Four point return from Scottish weekend for Giants
Belfast born and bred Graeme Walton made his 500th league appearance in the Braehead Arena for the Stena Line Belfast Giants this weekend. This helped focus the Giants grit and determination to finally defeat the playoff bound Clan outfit with a 3-2 victory after the dreaded penalty shoot-out.
Giants Robert Dowd opened the scoring, and with a single from Paul Deniset followed by the winning penalty shot from Dowd saw them through after the Titanic struggle that always occurs against the surely best team in Scotland.
Following the win against Braehead the night before, Belfast made it a Scottish double as they blanked Fife 3-0. Stephen Murphy recorded his fourth shutout of the campaign as he turned away all 14 shots that he faced.
Following the scoreless opening two periods, Belfast finally got a breakthrough with only four minutes played in the third period. George Awada found a way past the impressive Fife goalie Garrett Zemlak. The Giants doubled their lead with just over eight minutes left to play from Aaron Clarke.
The Flyers pulled their puck stopper in an effort to get something out of the game but Robert Dowd, now the team’s top scorer found the empty net with 5 seconds remaining.
The Giants recently lost two in a row by a single goal – first against Nottingham, followed by the opening leg of the semi-final Challenge Cup match in Cardiff – so these wins were essential. The victories setup the next two encounters well as Belfast entertained the Devils in the second leg semi, trailing by a single goal.
After that exhausting match-up they travel to Sheffield to take on the Steelers in Sheffield in a First vs. Third title chaser down. Games are coming thick and fast with no room for error. The Giants cannot afford to blink nor can Sheffield or Nottingham as they roll up their sleeves for the final big push chasing down the elusive Elite League title.