The Belfast Giants continued their search for consistency with a 2-0 win over the Guildford Flames followed by a 3-2 overtime defeat against the Nottingham Panthers the following on the road.
Having secured top seed in the Challenge Cup and a place in the semi-finals of the competition, Adam Keefe’s side continue to struggle to build momentum in the league, currently sitting fifth and six points behind league leaders Cardiff Devils.
Granted, storm Bert didn’t help, with the Giants having suffered significant travel disruption and also arrived in Nottingham short-benched.
Saturday’s game at the SSE arena was less drama-filled, as the men in teal collected their two points without significant trouble and shut-out the Flames for a relatively comfortable 2-0 victory.
Bobo Carpenter gave the Giants the lead after ten minutes, accurately finishing a rebound from Elijah Barriga’s initial attempt on goal.
Goalie Tom McCollum helped his side keep their lead with a typically solid performance, turning away 31 shots over the course of the evening.
The hosts dominated the majority of the first period but momentum swung in the direction of the visitors in the second period, with back-to-back penalties before the second interval putting the men in teal under pressure.
They withstood the Guildford attack, however, and with just under 10 minutes to go the Giants capitalised on a spell of pressure with Scott Conway firing in a rebound from Pierre-Olivier Morin’s initial shot to give his side a cushion in the closing stages.
Speaking after the game, Giants head coach Adam Keefe heaped praise on his side’s solid defensive effort which resulted in a shut-out.
“It’s down to the players buying in and competing, blocking shots and competing in the hard areas in front of our goalie. When they did get a look Tom (McCollum) was solid.” Keefe said.
“Offensively, we got more than enough looks to be up more than we were. Obviously, they got some really good looks as well and it was a really tight game - fast and when it is a 1-0 game you have to be close to perfect and I thought our guys were pretty close.
“Everyone was pulling the rope and it was good to see and something to build on. The job is half done this weekend. We can enjoy the result tonight but we have a big game tomorrow night against a very tough team to play in Nottingham tomorrow.”
Indeed, the following evening was more of a challenge, starting with adverse weather conditions which delayed their flight twice and meant the side arrived in Nottingham after the time at which the game was supposed to start.
To make matters worse, injuries meant that they had just 15 players at their disposal, putting them on the back foot before the game had even started.
Despite a bright start from the Giants, it was the hosts who were first on the board, with Jaakko Niskala’s shot from distance giving his side the early lead.
A back-and-forth game continued but the Panthers maintained their narrow lead until the third period when Scott Conway scored a rebound from Gabe Bast’s initial attempt to tie things up.
Nottingham hit back immediately but captain Mark Cooper rifled a shot into the top corner to level the scores with only 10 minutes to go and with nothing to separate the sides in regular time, the game went into overtime.
Despite Giants battling bravely, Nottingham settled the game with a shot from Matt Alfaro into the top corner, giving his side the win and two points.
In the circumstances, a point and a performance which showed character from Adam Keefe’s men is reason for optimism as they prepare to travel to Scotland for games against Glasgow Clan and Dundee Stars next weekend.
