Giants Settle for Point as Clan Claim OT Win

Despite second period goals from Scott Conway and Bobo Carpenter, the Giants would come up short as the visitors fought back, with Cole Ully earning the second point for the Clan on the night.

First period

Deven Sideroff forced the first big save out of Jackson Whistle when he worked a turnover in the Giants zone and drove the net, only to be denied by the Giants goaltender, but Landon Bow outdid him at the other end as he gloved down what looked like a certain goal for Conway as he was picked out at the back door by Karl Boudrias.

Whistle again had to be alert to get a shoulder to an effort from Mitchell Heard and the same man just fired over the net when a bounce off a linesman set him clean through on goal as the visitors started to ramp up the pressure, but still it was Bow making the big saves as he somehow managed to get a stick on a J.J. Piccinich shot that seemed destined for the back of the net after Kyle Osterberg’s cross-crease pass.

And it was the Glasgow goaltender who was on top in the latter stages of the period, too, as he produced some remarkable stops on back-to-back Giants powerplays - the netminder himself called for tripping, served by Sideroff, before Chris Martenet took a delay of game call - to keep the game scoreless at the first intermission.

Second period

After those two missed chances on the powerplay in the first period, the dam eventually burst early in the second when Tyson McLellan was called for cross-checking and Conway opened the scoring at 25:20, stepping in from the right circle and shooting low into the net (1-0), and Jordan Kawaguchi nearly doubled the lead soon after when he tipped Mark Cooper’s pass on net but Bow saved.

It was two strokes of good fortune that not just prevented the game from being tied but gave the Giants their second, a fantastic save from Whistle still offering up a massive rebound to Ully that the Clan winger could only send into the side netting, with Carpenter going straight up the other end and adding another for the home side at 32:12 as a fortunate bounce off the boards landed right on his stick and he picked the top corner (2-0).

Third period

It took just over three minutes of the third period for the Clan to get back within one and it came through Liam Finlay at 43:03 as he slammed in the one-timer from McLellan’s deft lay-off in the left circle (2-1), but the Giants responded well and only Bow denied them restoring their two-goal lead as Conway and Grant Mismash both threatened.

The Giants had a chance to strike back immediately when Simon Despres was penalised for high-sticking but they couldn’t beat Bow, and they were punished on their first penalty kill of the night as Glasgow tied the game through Heard managed to jam the puck in right at the post at 50:06 with Lake off for tripping (2-2).

Pierre-Olivier Morin had a big chance to win it late for the Giants as Mismash skated the length of the ice before dishing it off to the centre, but his backhand chance was denied by Bow and that sent the game into overtime.

Overtime

Piccinich had the first chance of the extra period but he rifled wide and when the Clan went the other way Ully was able to squeeze the puck past Whistle for the winning goal at 61:32 and the extra point (2-3).

Next up

The Stena Line Belfast Giants welcome the Dundee Stars to Belfast on Saturday 8 March a day before travelling to the Guildford Flames on Sunday 9 March. Get your tickets here.