Sunday 30th December,
The SSE Arena, Belfast.
Stena Line Belfast Giants 2 3 Dundee Stars
The Stena Line Belfast Giants fell to a first defeat in four games with a 3-2 loss against the Dundee Stars on Sunday in Belfast. Goals from Dustin Johner and Darcy Murphy were not enough for the Giants with Dundee grabbing the game winning goal at 51:46 through Brian Hart.
Sunday’s loss follows the defeats of Milton Keynes Lightning and Glasgow Clan on Friday and Saturday respectively with the Giants sitting in first place, one point ahead of the Cardiff Devils, having played two games more.
Tyler Beskorowany started in the Belfast net with Colin Shields, Guillaume Gelinas, Hunter Bishop, Matt Towe and Andrew Dickson missing for the Giants.
Stars Fight Back After Giants Double
Dustin Johner finished off a sweeping Giants move at 3:04 to open the scoring, assisted by Kyle Baun and Josh Roach.
Darcy Murphy extended the hosts advantage at 8:18 with a cool finish, assisted by Blair Riley.
The Stars fought back and halved the deficit at 12:34 through Charles Corcoran, assisted by Francois Bouchard and Brian Hart.
Brian Hart pulled the visitors level with 22 seconds remaining in the opening period with a powerplay strike, assisted by Charles Corcoran and Francois Bouchard.
Even Second Period Leaves Game Tied
The middle period was a frustrating one for the hosts, who were unable to find a way past Pontus Sjogren in the Dundee goal. That was despite outshooting the visitors 16-5 – leaving it all to play for in the final period.
Stars Clinch Win In Final Period
After posting the equaliser, Brian Hart netted the game winning goal at 51:46, assisted by Charles Corcoran, to give the Stars an important away win.
Final Score
Stena Line Belfast Giants 2-3 Dundee Stars
Giants Man of the Match
#83 Dustin Johner
Next Up?
The Giants return to home action again on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th January with back-to-back games against the Sheffield Steelers at The SSE Arena.
The IIHF Continental Cup Final takes place the following weekend on Friday 11th, Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th January when the Giants face HK Gomel (Belarus), GKS Katowice (Poland) and Arlan Kokshetau (Kazakstan) respectively.
Tickets for all of those games are available from the Arena Box Office all day Saturday, in person or by calling (028) 9073 9074 as well as online from: ticketmaster.ie.
