Giants Strike Gold to Defeat Alberta

Six different scorers found the net as first period goals from Mack Stewart, Elijiah Barriga and Grant Mismash were backed up by strikes by Pierre-Olivier Morin, Mark Cooper and Jordan Kawaguchi in the third period and a 27-save performance by Tom McCollum to secure the win.

First period

The Giants got off to a disastrous start just 30 seconds into the game as the Golden Bears took the lead, Connor McClennon’s pass to the crease tipped in by Alex Thacker (0-1) and the visitors nearly doubled their lead when Sean Tschigerl couldn’t connect on Tyler Preziuso’s pass before Kyle Osterberg hit the post with the Giants’ first real effort.

Ethan Kruger came up with a good save to deny Elijiah Barriga as the winger drove in from the left circle before Stewart tied the game at 7:33 as he smashed in the loose puck after Joe Cassetti failed to properly connect with a shot (1-1), and Alberta needed to play out a penalty to keep the game tied.

But the Giants would pull two ahead before the first intermission as Jeff Baum produced a fine bit of skating to go behind the net and then feed the puck back in front for Barriga to tap in at 14:15 (2-1) and then a cross-checking call on Mason Ward allowed Mismash to grab his first Giants goal with a top corner finish from the right circle on the powerplay. (3-1)

Second period

Belfast came out firing in the middle period and captain Cooper nearly had a fourth just seconds after the restart as Baum delivered the pass from circle to circle for the one-timer but Tyler Palmer - who entered the net for Alberta for the middle frame - made the save, then Mismash nearly doubled his tally shorthanded as he fired into the mask of the netminder while Osterberg was off for slashing.

The middle section of the period belonged to McCollum however, the netminder coming up with a huge double-save on Josh Prokop and then another nice save to deny Blake Gustafson. The Giants then killed off back-to-back cross-checking penalties on Mismash and Kawaguchi, while Bo Hanson nearly got another goal shorthanded as he drove in but was stick-checked by Palmer.

Mismash continued to buzz in the offensive zone as he was set up by his line-mates for a left circle one-timer that Palmer did well to corral, before the netminder stood strong to play out a cross-checking penalty on Joel Sexsmith. The best chance before the buzzer coming when McCollum held his ground to deny Prokop as the Golden Bears captain drove the crease.

Third period

A tripping penalty on Aidan de la Gorgendiere after the buzzer in the second period saw the Giants start the third on the powerplay and, although they couldn’t connect, shortly after they would get their fourth as Morin sniped a loose puck into the top corner at 42:35 (4-1) but Alberta were quickly back to two behind as a Cassetti penalty allowed Justin Hall to tip the puck home at 43:46. (4-2)

McClennon had a big opportunity to make it a one-goal game when he skated in on McCollum but fanned on the shot, while at the other end the top line couldn’t capitalise on a three-on-one breakaway as Palmer squeezed the pads to make the save.

But in quick succession the game went from potentially being over to being back to one goal in it. Piccinich hit the crossbar at one end after some brilliant vision by Mismash and, mere seconds later, McClennon went up the other end and finished when one-on-one with McCollum to reduce the arrears. (4-3)

Just as soon as it was a one-goal game however, the Giants restored control as Cassetti’s driven pass to the crease was tipped in by Cooper to settle any nerves at 52:53 (5-3), with Jakin Smallwood’s diving tip the closest Alberta came to a late response and Kawaguchi added the gloss to the scoreline with the empty-netter with 1:11 remaining. (6-3)

Next up

Next up, the Stena Line Belfast Giants kick off their competitive campaign with a Challenge Cup double-header in Scotland, taking on the Dundee Stars on Saturday 7 September and the Fife Flyers on Sunday 8 September, with their first competitive home game being a Cup rematch with the Stars at The SSE Arena, Belfast on Saturday 14 September. Tickets available here.