Seven Up as Giants Hammer Stars

Elijiah Barriga, Gabe Bast, Mark Cooper, Pierre-Olivier Morin and J.J. Piccinich all scored in the first period before Cameron Pound and Ben Lake rounded things off in the third period to send Adam Keefe’s side up into third in the Elite League table.

First period

It didn’t take long for the Giants to pull ahead as a dominant start was rewarded when Barriga tipped in Bobo Carpenter’s pass to the crease after just 1:33 (1-0), and their rapid start could have had them up earlier when Ben Lake cut in from the right circle but was disrupted by a well-timed poke check from Richard Sabol in the Stars goal.

But in quickfire fashion, the Giants pulled out of sight with three goals in two-and-a-half minutes. Bast got the second at 6:15 when his shot deflected straight up in the air and only he tracked it to slam in the rebound (2-0) before two tripping penalties to Kris Inglis and Cole MacDonald led to two powerplay goals, Cooper wrapping it round Sabol at 7:56 (3-0) and tic-tac-toe hockey from the returning Mike Lee and Carpenter setting up Morin for the second at 8:42 (4-0).

Stars head coach Marc Lefebvre called his timeout and switched out Sabol for Jarrett Fiske in goal and his side had a response, Jonathan McBean firing just over before Jake Elmer got the visitors on the board as his shot from the mid-slot squeezed through the pads of Jackson Whistle at 11:38 (4-1).

But just when it appeared that the ice was tilting in the Stars’ direction with an interference call on Bo Hanson, Piccinich tilted it back towards the Giants with a shorthanded goal, stealing the puck at the blue-line and beating Fiske on the breakaway at 14:30 (5-1), with Belfast ending the period on the kill again as Barriga was penalised for tripping.

Second period

After such a dynamic first period, the second was a relatively quiet one by comparison, with the Giants killing off the remainder of Barriga’s penalty before the Stars did likewise on a Brendan Harms tripping call as neither team threatened either netminder much in the opening exchanges.

Whistle was the busier of the two goaltenders as he did well to deny Keanu Yamamoto in close during a period of sustained Dundee pressure.

Third period

After McBean had another great chance to get the Stars back into it, the young Scot found alone in front but firing straight at Whistle, it was Pound who extended the Giants lead and ensured the visitors wouldn’t be making a dramatic comeback as Mike Lee battled down the boards, fed Kyle Osterberg behind the net and the centreman snapped in the one-timer at 47:29 (6-1).

The Giants spent some time on the penalty kill as Osterberg took the extra two minutes in a roughing contest with Philippe Sanche, and then Carpenter and Yamamoto both had spells in the box for cross-checking each other.

But the result was already assured when Lake rounded off the scoring at 56:02 with a neat finish from the left circle (7-1), and the Giants would end the game with a change in netminder as Whistle made way for Ballymoney’s own Andrew Dickson, who ensured the Stars wouldn’t get even a consolation goal by playing out the remainder of the game, making four stops.

Next up

Next up, the Stena Line Belfast Giants have just one game at the weekend when the Sheffield Steelers come to The SSE Arena, Belfast on Sunday 15 December, followed by the visit of the Coventry Blaze on Wednesday 18 December. Tickets available to purchase here.