Aspray Glasgow West sponsored Glasgow Clan fell short of a three-goal comeback as Manchester Storm held out to claim all the points in a 3-2 win at Braehead Arena.
The Storm took an early lead through Mitchell Martan as he rebounded Chase Harrison’s shot into the Clan net less than five minutes into the game.
Phillipe Sanche and Charlie Combs generated dangerous opportunities for the hosts but neither could net the puck as the Clan went into the first interval trailing by one.
Clan penned the Storm back in their own defensive zone in the early stages of the second but were hit with a sucker punch as Manchester expanded their lead.
Raymond Brice displayed his silk hands on a breakaway as he slotted the puck through Antti Karjalainen’s legs against the run of play and the visitors were two up.
At the other end, Storm goalie Evan Wenninger stood up strong as he defended the Storm goal from a barrage of Glasgow attacks, with Matt Barry and Luke Lynch getting good looks on net.
Tyler Hinam then increased the visitors’ lead with a shorthanded goal as he tucked a backdoor shot into the Clan net.
Combs later revitalised Glasgow as he backhanded the puck into the roof of the net from a sharp angle before grabbing a quick second goal shortly after to put his side back to within one.
Bryce Reddick almost put the home side back on level terms when he snapped the puck from the dot but Wenninger managed to absorb the shot with his catcher glove.
The third period had little difference to the overall game as both sides failed to find the back of the net with each netminder pulling off impressive performances in the final 20 minutes.
Lynch came agonisingly close to tying the game up in the final minutes as he slid a rebound into the crease which pinballed between the pipe and Wenninger’s skate but narrowly stayed out.
There were chaotic scenes in the final 10 seconds as the Clan put six bodies in the crease in a desperate attempt to send the game to overtime, but Manchester held on to claim victory.
Report by Sam Scouller; photos by Al Goold
You must be logged in to post a comment.