets here.