Belfast Giants were denied a winning start to their Champions Hockey League campaign as a last-minute equaliser and an overtime strike saw Finnish champions KalPa Kuopio claim a 3-2 victory at the SSE Arena.
The home crowd had barely settled before Patrick Grasso opened the scoring just 53 seconds in, his sharp-angle effort squeezing past Patrik Kerkola.
KalPa responded quickly, Jaakko Rissanen levelling the game at 3:51 by knocking home a rebound from Saku Salmela’s shot. Both sides exchanged penalties but remained tied after the first period.
The second period saw the Giants push for control. After missing a 2-on-0 chance, they were handed a golden opportunity with a pair of KalPa penalties, earning 12 seconds of 5-on-3 powerplay time. Nicolas Guay’s shot rattled the crossbar, but Ryan Smith was on hand to bury the rebound at 28:05 and restore the lead.
Despite further chances, including a couple of 2-on-1 breaks, the Giants couldn’t add to their advantage. KalPa thought they had equalised on the buzzer, but after a lengthy video review the goal was ruled out.
In the final period, Alexis Gravel produced key stops as the Giants battled to protect their lead, throwing bodies on the line where needed, while Kerkola denied a deft tip at the other end. With time winding down, KalPa pulled their goalie and found an equaliser through Juuso Mäenpää, who forced the puck over the line with just 63 seconds remaining.
Overtime brought heartbreak for the Giants, as Cade Borchardt set up Patrick Curry to seal the game for KalPa just 1:20 into the extra frame.
Photo: William Cherry/Presseye
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