Giants Mismash Seals Shootout Win Over Clan

The winger scored twice in the third period, after Mike Lee netted in the first period, and then grabbed the game-winning goal in the shoot-out to get Adam Keefe’s men back on the winning trail after their defeat in Braehead on Saturday and take a firm grip on top spot in Group B.

First period

Belfast forged the first chance, Mismash firing the puck back into the right circle for the supporting Lake but his shot was well stopped by Landon Bow, but the opening goal of the game went to the Clan at 3:54 as Deven Sideroff skated in on a two-on-one and beat Whistle with a pinpoint shot from the left circle (0-1).

But the home side wouldn’t be behind for long and when Sideroff was penalised for slashing, Lee tied the game at 7:33 with a thunderbolt of a one-timer from the mid-slot (1-1), followed by both netminders making impressive saves, Whistle denying Keaton Jameson after a defensive zone giveaway, then Bow preventing Elijiah Barriga from turning in a tasty rebound from a Lake drive.

The Giants managed to kill off their first penalty of the game as Pierre-Olivier Morin sat for interference and they nearly retook the lead when a brilliant play by Scott Conway set Kyle Osterberg down the wing, he fed Bobo Carpenter at the net but he sent his shot wide and then Morin tipped a Bast pass just wide as well.

Bast thought he had given the Giants the lead when his shot from the blue-line went all the way through and beat Bow five-hole but the officials waved it off for goaltender interference - which was confirmed after a lengthy video review - and then Carpenter couldn’t finish off a late two-on-one as Bow made the save.

Second period

Two early penalties to Bast (interference) and Carpenter (high sticking) gave the Giants some killing to do and Whistle made an important save on Gary Haden as the Clan forward skated in unopposed, the Scots trying to seize the early initiative.

It was a second period that was edged by the Clan and Whistle once again had to be alert to deny Mitchell Heard, who managed to get some space in the slot and shoot but was denied by the arm of the netminder, and Matt Stief as the winger jumped on a face-off opportunity but could only shoot straight at the goalie.

Belfast had a late chance to get on the board after a tough period when Sideroff was boxed for holding to put them on the powerplay, however the only chance saw Barriga flash an effort wide from the edge of the right circle before Bow made a couple of impressive pad saves on deflected efforts from long range.

Third period

It took just 43 seconds of the third period for the Giants to take the lead for the first time in the game and it was a superbly worked powerplay goal that saw Mismash pick the top corner from the left circle off Kawaguchi’s drop pass after Heard was penalised for roughing (2-1), although Whistle was required to make a huge stop on Stief as the winger was left alone in front shortly after.

And he was rewarded by Mismash who doubled his tally and the Giants’ lead at 43:51 as he turned the puck over in neutral ice and hit the top corner again (3-1), although both netminders were the stars of the show on subsequent powerplays as Whistle made an incredible stick stop to deny an empty net tap-in on a Bast tripping call, before Bow made several massive stops on a brief 5-on-3 powerplay that also saw Morin hit the post.

But in a dramatic finish to the game, Whistle made a huge save on Rylan Schwartz to seemingly hand the home side the win, and it seemed even more secure when Heard was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Sideroff completed his hat-trick with two shorthanded goals to send it to overtime, beating Whistle on the breakaway at 59:17 (3-2) and then 14 seconds later snapping in a one-timer from the slot for the tying goal (3-3).

Overtime

Glasgow was able to kill the remainder of Heard’s holdover penalty and the majority of the rest of overtime was played 4-on-4 as a lack of whistles meant neither side got a chance to change.

Shoot-out

The Giants were flawless in the shoot-out as they scored all three of their shots, Mismash, Lake and Morin all scoring past Bow and Whistle denying Joseph Hazeldine, Tyson McLellan and Jameson to seal the extra point.

Next up

Next up, the Stena Line Belfast Giants return to Elite League action when they welcome the Coventry Blaze to The SSE Arena, Belfast on Saturday 19 October, followed by a trip to the Nottingham Panthers on Sunday 20 October.

Image Credit - William Cherry