Giants Answer The Coll to Shut Out Flames

McCollum turned away all 31 shots he faced on the night which allowed Carpenter to find the game-winner in the first period, with Scott Conway rounding off the scoring in the third period on the powerplay to ensure the two points would stay in Belfast.

First period

An early chance fell the way of Grant Mismash as he picked up on a rebound in front but fired straight at Flames goaltender Eamon McAdam, who then squeezed the pads to deny Zak Galambos skating in from the blue-line, while McCollum’s first save saw him go low to deny Daniel Catenacci’s drive to the net as Guildford grew into the period.

Belfast would find the go-ahead goal at 10:52 as Carpenter notched his third in four games, the winger perfectly placed in the slot to tuck in the rebound from Elijiah Barriga’s initial shot (1-0), and McCollum did his job at the other end to swallow up a Michael Crocock slapshot that came through traffic to maintain the one-goal lead.

A tripping penalty on Marcus Tesink gave the Giants the first powerplay of the game and Carpenter nearly doubled both his and the team’s tally when he tipped Kyle Osterberg’s pass towards net but it just dribbled wide and he then flashed another chance wide as the seconds tipped down, with McCollum steering a Ryan Tait shot wide at the other end.

Second period

Having been the quieter of the two netminders in the first period, McCollum was faced with an early Flames onslaught as they burst out of the blocks quickly, denying Matt Alvaro a big rebound chance in close, and a Josh Roach interference call put them under even more pressure but a shorthanded breakaway for Mark Cooper and Ben Lake nearly resulted in the latter adding a second for the Giants.

J.J. Piccinich had two big chances in quick succession, cutting in from the left circle but seeing McAdam glove down his effort, then shooting into the goaltender’s pads after Jeff Baum and Barriga connected behind the net, while McCollum continued to be strong at the other end as he froze an effort from Ethan Strang by the post as Guildford threatened.

Back-to-back penalties on Lake (hooking) and Cooper (tripping) meant the Giants spent most of the closing stages of the period on the penalty kill, but they did forge one more chance before the second intermission as Piccinich set up Conway on the rush only for him to fire his effort wide of the target.

Third period

Gabe Bast and McCollum combined to deny the first threat of the third period as former Giants winger Daniel Tedesco had two bites at the cherry from the angle but was prevented from getting Guildford on the board by the defenceman and netminder as the visitors piled on the pressure.

But a major penalty to Catenacci for spearing saw him ejected and the Giants finally got their second goal on it after doing just about everything but score with the extended powerplay as Carpenter hit the crossbar and Cooper failed to connect on an empty net chance on the back post, before Conway finally found the insurance goal at 51:20, slamming in the rebound off Pierre-Olivier Morin’s initial shot (2-0).

A slashing call against Mismash meant the Giants needed to do some more killing but they did so to great effect and they closed things out as some big blocks helped McCollum shut the door and complete the clean sheet to secure the two points.

Next up

Next up, the Stena Line Belfast Giants begin a run of three games on the road as they head to the Nottingham Panthers for an Elite League clash on Saturday 23 November, with their return to home ice not coming until Wednesday 11 December when they welcome the Dundee Stars to The SSE Arena, Belfast. Tickets available to purchase here.