Giants Force Overtime But Blaze Take Win at Skydome

Sato fired home with 32 seconds left on the clock to take the game into extras and earn Adam Keefe’s men a point on the road, with Quinn Preston having opened the scoring, but Alessio Luciani’s finish in overtime would hand the Blaze the two points on Saturday evening.

First period

Two early penalties kicked off the game as Ara Nazarian’s tripping minor was off-set by Blaze forward Danny Kristo being called for the same offence, but it was the home side who came closest in the early exchanges when Tyler Kirkup’s right circle shot hit the post, followed by another big penalty kill from the visitors when Travis Brown sat for slashing.

But the Giants slowly grew into the game and midway through the period they had their best chances of the opening frame as Bobby MacIntyre’s shot was gloved down by Taran Kozun - 27 saves - in the Blaze goal, and the netminder followed that up with a big stop to deny Preston one-on-one.

Both sides would have one more chance to find the net late in the period, Ben Lake unable to beat the goaltender with a wicked shot, while a Mark Cooper tripping penalty presented Ian McNulty with a huge rebound chance but, with the net gaping, he fanned on the shot.

Second period

After a scoreless first period it would take the Giants just 61 seconds to pull ahead in the middle frame as Daniel Tedesco hit Preston with the stretch pass and he finished one-on-one with Kozun for the go-ahead goal (0-1), with netminder Tyler Beskorowany - 22 saves - getting a rare point after being awarded the secondary assist.

The lead would be short-lived, however, and the Blaze equaliser came on the powerplay as Lake was called for slashing and Kobe Roth was able to tip-in the shot from the point at 24:03 (1-1), and the home side would take the lead on the 5-on-3 powerplay at 29:50 as Brady Norrish smashed a one-timer in from the left circle (2-1) after penalties to Lake (slashing) and Sato (cross-checking).

The second was a period plagued by penalties, with the Giants taking another two minutes for a bench minor for abuse of official, followed by Lake being ejected for spearing in the aftermath of a holding call against Blaze defenceman Carter Allen, with a too many men call against the home side shortening their three-minute powerplay and Beskorowany denying Mitch Cook on the one-on-one breakaway.

Third period

Despite plenty of endeavour, the Giants found scoring chances hard to come by in the first half of the final period and instead found themselves having to do some penalty killing when Sato’s face-off violation and Davy Phillips’ slashing calls left them shorthanded, but a McNulty holding minor mitigated the second of those penalties.

But just when the game seemed lost, a penalty against Luciani for holding and Beskorowany being pulled for the extra skater helped the Giants pile on the pressure and, even with MacIntyre also heading to the box for tripping, they forced the equaliser at 59:28 when Sato hit home a loose puck at the crease. (2-2)

Overtime

Belfast looked to earn the second point after seeing off the remainder of MacIntyre’s penalty from regulation but it would instead go to the Blaze as Luciani got the breakaway and finished coolly at 62:51 for the game-winning goal. (3-2)

Next Up

Next up, the Stena Line Belfast Giants will return to the Skydome Arena for the first leg of their Challenge Cup quarter-final on Wednesday 13 December before being back on home ice at The SSE Arena, Belfast for an Elite League double-header with the Manchester Storm on Friday 15 December and Saturday 16 December. Tickets are available here.