Giants move into third

A slow start saw Aspray Glasgow West sponsored Glasgow Clan punished as Belfast Giants took Boxing Day Elite League points from Braehead Arena.

Jeff Baum opened the game with a huge hit on Matt Barry behind the Belfast net which set the tone for the rest of the period.

The Giants quickly took the lead through captain, Mark Cooper as he buried a backdoor shot after being set up by Greg Printz from the slot.

Charlie Combs nearly had an instant response for the Clan as he released a sharp wrist shot from the left side but it was blocked away by Jackson Whistle.

At the other end, Belfast continued their proficiency in front of net as Printz doubled their lead with a snipe from the right-side dot.

Quinn Preston kept the Giants rolling as his power shot from the blue line sent Karjalainen the wrong way and trickled through his five-hole.

After Clan coach Jason Morgan called a timeout, Clan started to find their way in the game with Reid Petryk and Luke Lynch generated promising chances for the Clan.

Gary Haden eventually got the home side on the boards when he tipped a cannon of a shot from the blue line by Darien Craighead and sent the puck past Whistle.

Cody Sol then stole the spotlight as he spearheaded the Clan’s penalty kill unit in fending off a two-minute penalty by putting his body on the line to block shots in the D-zone.

Clan captain Dyson Stevenson got the home fans on their feet as he took down Giants’ D-man Cameron Pound with relative ease in a short-lived fight.

Whistle then gave up the puck behind his own net after a failed clearance which saw him briefly redeem himself to block Ryan Harrison but could do nothing about Robert Lachowicz’s follow-up.

Lynch, Craighead and Roach all came close to levelling the scoring as they fired shots on net but none could force it over the line as Belfast held onto their lead into the third period.

Giants held off numerous Clan attacks in the final 20 but were able to give themselves breathing space as Daniel Tedesco raced on to a loose pass and slot low past Karjalainen.

Then Bobby MacIntyre put the icing on the cake with a late powerplay goal to the delight of the travelling Belfast fans.

Report by Sam Scouller; photos by Al Goold