Belfast Giants needed a last-minute equaliser before eventually beating Coventry Blaze in a shootout in a thrilling Friday night game at the SSE Arena.
Coventry struck early, just 43 seconds into the game. Jack Hopkins found Matthew Gleason, who rounded Alexis Gravel and finished calmly to give the Blaze the lead.
It lasted only three minutes. From an offensive-zone faceoff win, Jake Gaudet’s quick shot from the right circle took a deflection off a Blaze player and beat Dershahn Stewart to level the game at 3:30. Gaudet thought he had another shortly after, but a coach’s challenge ruled the play goaltender interference. Belfast created more pressure in the period but couldn’t take advantage of two powerplays, sending the teams in level.
Belfast went ahead on their third powerplay at 30:42. JJ Piccinich set up Nicolas Guay for a one-timer that beat Stewart, a goal confirmed after a review. Coventry answered just over four minutes later. Elijah Barriga dispossessed Bo Hanson, drove the net, and finished well to tie the game. With 21 seconds left in the period, the Blaze took the lead again on the powerplay as William Boysen found Gleason at the back post for his second of the night.
The Giants’ push for an equaliser went deep into the closing moments. With Gravel lifted for the extra skater, Belfast won an offensive-zone draw and Jordan Kawaguchi stepped into space to rifle the puck past Stewart with only 18 seconds remaining.
Overtime was wide open, with both teams trading chances, but neither could find a winner. In the shootout, Gravel stopped all four Coventry efforts while Kawaguchi and Piccinich scored for Belfast to secure the extra point.
Photo Credit: William Cherry