Giants edge Cardiff, 2-1 to extend lead atop EIHL table

First Period

Jimmy Oligny had the first chance of the game when his shot was tipped over by the returning Jake Kupsky in goal before Brandon Estes couldn’t force the rebound home. The Giants first chance of the game fell to Jordan Kawaguchi but his shot from a narrow effort was blocked by Christian Stoever.

Oligny tried his luck to no avail shortly after this before Mike Lee and Brandon Whistle both hammered long range shots on net but neither puck made it as far as that with blocks coming in from home defenders meaning we would go into the first intermission scoreless after a cagey opening.

Second Period

The hosts started the second period brightly and had some shots on goal. Cole Sanford fired wide before Kupsky made a wonderful save from Tyson Helgesen despite having lost his stick. The Giants goalie then made another great save from Brett Perlini as Cardiff amped up the pressure.

However, the visitors struck against the run of play when Lee used the back boards behind the net to his advantage and set himself up to finish past Stoever to open the scoring (0-1).

Less than two minutes later, the lead was doubled as Nicolas Guay put a puck on net and Kawaguchi was in the right place at the right time to divert home via his skate (0-2). The hosts were stung and tried to get back in the game only for Kupsky to deny Nolan Yaremko.

However, there was nothing that he could do when Kohen Olischefski tipped home Ryan Barrow’s shot from straight in front to halve the deficit (1-2). There would be one more big chance before the second was out but, despite getting the puck on the net, Josh MacDonald couldn’t finish and Belfast held their lead after 40 minutes.

Third Period

The Giants came under more pressure in the third period but had a couple of big chances to extend their lead. First, Guay picked out Reid Irwin at the back post but Stoever covered his net well. Riley Brandt then served a penalty for high sticking but the closest the visitors came was a Lee shot that rattled the glass behind the goal.

Ryan Smith had Belfast’s best chance in this period but he could only slide wide from straight in front and, after this, the Devils upped the tempo and had their visitors camped in their own zone. First, Yaremko was denied by a stunning save from Kupsky before Kristoff Kontos rifled one over.

With just over four minutes remaining, Gabe Bast was sat down for hooking and the Giants went on the penalty kill. They did bend but didn’t break as Perlini sent one across the face of goal while Estes and Barrow tried to force the puck home from close range. However, the Giants net would not be breached again as they held on for a big win in the Welsh capital.

Up Next

The Giants return home for the first time in 15 days on Sunday (22^nd February) as they welcome the Dundee Stars to Belfast for a 5:30pm face off. Tickets can be purchased for that game here.