Belfast Giants take on the Fife Flyers and Glasgow Clan in ice hockey double header weekend in Scotland
Belfast Giants Game Report against Fife Flyers in the Fife Ice Arena in Kirkcaldy on Saturday 4th December.
Final Score: Fife Flyers 0 Belfast Giants 3
The Belfast Giants headed for a double header this weekend in Scotland and first up was a clash with the Fife Flyers. The crossing over the Irish Sea on Stena Line may have been bumpy with the rough weather, but the Giants performed a smooth performance leaving their adversaries frustrated.
The shutout win was achieved by goals from Jordan Boucher (PPG), Slater Doggett and Scott Conway (PPG) separated the sides on a night where a frustrated Flyers had no answer for a relentless, high tempo Belfast press.
FIRST PERIOD
Belfast brushed off an early penalty when Slater Doggett was called for cross checking at 2:36 and the Giants brushe doff an early penalty, as did Fife as Jonas Emmerdahl was benched for tripping at 7:02.
However, a James Isaacs delay of game penalty at 10:12 was quickly followed by a Colton Waltz tripping call at 11:16, and the Giants found themselves with 57 seconds of 5 on 3 power play.
Belfast’s offensive efforts were initially scuppered by a clumsy offside, followed by the puck rolling out of the offensive zone on the resulting faceoff. Fife’s three-man kill unit sat high at the blue line, preventing an onslaught on goalie Shane Owen.
Despite the hosts holding for the return of their fourth man, the Giants began to click. The puck rang the crossbar before Jordan Boucher tipped Griffin Reinhart’s one timer to edge his side ahead at 13:04 (PPG 0-1)
A Flyers breakaway off the drop was denied by a stunning Tyler Beskorowany glove save from Jacob Benson’s shot, and just over a minute later Slater Doggett’s net front presence produced Belfast’s second. (Assist: Ciaran Long, 14:22). (0-2)
In a moment of déjà vu, a second Flyers breakaway off the drop was denied by Beskorowany’s sprawling right leg in the last action of an entertaining opening period.
SECOND PERIOD
The Giants remained dominant as the middle period got underway, helped in no small part by Fife’s continued issues with the penalty box.
Greg Chase was called for unsportsmanlike conduct at 25:34, as the referees began to draw the ire of the home support.
The temperature was raised at 31:09 when Carson Stadnyk sat for cross checking, and Belfast pounced with their second power play goal of the game. This time Scott Conway found the net from a Jeff Baum pass, leaving the Flyers with a mountain to climb at the halfway point. (0-3)
Scott Conway’s hit on Stadnyk near the boards in the 33rd minute went unpunished by the officials, and by the time Fife’s Jonas Emmerdahl was whistled for a soft tripping call at 35:06, the Flyers faithful were apoplectic.
There was minor reprieve (and sarcastic applause) as Jordan Boucher (holding, 37:23) and Mark Garside (tripping, 38:38) handed the Flyers a 5 on 3 power play of their own, but Belfast’s penalty kill unit and a comfortable Tyler Beskorowany remained steadfast as time elapsed.
THIRD PERIOD
With Garside still in the box, the Giants opened the period facing a 5 on 3 kill as Scott Conway sat for slashing at 40:22.
However, save for a single frantic goal mouth scramble which Belfast’s defencemen saw safely over the blue line, the game all but fizzled out in the third period.
Somewhat staggeringly, the penalty boxes also remained empty for the remainder of regulation.
A lacklustre Fife Flyers ground out the clock but ultimately had no answer for the Giants’ consistent pressure, their strength on the forecheck and their late game tempo. By the final buzzer, the hosts had been outshot by 41 to 25, and soundly beaten.
(report by BelfastGiants.com).
