Giants Complete Double Over Devils

Goals from Mike Lee, David Goodwin, Josh Roach, Scott Conway, Ben Lake, and Mark Cooper coupled with another stellar player of the game performance from Jackson Whistle, earned Adam Keefe’s side a hard-fought 6-0 victory in front of a sold-out crowd at The SSE Arena, Belfast.

First Period

Frantic starts from both sides saw Jackson Whistle and Ben Bowns called into action early on, with the latter forced to make a scrambling save inside the opening few seconds to deny Jordan Kawaguchi.

A back-and-forth opening 15 minutes saw both sides create goalscoring opportunities, with the best falling to Elijiah Barriga, who saw his close-range effort fly over the bar. Nonetheless, the ever-reliable Jackson Whistle and Ben Bowns made sure that the scoreboard remained level going into the later stages of the opening period.

Unlike the previous night’s encounter, it was the Giants that struck first. A wicked wrist shot from Mike Lee went sailing over Ben Bowns’ glove and into the top right corner of the Devils’ net to give the Giants a one-goal advantage with less than two minutes remaining in the period (1-0).

Second Period

The Devils returned to the ice with a renewed confidence. Early attempts on goal from Gleason Fournier and Tyler Busch could have easily handed the visitors an opportunity to get back into the game, however, Jackson Whistle remained steadfast between the pipes to keep the Giants’ lead intact.

Not to be outdone by his Belfast counterpart, Ben Bowns produced some crucial saves to deny Scott Conway, Bobo Carpenter, and J.J. Piccinich from extending the deficit.

However, after a sustained period of pressure from the home side, the deficit was indeed extended. David Goodwin’s first home goal of the season ripped into the roof of the Devils’ net to double the Giants’ lead (2-0).

With little over three minutes remaining in the period, the Giants netted their third of the game. A goalmouth scramble saw the puck fall to Josh Roach, who drilled a one-timer past Ben Bowns to complete a fruitful second period for the Giants (3-0).

Third Period

The Giants found themselves a man down within the opening 60 seconds of the final period as J.J. Piccinch sat for two-minutes (hooking). Despite the man disadvantage, the best chance arguably fell to Mark Cooper, who would have scored his third short-handed goal of the season if not for a strong save from Ben Bowns.

Midway through the period, the Giants extended their lead further. Scott Conway’s shot into the bottom corner all but wrapped up the game with just 10-minutes remaining (4-0).

In the blink of an eye, things went from good to great for the Giants. Ben Lake turned Ben Bowns inside out and slotted home to register his ninth goal of the season (5-0).

Fittingly, it was the captain who had the final say on the night. Mark Cooper tipped David Goodwin’s shot into the back of Ben Bowns’ net to round off a great evening for the Giants (6-0).

Next Up

Next up, the Giants travel to the Motorpoint Arena to face off against the Nottingham Panthers in the second leg of the Challenge Cup semi-finals. The Giants remain on the road to take on the Manchester Storm on Friday 28 February, before returning to home action against the Fife Flyers on Sunday 2 March. Tickets are available to purchase here.