HIGHLIGHTS: Giants Claw Win From Panthers In Nottingham
A Blair Riley goal with 1:54 remaining in Overtime gave the Stena Line Belfast Giants a valuable win on the road in Nottingham.
A Blair Riley goal with 1:54 remaining in Overtime gave the Stena Line Belfast Giants a valuable win on the road in Nottingham. The win completed two away victories in as many nights for the visitors following Saturday's 4-1 defeat of the Coventry Blaze.
The four point weekend was made all the more impressive with the Giants missing David Rutherford, Chris Higgins and Alex Foster for both games as James Desmarais missed Sunday's encounter. Stephen Murphy started in net and turned away 19 shots in a stellar performance for the Giants.
Just like on the previous night in Coventry, it was the Giants who got on the scoresheet first. Jeff Mason unleashed a shot at Panthers netminder Miika Wiikman, who made the save only for Michael Forney to pounce on the rebound to give the Giants a 1-0 lead at 6:12. Mason's assist was the Defenceman's 200th point in all Elite League competitions for the Stena Line Belfast Giants.
The visitors outshot the Panthers in the opening period 7-5 however it was the home side who got the next goal in the game to tie things up. Defenceman Dan Spang's shot on net was deflected off Matt Carter to bring the Panthers level at 13:27 and end the period at 1-1.
The second period, just as in the Giants other weekend game against Coventry, was scoreless however it was the visitors who were forcing proceedings, outshooting their opponents 10-5 in the middle period.
The third period saw the home side try to force a winner, however Stephen Murphy and the Giants defence stood firm as they killed off two powerplays from the Panthers.
Into the overtime period and it was the travelling fans who were on their feet with 3:06 gone as Blair Riley scored the all-important goal, assisted by Michael Forney, to give the Belfast side an important Elite League win in the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham.
The Giants return to action with back-to-back home games next weekend against the Coventry Blaze. Face-Off 7pm at The SSE Arena, Belfast on both Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd October and tickets are on sale now from the Arena Box Office in person, by calling (028) 9073 9074 or online through Ticketmaster.
Final Score Nottingham Panthers 1-2 Stena Line Belfast Giants
Giants Man of the Match #89 Jonathan Boxill