***
Giants Enjoy Win Over Glasgow Clan
Giants record back-to-back shutouts in clan thrashing
Glasgow Clan 0 Belfast Giants 6
The Belfast Giants completed a perfect weekend in Braehead on Sunday afternoon, shellacking a leggy Glasgow Clan 6-0 as goaltender Tyler Beskorowany completed a first back-to-back shut out since Stephen Murphy achieved the feat in Teal back in March/April 2012 Davy McGimpsey)
Glasgow, playing their third game in three nights and fourth of the week, struggled to make any impact in the Giants zone and were heavily outshot by 51 to 14.
Goals from Hook, Doggett, Boucher, Goodwin, Reinhart and Conway sealed a statement weekend from Adam Keefe’s men on the road, responding in style to last week’s zero pointer.
FIRST PERIOD
Despite missing the services of Ciaran Long, Darcy Murphy and Cam Knight, the Belfast Giants were certainly the spritelier of the sides in the opening minutes; peppering Clan goaltender Shane Starrett and his defensemen.
Jordan Boucher ran riot in the first period, using his quick feet and agility to cause headaches in the offensive zone.
However, it was Lewis Hook who pounced on a Scott Conway one timer to open the scoring at 8:50, making the most of his increased ice time to bag his fourth EIHL goal of the season. (0-1)
At the other end of the ice, Belfast’s defensive vision was razor sharp. Sam Ruopp and Jeff Baum took turns at poke checking and intercepting cross zone passes and odd man rushes, and Mark Garside sent Boucher on the breakaway with a neat backwards pass out of the Giants D-zone.
Slater Doggett doubled the Giants lead from close range at 17:16, assisted by Boucher and Griffin Reinhart, the last big action of a dominant opening period. (0-2)
SECOND PERIOD
Scott Conway thundered the post merely seconds into the middle period, as Belfast’s top line resumed the assault.
Colton Yellow Horn took the first penalty of the game at 26:57, with his hooking call sending the Giants onto a high tempo power play. Griffin Reinhart rang the bar, but Glasgow survived the kill.
The hosts continued to struggle with penalties, as Matt Haywood (slashing, 31:32) and Cody Sol (slashing, 33:40) took turns to visit the box.
However, it was back at 5 on 5 when Belfast found their way through again courtesy of Jordan Boucher; his first even handed goal of the season at 35:46 (Assist: Slater Doggett, Ben Lake). (0-3)
The sides exchanged further power plays as Jeff Baum (Belfast) sat for holding at 35:58 and Quinn O’Brien (Glasgow) took a tripping call at 38:51, but the score remained 0-3 at the break.
THIRD PERIOD
Glasgow’s frustrations began to get the better of them in the final period as Mathieu Roy sat for holding at 44:58, before a toothless power play opportunity as JJ Piccinich took a high sticking penalty at 45:34.
With Mitch Jones next to the Clan box for a tripping call at 45:50, Giants Captain David Goodwin struck his side’s fourth assisted by Scott Conway and Jeff Baum (46:42). (0-4)
By this point, the wheels had come off entirely for the hosts. Another Giants power play goal followed at 47:41 as Nolan LaPorte was called for hooking; Griffin Reinhart unleashing a long-range missile past embattled goalie Shane Starrett (Assist: Slater Doggett, Sam Ruopp). (0-5)
A sixth was to follow from Scott Conway at 51:25, assisted by a red-hot Jordan Boucher. (0-6)
With the game out of sight, and Tyler Beskorowany seeing very little of the puck, Adam Keefe iced young rookies Kell Beattie and Mack Stewart who injected late energy into the line-up.
There was just enough time for a Cody Sol interference penalty after a coming together with Stewart, as time elapsed on a four-point weekend for the Belfast Giants and a second shutout in as many nights. (Report by Joel Neill sourced by Davy McGimpsey.)
UP NEXT
The Giants return home to the SSE Arena next weekend to take on the Fife Flyers on Saturday 11th December at 7:00pm, and the Nottingham Panthers on Sunday 12th December at 4:00pm. Tickets for both games are on sale NOW!
